“Future income means income to make tomorrow the kind of a tomorrow we want it to be”          

Since the very beginning of life insurance, settlement options and other various income features have been an important part of what this product was meant to provide.

Fifty years ago, when I entered the life insurance business in 1975 -- before computers were around, you could refer to your trusty life insurance rate book along with a Texas Instruments calculator and figure from various actuarial tabulations the cost of providing a guaranteed income for beneficiaries.

The times back then were different. And while most life insurance was paid on a lump sum basis for financial obligations like mortgages and setting aside educational funds, settlement options and other income calculations have always held a place in how proceeds could be paid to beneficiaries. Years back, when I learned the Financial Needs Analysis system taught by our incomparable industry legend Tom Wolff, past national NAIFA President and recipient of the John Newton Russell Memorial Award, Tom would describe the term of allowing beneficiaries to “remain in their own world.” And to remain in one’s own world usually meant having money not only to pay off final expenses but to provide a future income, as well.

Again, times have changed. There continues, nevertheless, to be specific differences as to longevity between men and women. And statistical data points out that women have the potential of outliving their husbands by as much as a decade or longer. It’s also somewhat true, although far less than the case a generation or two back, that husbands make many households' major financial decisions. Granted, this has become less common with most families today requiring two breadwinners to meet monthly expenses.

In my own family, my maternal grandmother outlived my grandfather by twenty-two years, and my paternal grandmother survived her husband by almost nine years. And from what I know, both of my grandfathers tended to most of the major financial decisions that were made. It was, however, quite different with my parents: my mother only outlived my father by three years but there was never any doubt who handled the money. Dad traveled a lot in the early years of his life insurance career so it was up to my mother not only to pay the monthly bills but to make larger financial decisions as well. Dad always had a say with most of the big decisions, but as it pertained to the month-to-month stuff, it was Mother who “ruled the roost.” And she did a good job.

It is also very clear there have been many times in our country’s history where women were forced into making critical financial decisions for their family, This certainly occurred here in the South after the Civil War but it also became very significant during World War II with the losses of our GI’s in Europe, northern Africa, and throughout the Pacific theatre. During these times, it was only through the grit and financial determination of women that families were able to persevere and survive.

The question always remains, however, what would happen to a surviving spouse if financial decisions were thrust upon him or her due to the death of a loved one? Could financial challenges be managed? And could a continuing draw of future income be available? In our role of helping beneficiaries plan for the unknown, teaching them about what life insurance can provide as potential future income is crucial.

One of the first books I read from my Dad’s business library was entitled The Logic of Life Insurance written by Paul Speicher and published in 1951 by The Research and Review Service of America. At the time, I was reading everything I could get my hands on as to what was then described as “the magic of life insurance.” In Chapter 3, Speicher formulated some good ideas regarding “The Importance of Future Income” and I will quote from him in closing this article.

“Most people go sadly astray in their thinking because they fail to recognize the existence of two separate kinds of income –different from each other as day from night. We say that income is simply income, but therein lies the error. Income is not simply income –it is either past income ... or future income. Past income, the income of yesterday and last year and all the years before has done its job. Like water over the dam, it is through. Past income maintained the family’s standard of living. It bought the schoolbooks. It provided the home. However, past income has to do with yesterday and with the things of yesterday.

"But there is a tomorrow as well as a yesterday. There is a future to which we look forward, a coming day which we deal with our dreams and hopes. As the past had to have income to make it what it was, so the future must have income to make it what we hope it will be. Future income means income to make tomorrow the kind of a tomorrow we want it to be. The yearning cry of the world is for financial security and financial security in simplest terms means security of future income!”

These are timeless words regarding life insurance that provide as meaningful a lesson today in the 21^st century as ever.

 Ike S. Trotter, CLU, ChFC, AEP is a well recognized career professional from Greenville, MS where he operates his own planning and risk management firm. In 2025 he celebrates his 50^th year as a NAIFA member.