Americans Are Living Longer and Outlasting Their Life Insurance

Roughly 4 million Americans turn 65 each year. One in five of the men and one in three of the women will live to 90, all of those years without life insurance, because the 20-year term life policy they bought at 45 expired the day they retired. More than 1 million people from this year's cohort alone will spend up to 25 years uninsured during the years when health costs are highest.

MoneyGeek defines this as the "longevity lapse": the years between when a term policy expires and when the policyholder dies. For the average 65-year-old man, it runs 17.5 years. For the average 65-year-old woman, 20.1 years. For the roughly one in three women who reach 90, it runs 25 years.

About 95% of term life insurance policyholders never convert to a permanent policy. With annual conversion rates below 1% for most of a policy's life and only about 5% converting even in the final year, most term holders let their coverage end without a backup plan. The SSA's actuarial life tables, the same mortality data the federal government uses to calculate Social Security benefits, put the average policyholder's death 17 to 20 years after their coverage expires.

MoneyGeek defines the "longevity lapse" as the period between when a life insurance policy expires and when the policyholder dies. For a 45-year-old who buys a 20-year term policy, coverage ends at 65. The SSA's 2022 Period Life Table puts remaining life expectancy for a 65-year-old male at 17.48 years, or an average of 82.48. A 65-year-old female has 20.12 additional years, for an average of 85.12.

That uninsured stretch can reach 15 to 25 years, and the exposure is widespread. About 90 million American families depend on life insurance for financial security, and the ACLI Life Insurers Fact Book puts total life insurance in force at a record $22.2 trillion in 2023. The 20-year term is the most popular policy length, per LIMRA.

Average U.S. life expectancy at birth was 77.5 years in 2022, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Life expectancy at 65 is higher than the birth figure: 82.48 for men and 85.12 for women. The figure excludes everyone who died before reaching that age. A 20-year term policy purchased at 45 covers roughly half the years between purchase and death for the average 65-year-old, and none of the years after 65, when health risks and end-of-life costs are highest.

The averages understate how long many Americans live. Of every 100,000 males born, 77,402 survive to age 65, per SSA data. Of those, 16,504 will reach 90, a 21.3% survival rate. Women outlive men at every age: 27,827 out of 86,231 females who reach 65 will survive to 90, a 32.3% probability.

Roughly one in five men and one in three women who reach 65 will live another 25 years. A 45-year-old man who buys a 20-year term policy today will, if he reaches 65, have a one-in-five chance of living to 90 with no coverage for those 25 years.

Of those who reach 65, 54.1% of women and 41.8% of men will still be alive at 85, per the SSA's 2022 Period Life Table, the same actuarial data the federal government uses to calculate Social Security benefits. These figures are observed, not projected.

Most Americans who buy a 20-year term life policy at age 45 and reach 65 will outlive their coverage by 15 to 25 years, per SSA actuarial data. The survival curves below, drawn from the SSA's 2022 Period Life Table, track the percentage of Americans still alive at each age from 65 onward. The shaded area marks the longevity lapse: the years when mortality risk is highest but term coverage has ended.

The longevity lapse varies by state. CDC data from the 2021 U.S. State Life Tables (NVSR Volume 73, Number 7) records a nine-year spread in life expectancy at birth across states, from Hawaii's 79.9 years to Mississippi's 70.9 years. These birth-based figures set a floor for the lapse: because conditional life expectancy at 65 is always higher than life expectancy at birth, residents in every state who reach 65 will outlive their coverage by more years than the birth figures suggest.

Hawaii leads the nation at 79.9 years (77 for males, 83.1 for females). Massachusetts ranks second at 79.6, followed by Connecticut at 79.2, New Jersey and New York at 79 and Minnesota at 78.8. Birth-based figures alone put the minimum longevity lapse at about 15 years for a 45-year-old Hawaiian who buys a 20-year term. For those who survive to 65, conditional life expectancy data puts the actual lapse closer to 17 to 20 years.

Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy at 70.9 years, followed by West Virginia at 71 and Alabama at 72. Even in those states, a 65-year-old has a remaining life expectancy above 17 years for men and above 19 years for women. The longevity lapse reaches every state.

LIMRA data puts 20-year term life insurance as the most popular product length in the U.S., accounting for the largest share of term sales, and as the product most likely to create the longevity lapse. A policy designed to expire at retirement is one designed to leave policyholders uninsured when mortality risk is highest.

A 40-year-old nonsmoking male in good health can buy a $500,000, 20-year term policy for about $35 a month at preferred rates. The same coverage on a 30-year term costs about $49 a month, roughly 40% more. Most buyers choose the cheaper policy, expecting to reassess at renewal.

The economics change at renewal. MoneyGeek's 2026 rate analysis found a 60-year-old nonsmoking male pays $395 a month for $500,000 in 20-year term coverage at standard rates, more than 11 times the $35 a 40-year-old pays for the same policy. At 65, many carriers stop issuing 20-year terms entirely. MoneyGeek's rate research found no 20-year term quotes available past age 65 from its panel of carriers. For many people, reapplying for comparable coverage isn't expensive: it's impossible.

Over 20 years at $35 a month, a policyholder pays $8,400 in total premiums. Term life insurance pays out during those years: if the policyholder dies during the term, beneficiaries receive the full $500,000 death benefit. If the policyholder outlives the term, the coverage ends. A family with no plan for what follows has no life insurance during the years when health risks are highest. That gap is the coverage cliff.

When a term life insurance policy reaches the end of its level premium period, policyholders have three options: renew at a much higher rate, convert to a permanent policy (if the conversion privilege hasn't expired) or let the coverage lapse entirely.

