life insurance - how long shall i have it for?

[juicychops]

i cant afford to pay much each month but my ds is 4 and im a single parent and he doesn't have anything to do with his dad. so was thinking maybe up to when he's 25 so that whoever in my family he goes to, prob my sis, can afford to support him. the payout im looking at is between £100k - £150k.

does this sound long enough and a big enough amount? it would cost me £5 per month for 100k and £5.70 for 150k

Juicychops, that sounds like a good deal.
I pay ?100 pm for a 250K payout
Who are you with?
25 sounds like he'll be out of education by then and on his own feet.

Have you thought of putting some aside for his education costs also?

And a pension for yourself?

I think you should speak to a financial advisor, because there are all sorts of live cover available and you don't want to be paying for something you don't need. (I used to work in Life Assurance for a very large insurance company)

Life Assurance is largely for your dependents. So you only need it for as long as your ds is your dependent. 25 sounds right.

If it costs only 70p a month more for £150K, as opposed to £100K, I'd go for £150K. Estimate what it is likely to cost per year to raise your ds to 25 and consider whether that is sufficient over 21 years, accounting for inflation - so add on a 30-50% sum above that. Costs should include keeping a roof over your ds' head (maybe she will have to move to a bigger place), child/before/afterschool care, apart from the usual food, board, clothes and school trips.

You might also want to consider writing a simple will and naming your sister as your ds' guardian. She is not obliged to take up the role of guardian but at least it makes your wishes clear.

It is great you are sorting this out.

hi thanks for your input. i have a pension but its only very tiny as i cant afford to put any more in it yet (but im only 24 so got enough time once ive finished my degree and have a good well paid job!)

ive only really got my pension so that my ds is entitled to the 3 times my salary payout if i died. but as that will be no more than about £18k i need another plan

also have named my dad as beneficiary as he is better with money than my sister is, but it would be for her for my ds.

what other sort of life/ health cover is there out there that i should consider then?

this quote of £5 per month was through the AA with Friends Provident, which is where my work payout thing is with too

just out of interest, do you have a mortgage or property?

no not got a mortgage or any properties