Age brings with it a number of new concerns, one of which is protecting your finances. And one of the most alarming threats many seniors face is identity theft.
Even the most conscientious person can have their information stolen, and seniors are often targeted by scammers because of their retirement savings and good credit. They’re also usually socially isolated from other people who can give them advice.
If you're looking for the best protection plan for seniors, LifeLock by Norton is one available option. But how much does a LifeLock plan cost for seniors? Is it worth the price?
To help you in your decision-making, we've put together a comprehensive guide on the LifeLock cost for seniors. We'll cover the features of this service, how it works, and what you can expect to pay. We've tried the product, and we'll give you our honest opinion on whether or not we think it's a good investment for seniors.
Don't skip any part of this article because we'll also give you an insider tip on what to look for in a good identity theft protection service and how you can get the best plan for your needs.
Which LifeLock Plan Is Best for Seniors?
LifeLock is one of the most popular providers of identity theft protection plans. It's no surprise that you'll hear or read about their services a lot.
The company has been in the business for years, and they're one of the most trusted names when it comes to this type of service.
The company offers three different plans:
- LifeLock Standard
- LifeLock Advantage
- LifeLock Ultimate Plus.
All three plans come with a variety of features that are designed to protect individuals from different threats to their identity and finances.
In terms of the cost of LifeLock plans, it ranges from $8.99 to $23.99 per month for individual plans.
You might think you're getting an awesome deal when you see the $8.99 per month price tag.
But before you click the buy button, you should know that the entry-level plan doesn’t have the features for senior protection that the other two plans have.
So which LifeLock plan should seniors get? How much does a LifeLock Plan for seniors cost?
If you're looking to get a LifeLock plan, you should get the LifeLock Ultimate Plus for individuals at $23.99 per month.
If you're getting it with a partner, the LifeLock Ultimate Plus for Family at $39.99 per month for two adults can save you a few bucks.
The prices stated above are the prices shown on the LifeLock website as of writing this article. What we did not like, however, is that these prices are only valid for the first year.
In the second year, if you decide to renew, the cost of the LifeLock Ultimate Plus for individuals will go up to $34.99 per month.
LifeLock Ultimate Plus: Features for Seniors
If you're a senior looking to get an identity protection plan from LifeLock, we believe that the only plan you should consider is the LifeLock Ultimate Plus.
This is the most comprehensive plan the company offers, and it has many features specifically designed to protect seniors from identity theft.
Don't get us wrong, all three LifeLock plans offer basic identity theft protection. The three plans all offer features like:
- Identity & Social Security Number alerts
- Stolen wallet protection
- Credit bureau monitoring
- Dark web monitoring
- U.S.-based identity restoration specialists
- USPS address change verification
- ID verification monitoring
- Data breach notifications
What sets the LifeLock Ultimate Plus apart is that it has added features that can benefit older adults. Some features that we found particularly helpful for seniors available only in the Ultimate Plus plan are the following:
- 401K & Investment Account Activity Alerts
- Home Title Monitoring
- 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
- Bank Account Takeover Alerts
- Checking & Savings Account Application Alerts
- $1 Million Protection Package
You might be wondering why these features are important. Is it not enough to get the basic LifeLock plan? In the following section, we'll discuss the features in more detail and explain why we think they're important for seniors.
401K & Investment Account Activity Alerts
A 401K is a retirement savings plan that's offered by many employers. It allows employees to save for retirement while getting tax benefits. Because this is a retirement account, it often has a lot of money in it.
For seniors, having their 401K accounts monitored is important because it's one of the most common ways that older adults are targeted by scammers.
You don't want to find out that all your savings after a lifetime of work have been taken by someone who hacked into your account.
The same goes for investment accounts. Many seniors have these accounts so that they can have extra money to live on during retirement. These accounts are also a target for scammers, so it's important to have them monitored as well.
We found that this feature, however, is only available in LifeLock Ultimate Plus. The cheaper plans do not offer this level of protection for seniors.
Home Title Monitoring
Another feature that the LifeLock Ultimate Plus has that the other LifeLock plans do not offer is Home Title Monitoring.
We think this is an important feature for seniors because many of them own their homes outright.
What this feature does is it monitors public records to make sure that there are no changes made to the title of your home without your knowledge.
This is important because if someone were to change the title of your home, they could then sell it or take out a loan using your home as collateral.
3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
The LifeLock Ultimate Plus also offers 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring. This is a step up from the one-bureau credit monitoring that's offered in the other two plans.
What this does is it monitors your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus which are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This is important because it gives you a more complete picture of your credit history.
It's also important to note that each bureau uses a different scoring system. So, by monitoring all three, you're more likely to catch any inaccuracies in your report.
