Life's Risks: Flying Low and Fast

What You Need to Know

Bill White recalls learning about mortality risk from the Service Members Group Life Insurance program.
He began thinking more about retirement risk when he retired.
He says long-term needs are as worthy of consideration as short-term needs.

We are always told that life is full of risks, but the thought of my Navy F-14 Tomcat being shot down really hit home to me while flying low altitude photo reconnaissance missions over a war zone in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The risks were ever-present — starting in flight school, preparing for deployment, and then actually flying into harm’s way.

While I had to rely on the preparations of others and machinery for the safety mechanisms in the Tomcat, I knew it was up to me to mitigate some of the financial loss my family might endure if my missions didn’t go as planned.

Managing Risks

Some risks have such minimal impact on our lives that we just accept them, while others are so catastrophic that we would be foolish not to transfer part or most of the risk.

The way I see it, when it comes to managing risks, we have four choices: We can try to avoid them, reduce them, accept them, or transfer them.

Here are some of the ways I’ve approached managing risks.

The Risk of Dying Young

For the risk of dying early, I was able to transfer much of the risk to the U.S. government via my Service Members Group Life Insurance (SGLI), and later, to other personal life insurance coverage.

Although, the probability of dying young may still be low, even in a war zone, the financial impact can be life changing for many families.

Although the Naval Academy and my flying days are in the rear-view mirror now, I still need life insurance while I’m working to protect my loved ones if I were to die before retirement.

That’s why I keep adequate life insurance in place even though I’m in much better financial shape today.

At USAA, we believe that means having at least enough life insurance to cover your debt and financial needs and replace five years of income.

The Risk of Living Long

Although I retired from the Navy in 2015 , my second retirement is starting to come into focus for me.