Part of our guide: Disability Income Insurance: Solutions, Tools and Guides →
Clients understand disability insurance better when it’s framed as a choice they’d make themselves. This simple scenario does exactly that.
Key takeaways
- Offer A: $100,000 a year, but you carry the full risk of losing income to disability.
- Offer B: $98,000 a year plus a $65,000 annual benefit if you can’t work because of illness or injury.
- At 35, lifetime earnings with 3% raises could exceed $5 million; the protection in Offer B could be worth about $2 million.
Would you give up $2,000 a year in salary to protect $5 million in future earnings? Most clients say yes immediately.
The scenario
Imagine you’re the primary earner for your family, and you have two job offers:
- Offer A: $100,000 a year. If you become disabled, you’re on your own. At age 35, with 3% annual raises, your future earnings through age 67 could exceed $5 million.
- Offer B: $98,000 a year, plus a guaranteed $65,000 annual benefit if a long-term illness or injury keeps you from working. If you were disabled at 35 and never returned to work, those benefits could total about $2 million.
Why it works
Almost everyone picks Offer B. The scenario shows that disability insurance is simply trading a small amount of income for protection of the rest. Social Security estimates just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled before full retirement age. See four misconceptions about disability.
The advisor’s job
Educate clients about the risk, then give them the chance to decide whether to transfer it to an insurance company. Tens of millions of working Americans have no individual disability coverage, and most were never asked.
Frequently asked questions
How much are my future earnings worth?
A 35-year-old earning $100,000 with 3% annual raises would earn more than $5 million by age 67.
What does disability insurance cost compared to income?
Many advisors target premiums of about 1–3% of income, similar to the trade-off in this scenario.
Why use a job offer scenario to explain disability insurance?
It frames coverage as a simple trade-off clients would make themselves, rather than a sales pitch.
Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-25
Tim Fuller
President, SRS Inc.
Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency), connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners.
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