Term life insurance at 60 and beyond

Many insurers still sell term life insurance to people in their 60s, usually in 10-year or 15-year lengths and sometimes up to 20, but the premiums are high and the cutoff ages are firm. Whether it is worth buying depends less on price than on whether someone would face a financial hole if your income, pension or care ended: if so, a short term can be a sound tool; if not, your money is often better spent elsewhere.

Is it available, and who sells it

Every insurer sets its own maximum issue age, and the maximum shrinks as the term lengthens. The general pattern is that shorter terms are offered to older applicants than longer ones, so a 30-year term typically stops being available well before 60. Because the limits vary by company and change, check the current age chart on each insurer's own site or ask an agent for the maximum issue age for the specific product and term. The cutoff is often tied to the age the coverage ends: some products expire or stop at age 95, as with the term products described in what happens when your term life policy expires.

Many older buyers find that the price of a policy covering their final decade of life is very high compared with the benefit. That is not a flaw; it reflects the risk the insurer is pricing. The odds of outliving your term shows the odds that someone your age outlives a 10-, 15- or 20-year term. Also useful is the Social Security Administration's 2023 period life table, which puts remaining life expectancy at age 65 at about 18.1 years for men and 20.7 for women. Those are averages for the whole population, and your own health and family history move them either way.

What cost looks like

Prices rise quickly through the 60s. For a government benchmark, the VA's published monthly premiums for $500,000 of Veterans' Group Life Insurance, as of July 1, 2025, are $425 at ages 60 to 64, $690 at ages 65 to 69 and $1,075 at ages 70 to 74 (VA.gov). VGLI is a veterans program, not a commercial market rate, and commercial term for a healthy applicant may price differently, but the shape of the curve is the point: the cost of the same coverage can roughly double between the early 60s and the early 70s.

The IRS offers a second, independent look at the age slope. Its 2026 Table I rates for taxing employer group-term coverage above $50,000 are $0.66 per $1,000 per month for ages 60 to 64 and $1.27 for ages 65 to 69, compared with $0.09 for ages 35 to 39 (IRS Publication 15-B). Those rates exist to compute taxable income, not to price policies, but they track the same climb. For the full range, see what term life insurance costs by age.

When term still makes sense

A short term works best when the need has a clear end date:

• A mortgage or loan that will outlast your planned retirement date. A policy sized to the balance and timed to the last payment keeps a spouse from having to sell.
• A spouse who depends on a pension that stops at your death. Single-life pension payouts and some annuities end with you; a term policy can replace the lost income during the gap. The life insurance in retirement: keep, cut or cash out guide covers pension decisions.
• Social Security survivor gaps. According to the SSA, a widow or widower starts at 71.5% of the deceased's benefit and reaches 100% at full survivor retirement age. A household's income also drops because one of two benefits ends at the first death, which can matter if you are the higher earner.
• Dependent adults or a child with special needs. If someone relies on you long term, a policy bridges the time before a trust or other arrangements are fully funded. See life insurance for parents of a child with special needs.
• Business buyouts and debts you have guaranteed. Partners may need liquid funds on a defined date.

It tends to make less sense when your assets already exceed your family's needs, when you only want to leave an inheritance, or when you want coverage for your whole remaining life. For that last case, term is the wrong shape and a permanent policy may fit better, as explained in term vs permanent life insurance: the core trade-off, though it costs far more at this age. Final costs alone can be handled with a smaller policy; see final expense insurance: what it covers and costs and what a funeral costs and how families pay for it.

Underwriting in your 60s

Expect a full application and often an exam for larger amounts. Health conditions that are common at this age, such as controlled blood pressure, high cholesterol or a history of treated cancer, do not necessarily prevent approval but affect your rate class. Our guides on how life insurance underwriting works and life insurance rate classes: preferred plus to substandard explain the process. If a full application would be hard, two alternatives exist:

1. Simplified-issue term or permanent policies, with a short health questionnaire instead of an exam. Face amounts are lower and cost per dollar is higher; see simplified issue life insurance.
2. Guaranteed-issue policies, with no health questions at all, for small amounts. These usually pay only a return of premiums if death occurs in the first two years. See guaranteed issue life insurance: no health questions, with limits and graded death benefits: why the first two years matter.

Both cost much more per $1,000 than fully underwritten term, so try the fully underwritten route first if your health is reasonable.

Before you buy new coverage, check what you already have

1. Convert an old term policy. If you own a policy bought in your 40s or 50s, look for a conversion privilege. A conversion needs no new health review, and the deadline is often several years before the term ends. converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works explains the mechanics.
2. Check coverage through work. Group life usually ends or shrinks at retirement, but some plans let you convert or port it. See group life vs individual life insurance.
3. Review any old whole life or universal life policy. It may have cash value or enough guaranteed coverage to meet your needs. The life insurance for seniors: what's available after 65 guide compares options.
4. Look at the renewal terms. If your current policy is renewable, compare its price with a new policy; see renewing term life insurance after the level period ends.

A short worked example (hypothetical)

Say a 62-year-old homeowner has a mortgage balance that will be paid off at 72 and a spouse who would lose most of a pension if he dies. His needs are about $150,000 of mortgage plus a few years of income gap. He prices a 10-year term for $250,000 and a 15-year term for the same amount, and compares them on the life insurance quote comparison worksheet. He notices the 15-year version costs materially more per month for five extra years he does not need, so he chooses the 10-year policy and sets a reminder to review at 70. He also asks whether he could convert the policy before the conversion window closes. These figures are invented for the example.

If you are declined

A decline from one insurer does not always mean all will decline; underwriting standards differ, and a different company may offer a rated policy at a higher price. Our guide on Declined for life insurance? What to do next lists the next steps, including simplified-issue and guaranteed-issue options.

Key takeaways

• Term is still sold to people in their 60s, mostly in shorter terms, with company-specific cutoff ages you should check before you apply.
• Prices rise steeply with age; benchmarks such as VGLI show the cost of the same coverage rising sharply from the early 60s to the early 70s.
• Buy term only for a need with an end date, such as a mortgage or a spouse's pension gap; a leftover inheritance goal calls for a different product.
• Look first at conversion rights on old policies and at what your employer plan allows before buying new coverage.
• If underwriting is difficult, simplified-issue and guaranteed-issue policies exist but cost more per dollar of coverage and pay less.