A recent survey by Friends First asked people to rank their financial assets in order of importance. 67% said their home was their most valuable asset, 57% went for their savings and 48% their pension. Only 43% of people said their income was their most valuable asset.
Say for example you are 41 years old and intend to retire at age 65 (if you are lucky). Earning an average of €50,000 per year values your lifetime income at circa €1.2 million! Now all of a sudden your income is worth protecting?
If we stop to think about what would happen if we lost our income, we’ll quickly realise how vitally important it is. For the vast majority of us, our income pays for everything from daily bills to children’s education, our mortgage and loan repayments and everything else we need to live our lives. Without an income most of us would struggle financially.
Medium or long term absence from work, whether through illness or injury, is something that many of us could face during our lifetime. Because of this, it is vital that we insure our income so that we have financial support when we need it most.
We all know young, seemingly healthy people who have been unable to work for a protracted period of time. If this happened to you and if you were unable to meet your living expenses from your own savings, then you need to insure your income. No if’s but’s or maybe’s. Talk to someone you trust about Income Protection and insure yourself against the unexpected things that can happen. Not doing so will leave you and your family exposed to an unacceptable level of risk *
* Bruen Financial Services Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.