More insurance thoughts...I am 46 with 7 kids from College to pre-school (yes we know what causes it and surgery should have fixed it but we still had #7...not LOL haha).

I am also an avid investor and careful planner (but definitely not a professional). If you want to meet someone who actually bought term and invested the difference then come to my house. I have put away 20% of my income most of my career and am well positioned for retirement as a 22 year O-5 but not confident enough that my stay at home wife (teaching degree) can survive into her 90s just yet especially with young kids.

I bought Army AF Mutual Aid 800K insurance back in my twenties at 35 a month. Knowing it would expire at age 50, I've layered it with other 20-30 year term policies when I knew my health was good and my flying wouldn't impact my rates. Watching my friends over 45 it became obvious that your health can turn in an instant so I've been very careful to plan my purchases (especially when I was on staff and when I quit flying GA planes for long stretches).

After age 50, I will have 400K of Army AF Mutual Aid 30 year term (good til 75) for $65 a month and a USAA 250K 20 year (age 65) for $30 a month. I will also double the USAA to 500K when I retire this year. Overall I am planning right how to have at least 900k of term insurance in place for the next 20 years and at least 400k after that for a total cost of 42K til age 65. Price out some whole life now and see how that compares or VGLI. But again you gotta be able to get the best rates. USAA pricing has never been outstanding but they have some beneficial riders that have applied to my family situation that make some of their policies workable.

SBP--been watching this since the academy and I just can't find any product that will provide the inflation protection of this product. For my large family and still growing retirement nest egg, I want to know that my wife will not have to work to raise the family and can enjoy her health as long as it lasts. To have the same confidence with another product I've gotta go high like 2 Million term or hope I live long enough to put more away in the next 20 years and buy some whole life now to fill the gap--very expensive.

For me--no question SBP. When my parents passed a few years ago, I remember getting a 5k insurance policy payout that my mom had purchased in the 1950s--didn't put a dent in the settling of her estate. If I die this year, my wife could get inflation adjusted income for the next 50 plus years. IMO you can't guarantee this anywhere else for 250 a month. This also gives me the flexibility to cancel my term insurance when my family matures and I reach a more comfortable retirement nest egg. My airline job will also give me the chance to adjust this planning based on their life insurance products and costs. I can also reprice everything to a 28 year term policy this year since my health is still good but now I will have to check AIRLINE PILOT so not sure what that does to AAFMA and USAA rates.