Do retirees need life insurance?

Mike asks whether retirees holding large registered accounts should buy permanent life insurance to cover the tax their heirs will face when those accounts are eventually inherited. Allan treats it as a math question rather than a sales pitch, and the deciding factor turns out to be how long you live. If death comes in the early eighties, a policy can deliver a meaningful boost to what the family receives. But the longer you live, the more the premiums and lost growth erode that edge, until the insurance barely beats simply investing the money. He lays out alternatives that often work better over a long retirement: drawing from the RRSP strategically, giving to charity, helping children fund their own tax shelters, or simply spending more and enjoying it now. It is a thoughtful read for anyone with excess wealth worried about the estate tax bill.