A few weeks back, we published a piece on the $50,000 opportunity seniors in the United States were missing out on. The post revealed that 250,000 Americans over age 65 lapse their life insurance policies every year, forfeiting an average of $51,300 each. We wanted to use this information and conduct a study at the county level, sampling the 100 counties in America with the highest percentage of residents over 65.
We chose the oldest counties to determine where the most money was being forfeited per capita. Broadly speaking the older a policyholder is, the more likely they are to be eligible to sell their life insurance party on the secondary market. The study found that across the country, millions of retirees were missing out on cash that could significantly increase their financial security. Through a life settlement, a policyholder can sell their life insurance to a third party for cash that can be used for retirement savings, help pay for long-term care, or any other needs.
Unfortunately, more than 80% of retirees are unaware of the option to sell a life insurance policy.
We hope the information provided by this study will further public awareness and knowledge of life settlements and help people across America achieve their retirement dreams.
See if your county is on the list!
The results start with the highest proportion of residents over 65:
| County | State | Population | Population over 65 | Money Forfeited Annually by Lapsing on Policies* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter County | Florida | 93,420 | 40,530 | $11,454,100 |
| La Paz County | Arizona | 20,489 | 6,683 | $1,888,673 |
| Charlotte County | Florida | 159,978 | 54,599 | $15,430,152 |
| Alcona County | Michigan | 10,942 | 3,441 | $972,456 |
| Citrus County | Florida | 141,236 | 45,041 | $12,728,978 |
| Llano County | Texas | 19,301 | 6,002 | $1,696,217 |
| Northumberland County | Virginia | 12,330 | 3,713 | $1,049,326 |
| Highlands County | Florida | 98,786 | 31,822 | $8,993,173 |
| Hickory County | Missouri | 9,627 | 2,846 | $804,304 |
| Catron County | New Mexico | 3,725 | 1,041 | $294,195 |
| Sierra County | New Mexico | 11,988 | 3,674 | $1,038,304 |
| McMullen County | Texas | 707 | 187 | $52,847 |
| Wheeler County | Oregon | 1,441 | 420 | $118,695 |
| Towns County | Georgia | 10,471 | 3,061 | $865,065 |
| Sheridan County | North Dakota | 1,321 | 396 | $111,913 |
| Lancaster County | Virginia | 11,391 | 3,554 | $1,004,391 |
| Sarasota County | Florida | 379,448 | 118,227 | $33,411,978 |
| Roscommon County | Michigan | 24,449 | 6,849 | $1,935,586 |
| Esmeralda County | Nevada | 783 | 202 | $57,086 |
| Baxter County | Arkansas | 41,513 | 11,659 | $3,294,934 |
| Aitkin County | Minnesota | 16,202 | 4,413 | $1,247,152 |
| Benton County | Missouri | 19,056 | 4,936 | $1,394,956 |
| Curry County | Oregon | 22,364 | 6,261 | $1,769,413 |
| Real County | Texas | 3,309 | 853 | $241,065 |
| McIntosh County | North Dakota | 2,809 | 954 | $269,608 |
| Union County | Georgia | 21,356 | 5,675 | $1,603,804 |
| Sabine County | Texas | 10,834 | 2,901 | $819,847 |
| Cumberland County | Tennessee | 56,053 | 14,553 | $4,112,804 |
| Ontonagon County | Michigan | 6,780 | 1,787 | $505,021 |
| Jefferson County | Washington | 29,872 | 7,842 | $2,216,217 |
| Wahkiakum County | Washington | 3,978 | 1,015 | $286,847 |
| Keweenaw County | Michigan | 2,156 | 518 | $146,391 |
| Montmorency County | Michigan | 9,765 | 2,637 | $745,239 |
| McCormick County | South Carolina | 10,233 | 1,449 | $409,500 |
| Stone County | Missouri | 32,202 | 7,870 | $2,224,130 |
| Motley County | Texas | 1,210 | 328 | $92,695 |
| Jewell County | Kansas | 3,077 | 863 | $243,891 |
| Iosco County | Michigan | 25,887 | 6,755 | $1,909,021 |
| Collier County | Florida | 321,520 | 84,951 | $24,007,891 |
| Mathews County | Virginia | 8,978 | 2,290 | $647,173 |
| Nye County | Nevada | 43,946 | 10,301 | $2,911,152 |
| Coke County | Texas | 3,320 | 862 | $243,608 |
| Granite County | Montana | 3,079 | 753 | $212,804 |
| Mineral County | Colorado | 712 | 164 | $46,347 |
| Vilas County | Wisconsin | 21,430 | 5,556 | $1,570,173 |
| Harding County | New Mexico | 695 | 203 | $57,369 |
