For a young worker who receives average earnings, a spouse, and two children, we’re talking about a life insurance policy with a face value of almost $852,000 in 2021, according to Social Security’s documents.

Around 90% of people who are between 21 and 64 and worked in covered employment in 2022 were also insured through Social Security, with some cases of severe disability.

Also, it’s worth noting that the risk of disability or premature death is higher than most people realize. No less than 8% of recent entrants to the labor force might die before reaching their full retirement age, and many others will become disabled.