Why This Matters

This research expands the story of wealth transfer among Black families. This brief illustrates the significant amount of life insurance coverage held among senior Black families, in aggregate and compared with senior white families. But amid broader wealth deficits compared with senior white families, this brief offers key steps that industry and policy stakeholders can take to support senior Black families’ wealth preservation needs.

What We Found

The coverage amounts associated with life insurance policies are not traditionally included in asset holding measures. Life insurance coverage is typically excluded from such measures because it is not available for the policyholder’s use. But the coverage amount is a source of capital that is available to the policy’s beneficiaries. Excluding life insurance coverage from wealth measures masks a source of transferable capital.

In contrast to other key assets such as a home, car or retirement account, senior Black families are more likely than senior white families to have a life insurance policy. And when the amount of coverage from life insurance policies owned by senior Black families is included in the total value of assets they own, it accounts for 16 percent, second to total home value among these families.

How We Did It

We used the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances to analyze data on life insurance and explored families considered baby boomers or older as defined by Pew.