Is SGLI enough to provide for my family if I die unexpectedly?

I'm not a financial planner, so take this for what it is worth. Everyone's situation is different - it depends on what you are trying to cover. Typically, the recommendation is for life insurance to be approximatley 10x your annual salary. Again, it depends on what you are trying to do - pay off current debt (to include mortgage, credit cards, personal loans, etc.), provide an education for your kids, set up a cushion for your spoiuse, etc. Also depends on your stage in life - a younger person with young family and new house (e.g., high expenses) should have a larger amount of life insurance than someone nearing (or in) retirement that has their house paid, kids gorwn and out of the house, and no other debt.

Great Question. The answer is likely different for each individual. Many other posters have provided great responses. It's important to discuss the intended use of the death benefit, if you have high debt, maybe you wish to use benefits to pay off the debt and make life easier for your family in that sense, or maybe you're debt free and would like a paid up annuity to provide for a future income. There are a million variables in determining an individuals insurance needs. If you're concerned I would recommend looking for a Human Life Value Approach spreadsheet. There are many different approaches to evaluating needs, and many free spreadsheets on Google. I personally think that it's a shame that the Private Life Insurance Industry often makes purchasing life insurance for Military Personnel useless, many policies exclude Wartime losses, training accidents and even airline accidents unless you're a fare paying passenger. Also I should add a disclaimer that this is not financial advice, just wanted to provide you some direction in seeking out a tool to evaluate your needs.

There is no simple answer to this.

It really takes an estate planner to deal with the ramifications of Death. However, in very simple terms, the SGLI will make sure that your debts are paid (house, car, credit cards), and that your family is taken care of for a "few" years without having to think about YOUR income.

That doesn't mean that they won't need alternative income, but they won't instantly become destitute.

Let us make a couple of assumptions. Regardless of rank, the current SGLI is more a single years pay for anyone in the Service including BAH with Dependents. It is "close" to the maximum VA Home loan of $417,000, which means that in theory it will either "pay off a house" or "cover a year of salary & benefits." (if not both). So, that said, your family is covered for at least one year for major expenses.

If you have a mortgage, you will not have to worry about it (@ 8% $417k is $3k a month.), so even if your family doesn't pay the home off, they will be covered for a LONG time. Whatever debt you had "should" not be large enough to completely kill it, however by prioritizing debt, these concerns can be covered.

The real question is "when" not "if" your dependents will have to return to work, and to what extent. Children will have to eventually, just because they become adults at some point. This is part of normal planning. Spouses is another matter, and "personally" (I stress this) you should always discuss the "what if" one of you cannot work situation. Can the other cover the loss of income? The military career is one you know will end. Either at 20, 30 years. But it will end. You will see a significant drop in income until another career comes into play. It's nice to believe that something will be right there waiting, but it's far better to plan for the worse.