Social Security Survivor Benefits for Breadwinner who loses nonworking coparent

[J Boogie]

Hey everyone, trying to determine how much life insurance I should have for my wife (32 yo, not yet a citizen).

Everything I read on the internet about survivor benefits relates to the breadwinner dying. Are there any benefits that the breadwinner is entitled to so they can cover the cost of childcare?

[dandarc]

If your wife has no social security credits, I don't think there are any social security benefits if she dies.

Term insurance is cheap on young healthy people - you can mitigate this risk that way.

[J Boogie]

Thanks Dandarc. I think I'll increase the policy I have for her. Right now I believe it's just under 100k, which is pretty much the same as me.

How much life insurance does everyone else have for themselves and their spouses?

[dandarc]

We've got $1M on me and $500K on my wife. We were more on the Dave Ramsey plan when we set that up. I switched mine to a 10 year term when we moved more towards a MMM plan, but she never did change hers from the 30 year term we had originally.

It is actually a universal life policy structured as a term with little to no cash value. At the end of the 10 years, the benefit goes down rather than the premium going up - seems like we'll either be FI and cancel it entirely by 2024, or have amassed sufficient wealth that we won't have a need for such a ridiculous amount of life insurance, and the decreasing benefit will fit the bill there.

[katsiki]

I had 500K 20-year term policy.  Just added another policy recently for 250K 15-year term.  Get it while you are young.  I am paying more for the lesser policy...

Figure out your liabilities and what you want to pay for.  ie expenses for spouse for X years, kid's education, etc.