Tools

How long a term do I need?

Enter when your children become independent, your mortgage ends and you retire. The tool finds the shortest standard term that outlasts them.

Runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent or stored by this site. Results are estimates for planning, not a quote or advice.

How to use it

  1. Enter your age.
  2. If you have children, enter the age of the youngest and the age you expect them to be independent. Leave the child's age blank if you have none.
  3. Enter the years left on your mortgage and the age you plan to retire.
  4. If another obligation has an end date, such as a business loan or support payments, enter the years until it ends.

Blank rows are ignored. The tool lists each obligation with the age you would be when it ends, then names the shortest standard term that reaches the longest of them.

How the math works

Each obligation becomes a number of years from today:

  • Children: age of independence minus the youngest child's age.
  • Mortgage: the years you entered.
  • Retirement: retirement age minus your age.
  • Other: the years you entered.

The longest of these sets the term. The tool rounds it up to the next standard length: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years. The age at the end of the term is your age plus that length.

Hypothetical example: you are 35, your youngest child is 3 and will be independent at 22 (19 years), your mortgage has 27 years left, and you plan to retire at 60 (25 years). The longest need is the mortgage at 27 years, so the tool suggests a 30-year term, which runs to age 65. Because the child's need ends well before the mortgage, it also points you to a laddering term life policies to match your needs of policies with different lengths. The tool does that whenever an obligation ends more than four years before the longest one.

What it assumes

  • Every date is your own. The tool uses no outside data.
  • The need lasts exactly until the last obligation ends, with no cushion.
  • Terms come in 5-year steps from 10 to 40. The tool notes that 35 and 40 years are offered only by some insurers, so check what each insurer sells.
  • The warning about terms running past age 80 or 90 is general. It does not check any insurer's maximum age.

Where it stops being right

  • Needs that last your whole life, such as providing for a dependent adult or leaving an inheritance, are not captured. If the longest need is more than 40 years, the tool says so and suggests a ladder or permanent coverage.
  • It leaves out the chance that your needs change. A conversion privilege lets you move to permanent coverage later, and the how long a term should you buy: 10, 20 or 30 years guide covers the trade-offs of buying longer or shorter.
  • It does not compare prices. A longer term costs more per year than a shorter one, so a ladder can come out cheaper than a single long policy.
  • If you leave every field blank, the tool still prints a 10-year suggestion with no stated reason. Ignore it.

To size the amount of coverage rather than its length, use the How much life insurance do I need?.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

Related guides

How long a term should you buy: 10, 20 or 30 years Pick a term that runs until your last big obligation ends: youngest child grown, mortgage paid, retirement funded. How to find that date and when to round up. 10-year term life insurance: who it suits The shortest common level term. It fits needs that end within a decade, such as a loan or the years before retirement, and rarely suits young families. 20-year term life insurance explained A 20-year term fixes your premium for two decades, long enough to raise young children or cover most of a mortgage. How it works, who it fits and what to check. 30-year term life insurance: pros and cons A 30-year term locks your price for three decades, matching a new mortgage or a newborn. The benefits, the costs, the age limits and when a ladder works better. Laddering term life policies to match your needs A term ladder stacks policies of different lengths so coverage steps down as your obligations shrink. How to build one, what it saves, and where it falls short. Using term life insurance to cover a mortgage How to size and time a term policy so a death does not leave your family with the house payment: amount, length, who owns it, and what changes if you refinance.

Terms used here

Term life insurance Life coverage for a set number of years, such as 10, 20 or 30, that pays a death benefit only if the insured dies within that period. Level term insurance Term life coverage whose death benefit and premium both stay fixed for a set period, such as 10, 20 or 30 years. Conversion privilege A term policy feature that lets the owner switch to permanent coverage with the same insurer without new medical underwriting, within set deadlines. Level premium A premium that stays the same each year for a set period or for life, with early overpayments offsetting the rising cost of coverage at older ages.

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