Originally Posted by
Sputnik
I really think it comes down to individual tolerance, no one size fits all answer. Though I agree whole life sucks.
That's really what it comes down to, yes. From another angle, consider that actuarial tables typically show a retiring military officer outliving their spouse by a year or two. Would that change your calculus.
Another fun exercise: take half of the calculated SBP payment and shop around for a term policy. Then take the other half and invest. What's the size of the egg at the end of the term policy? Probably enough to float it's own annuity structure from there on out.
Exercise two: if the military spouse is a working professional, then its a no brainer. SBP made sense for the homemaker, but that premium invested for just 10 years is enough to crush the original return. Assuming you live that long and you two can afford it.