Who knows what the future may bring? What if the worst happens and you should die? The death benefit of permanent life insurance provides an income resource for your beneficiaries. It's a safety net that will help those who depend on you meet life's eventualities.

But what if you live to a ripe old age? Your permanent life insurance can serve your needs throughout your whole life. Meet the Youngs, a typical middle-class American family, who will help illustrate the point.

The Youngs are 28-year olds who are planning to have their first baby. They are buying permanent life insurance for the typical reasons in case of their untimely death: to cover funeral expenses, to provide income to a younger spouse, to pay off a probably fairly substantial mortgage, and perhaps help with college tuition when the time comes.

By the time the Youngs have reached 45, many of those needs have changed. The "starting out" years are behind them, and their income has grown. The children have been through the expenses of orthodontia, family vacations, music lessons, camps, and sports.

Yet five years ago the family moved into a larger house so the mortgage is still relatively new, and now the family has two students going off to college. Tuition per student is $28,000 a year. Life has changed, but the need for income protection has not.

While the Youngs thought that paying for education would be behind them by now, they were wrong. One child took six years to earn a degree, and the second child has started law school.

What's more, the news is full of reports that describe how medical advances have extended life expectancy. At 55, a great many people can look forward to living another 30 years — with a good chance at an even longer life. The need for income protection hasn't disappeared.

The Youngs paid off their education bills in their 60s, and they bought another house. Now Mr. and Mrs. Young are retired. They still have a mortgage, but both are healthy, and expect to live well into their 80s. They are living on Social Security, their pensions, and their investments. They need all three incomes to support their lifestyle.

Mr. Young dies at age 85, leaving behind some medical expenses. It looks as though Mrs. Young may well live another decade, so she still needs an income to help pay Mr. Young's medical bills as well as her own medical expenses — along with services that she can no longer manage herself.

Her needs have changed once again, so she is grateful to have the income from Mr. Young's permanent life insurance policy. When Mrs. Young dies, she hopes that her death benefit will help pay for her grandchildren's education.

The Youngs are a pretty typical modern couple, and their story shows how permanent life insurance continues to protect income needs throughout life in the 21^st century.

Our grandparents tended to buy one house and celebrated with mortgage-burning parties when they paid it off. The modern couple will buy several houses in their lifetime — each is likely to be larger than the last, with a larger mortgage payment to match its larger value. For many Americans, mortgages are becoming a lifetime payment.

People are living longer. Knowing a death benefit will provide a secure income for the remaining spouse can be a tremendous benefit.

As decades pass and circumstances change, your need for life insurance changes. Contact your Northwestern Mutual Financial Network representative either to review your current policy or to find out how permanent life insurance can serve your needs throughout your whole life.