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Conversion Experience Study documents what happens. For 10-year term policies, the conversion rate stays below 1% annually for most of the policy life, then jumps to 5.1% in the final year, a tenfold increase. The study analyzed 166,858 conversions for 10-year terms, 158,694 for 20-year terms and 39,140 for 30-year terms across 19 participating companies. With tens of millions of individual term policies currently in force, the conversion gap represents a material exposure across the U.S. market.

Policyholders who convert in the last year have 55% to 95% higher post-conversion mortality rates in the first year compared to standard term mortality, per the SOA study (based on actual-to-expected mortality ratios across participating companies). SOA researchers attribute this to adverse selection: those who wait until the last moment are disproportionately policyholders whose health has declined and who can no longer qualify for new coverage at standard rates. Most healthy policyholders, those who could convert on favorable terms, never do.

Women have the longest longevity lapse and the lowest coverage ownership rates. LIMRA's 2025 Insurance Barometer Study found that 43% of women, about 52 million people, say they need life insurance or more of it, compared to 37% of men, about 45 million people. Only 48% of women own any life insurance, versus 54% of men.

A 65-year-old woman has 20.12 years of remaining life expectancy versus 17.48 for a man. Women are about 51% more likely than men to survive from 65 to 90 (32.3% vs. 21.3%). Among adults over 50 approaching term expiration, this gap means women will spend more years without coverage and are less likely to have purchased it at all.

Young women who delay buying carry the greatest exposure. LIMRA's 2025 study found that adults ages 18 to 30 overestimate the cost of a $250,000, 20-year level term policy by 10 to 12 times. Fewer than one in four Gen Z and millennial adults say they're knowledgeable about life insurance underwriting. A woman who delays buying coverage because she believes it costs far more than it does ends up with the longest uninsured stretch in this data: the most years without coverage, the lowest ownership rate and the highest probability of surviving past 90.

Total U.S. life insurance in force reached a record $22.2 trillion in 2023, the fifth straight year of increases, per the ACLI Life Insurers Fact Book. Ownership hasn't kept pace with need. Only 51% of Americans ages 18 to 75 have any life insurance, and LIMRA's 2025 Insurance Barometer Study found 40% of American adults, about 100 million people, believe they need more.

Surrender activity tracks coverage attrition: total surrenders reached $484.2 billion in 2024, up from $416.2 billion the previous year. While surrenders include all product types, the figure captures Americans exiting coverage through expiration, lapse and voluntary exit. With roughly 4 million Americans reaching 65 each year, a growing number of 20-year term policies bought in their 40s are expiring annually, and the people who bought them are aging into the longevity lapse without a plan.

Closing the longevity lapse starts with reviewing coverage options at least five years before the level premium period ends. MoneyGeek's life insurance calculator helps policyholders estimate how much coverage they'll need during and after the term period. Five strategies can reduce or eliminate the uninsured period.

Policyholders should review the conversion option in their term policy at least two to three years before the level premium period ends. Most term policies include a conversion privilege that allows switching to permanent coverage without a medical exam, but the option often expires before the policy itself does. The SOA study found fewer than 1% of policyholders use this option annually, suggesting many are unaware it exists.

Policyholders who are considering permanent coverage should compare the cost of converting against buying a new policy. Conversion locks in the original health classification from the initial application, which can save thousands on a permanent policy. For those whose health has declined, converting rather than reapplying at current health status can cut annual premiums by 30% to 50%.

Laddering coverage, rather than relying on a single policy, can reduce the uninsured period. A 45-year-old can buy a 20-year term for current coverage needs and a smaller 30-year term for longer-term needs, such as a spouse's retirement income. The 30-year policy costs more a month but keeps coverage in place to age 75, cutting the uninsured stretch by a decade. Some insurers now offer 35-year terms for buyers in their 40s, which can push coverage past age 80.

Guaranteed-issue or simplified-issue life insurance is an option for policyholders past 65 who can't qualify for traditional underwriting. Coverage amounts are smaller, often $10,000 to $50,000, and premiums are higher per dollar of coverage, but these products can cover final expenses and small debts. Guaranteed universal life (GUL) insurance is a middle option for buyers in good health who want permanent coverage without the investment component of whole life. A GUL policy guarantees a death benefit to a specific age, usually 90 or 95, at a fixed premium.

A fee-only financial planner can assess whether permanent life insurance, annuities or other products can fill the coverage gap. The average fee for a comprehensive financial plan ranges from $2,000 to $3,500, per Kitces Research. For some families, self-insuring through savings is more practical than buying a new policy. Life insurance for seniors often costs more per dollar of coverage, but even a smaller policy can reduce the uninsured period.

MoneyGeek analyzed publicly available actuarial and industry data from six primary sources to quantify the longevity lapse between term life policy expiration and policyholder mortality.

Survival probability and life expectancy data come from the SSA's 2022 Period Life Table, published as part of the 2025 Trustees Report. State-level life expectancy data come from the CDC's U.S. State Life Tables 2021, published in National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 73, Number 7 (August 2024). Term-to-permanent conversion rates and mortality differentials come from the SOA's 2016 Report on the Conversion Experience Study for Level Premium Term Plans. Market size and sales data come from the ACLI Life Insurers Fact Book (2024 and 2025 editions), LIMRA press releases and the 2025 Insurance Barometer Study.

All calculations use published data from these sources. Premium rate data reflect MoneyGeek's 2026 analysis of term life quotes from its carrier panel, updated March 19, 2026.