In about five years I will be eligible for military retirement. At that point it is theoretically possible that we could have our house paid off, although that is the "best case" estimate. It is more likely that given Roth IRA contributions and the random things I am unable to account for at this time it'll take closer to ten years.
At the point that I reach military retirement and the home is paid off, that pension will be enough for me to declare financial independence. The problem is, if I die, the pension stops and all that's left is the house, whatever possessions that may be in it, and a Roth IRA which currently only has enough to go for a year, maybe two. My concern revolves around my wife, who is unable to work and generate income on her own without being in extreme pain (she's legally disabled), as well as our future children. I want my wife to be able to provide for herself and our children on what I would leave them.
Thankfully my technical specialty is in an area that is currently quite lucrative, and should continue to be for quite some time. Initially the plan was to reach military retirement, pay off the house, keep all monthly expenses covered by my pension, and continue to work while shoveling all income from that job into savings (probably invested in index funds with Vanguard).
But I don't want to continue chasing employment on the basis of monetary gain. I will reach a point where I will want to move to an area of the country of our choosing, devote a majority of my time to my family, while leaving myself a few minutes to play with cars, eat Cheetos, guzzle Mountain Dew, and pwn n00bs in Call of Duty. I'd rather reach this point sooner than later.
So with that in mind, what is a reasonable course of action for me to take? Should I consider a life insurance policy that pays out enough to provide my wife with the ability to go the Vanguard route, living off of a percentage of appreciation/dividend earnings? Should I continue to work for a few years and try to amass a small pile of money?