The Theory of Decreasing Responsibility

The Theory of Decreasing Responsibility is a simple way to explain how your financial obligations change over time. Early in life, your responsibilities are usually high things like a mortgage, raising children, income replacement needs, or debt.

Because of that, people often need more life insurance during those earlier years.

As you get older, those responsibilities usually shrink. Kids grow up, the mortgage gets smaller, debts are paid off, and you’ve hopefully built savings and investments. Since your financial burden decreases, your need for large amounts of insurance also tends to go down.

It’s a helpful framework for understanding why many people start with higher coverage and then reduce it as their financial life matures.

Theory of Decreasing Responsibility

📉 Theory of Decreasing Responsibility

See how your life insurance needs change as your financial responsibilities decrease over time

Your Current Situation

Your Current Age Remaining Mortgage Balance ($) Other Debts ($) Children's Current Ages (comma separated) Annual Income ($)

Your Coverage Needs

Current Coverage Needed

Coverage Needed in 0 Years

Projected Decrease

What this means: As you pay off debts, your children become independent, and you build savings, your need for life insurance decreases. This is why many people start with higher coverage and reduce it over time.

Coverage Needs Over Time

Understanding the Theory

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