| Marion County | Florida | 331,298 | 85,318 | $24,111,608 |
| Aransas County | Texas | 23,158 | 5,602 | $1,583,173 |
| McPherson County | South Dakota | 2,459 | 733 | $207,152 |
| Marion County | Arkansas | 16,653 | 3,964 | $1,120,260 |
| Custer County | Colorado | 4,255 | 954 | $269,608 |
| Middlesex County | Virginia | 10,959 | 2,760 | $780,000 |
| Lake County | Michigan | 11,539 | 2,736 | $773,217 |
| Wood County | Texas | 41,964 | 10,148 | $2,867,913 |
| Wells County | North Dakota | 4,207 | 1,221 | $345,065 |
| Pacific County | Washington | 20,920 | 5,183 | $1,464,760 |
| Transylvania County | North Carolina | 33,090 | 8,539 | $2,413,195 |
| Martin County | Florida | 146,318 | 39,972 | $11,296,434 |
| Flagler County | Florida | 95,696 | 23,405 | $6,614,456 |
| Highland County | Virginia | 2,321 | 579 | $163,630 |
| Menard County | Texas | 2,242 | 602 | $170,130 |
| Ozark County | Missouri | 9,723 | 2,279 | $644,065 |
| Garden County | Nebraska | 2,057 | 560 | $158,260 |
| Hernando County | Florida | 172,778 | 44,523 | $12,582,586 |
| Logan County | North Dakota | 1,990 | 557 | $157,413 |
| Jeff Davis County | Texas | 2,342 | 543 | $153,456 |
| Mohave County | Arizona | 200,186 | 46,658 | $13,185,956 |
| Indian River County | Florida | 138,028 | 37,504 | $10,598,956 |
| Presque Isle County | Michigan | 13,376 | 3,498 | $988,565 |
| Adams County | Wisconsin | 20,875 | 4,899 | $1,384,500 |
| Oscoda County | Michigan | 8,640 | 2,034 | $574,826 |
| Keya Paha County | Nebraska | 824 | 211 | $59,630 |
| Mason County | Texas | 4,012 | 979 | $276,673 |
| Huerfano County | Colorado | 6,711 | 1,689 | $477,326 |
| Graham County | Kansas | 2,597 | 666 | $188,217 |
| Costilla County | Colorado | 3,524 | 807 | $228,065 |
| Burnett County | Wisconsin | 15,457 | 3,569 | $1,008,630 |
| Kinney County | Texas | 3,598 | 874 | $247,000 |
| Gillespie County | Texas | 24,837 | 6,586 | $1,861,260 |
| Yavapai County | Arizona | 211,033 | 50,767 | $14,347,195 |
| Garfield County | Nebraska | 2,049 | 555 | $156,847 |
| Gila County | Arizona | 53,597 | 12,450 | $3,518,478 |
| Throckmorton County | Texas | 1,641 | 403 | $113,891 |
| Grant County | North Dakota | 2,394 | 645 | $182,282 |
| Pickett County | Tennessee | 5,077 | 1,140 | $322,173 |
| Sharp County | Arkansas | 17,264 | 4,134 | $1,168,304 |
| Baylor County | Texas | 3,726 | 935 | $264,239 |
| San Juan County | Washington | 15,769 | 3,657 | $1,033,500 |
| Lake County | Florida | 297,052 | 71,825 | $20,298,369 |
| Macon County | North Carolina | 33,922 | 8,069 | $2,280,369 |
| Mineral County | Montana | 4,223 | 926 | $261,695 |
| Cleburne County | Arkansas | 25,970 | 6,118 | $1,729,000 |
| Cherokee County | North Carolina | 27,444 | 6,284 | $1,775,913 |
| Cottle County | Texas | 1,505 | 358 | $101,173 |
| Lincoln County | New Mexico | 20,497 | 4,505 | $1,273,152 |
| Izard County | Arkansas | 13,696 | 3,229 | $912,543 |
| Brunswick County | North Carolina | 107,431 | 23,026 | $6,507,347 |
| Camden County | Missouri | 44,002 | 9,534 | $2,694,391 |
| Gladwin County | Michigan | 25,692 | 5,853 | $1,654,108 |
| Prairie County | Montana | 1,179 | 307 | $86,760 |
You may have noticed from the data that Florida, the Great Lakes, Southwest, and the Ozarks have disproportionately high representation on this list. This is due to the large retirement population in these regions but also represents an opportunity for a public education initiative.
It is also important to note that these values are only for one year, and the values over the course of a decade or generation would be staggering. Additionally, the figures represent the amount of money forfeited by the entire county, not individuals.
The results were determined by assuming an equal distribution of life insurance policies across the United States. There are 46,000,000 people over 65 in America who forfeit a combined $13 billion. Using this figure along with US census data for every county, we were able to calculate the estimated proportion of the $13 billion forfeited in each county. For this reason, the numbers in the far right column are an educated estimate.
To learn more about life settlements check out our life settlements overview.