Bank Account Takeover Alerts and Checking & Savings Account Application Alerts
This is another feature that's only available in the LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan. This feature monitors your bank accounts and alerts you if there is any unusual or suspicious activity.
For seniors, this is important because many of them have their retirement savings in their bank accounts. They need to know if someone is trying to access their account or if there are any unauthorized transactions.
This feature is also important because seniors are often targeted by scammers who try to get them to transfer their money to a new account. By having this alert, you can catch these scammers before they're able to get your money.
$1 Million Protection Package
At first glance, we thought that all three LifeLock plans offered a Million Dollar Protection package.
This is an insurance plan that many identity theft providers offer to their clients that covers them if they become victims of identity theft.
However, upon closer inspection, we found that the two cheaper plans do not really cover all types of protection up to 1 Million U.S. Dollars. How is this so? Let's break down the package.
The LifeLock Million Dollar Protection Package is composed of 3 items:
- Stolen Funds Reimbursement – this covers you if you have money stolen from your bank account.
- Personal Expense Compensation – this covers you if you have to spend money to restore your identity or accounts
- Lawyers and Experts Coverage – this covers all associated fees in order to help you restore your identity
For all 3 plans, LifeLock offers up to $1 million for the Lawyers and Experts Coverage. However, when it comes to Stolen Funds Reimbursement and Personal Expense Compensation, only LifeLock Ultimate Plus will guarantee up to $1 million when it comes to stolen funds and personal expense reimbursement.
Why is this important? When it comes to identity theft, one of the biggest risks is when a scammer tries to steal money from your bank account or use your credit card. This means that it's quite important that your insurance policy covers you for this extensively.
LifeLock Standard only covers up to $25,000 for stolen funds and personal expense reimbursement while LifeLock Advantage will only cover up to $100,000. This is a big difference compared to the LifeLock Ultimate Plus, which covers up to $1 million.
LifeLock Ultimate Plus Pros and Cons
Now that we finished detailing the features for seniors that LifeLock Ultimate Plus offers, let's discuss whether this is actually a plan worth getting. To do this, let's list the pros and cons of this plan.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| LifeLock is a trusted name in identity theft protection | For seniors, the only option is the most expensive plan to get relevant features |
| The plan offers comprehensive features | The price is on the higher side and goes up in the second year |
| The features for seniors, like 401K monitoring, bank account alerts, and the million-dollar protection package, are very useful | There may be cheaper alternatives offering similar features |
Alternatives to LifeLock Ultimate Plus
if you're not dead set on LifeLock, perhaps you're wondering if there are other alternatives you can look at. The answer is yes, there are other ID Theft protection plans that offer mostly the same features.
The first one we'll recommend for you to look at is the Allstate Identity Protection Premiere plan for individuals.
This plan will cost you $17.99 per month and has similar features offered by LifeLock, including 401k monitoring. If you want to get a family plan, Allstate's Premiere family plan allows up to 10 family members at only $34.99 per month.
But there are also downsides to this Allstate plan. First, it will only guarantee up to $50,000 for stolen funds reimbursement, it does not offer 3-Bureau credit monitoring, and does not have home title monitoring.
While LifeLock is more comprehensive, the advantage of Allstate Identity Protection Premiere is the price. Especially if you decide to renew for the second year, the price is only half of LifeLock's Ultimate Plus plan.
Another alternative is the ID Watchdog Premium plan for individuals. This plan also has similar features offered by LifeLock and it will cost you $21.95 per month. For a family plan, your monthly fee will be $34.95 per month for 2 adults and 4 children below 26 years old.
While ID Watchdog's plan is more expensive than Allstate's Premiere plan, what we liked about ID Watchdog Premium is that it also offers up to $1 million in stolen funds reimbursement and 3-Bureau credit monitoring offered by LifeLock. Plus, the price does not go up in the second year.
PRO TIP:
Make sure that your ID Theft protection plan offers stolen funds reimbursement! The limit should be more than what you have in your accounts. For instance, if you have $50,000 in your savings accounts, your insurance coverage for stolen funds should be much higher than that!
Conclusion: Is LifeLock Ultimate Plus Worth the Price?
After trying out and comparing LifeLock's Ultimate Plus Plan, we can say that it does offer comprehensive features for seniors. It's a plan that has everything you could think about when it comes to identity theft protection. However, this also comes at a price and it's one of the most expensive plans out there.
So if you're a senior and you're looking for an ID Theft Protection plan with the most comprehensive features, then LifeLock Ultimate Plus is the way to go. This plan will be worth the price especially if you have extensive savings and investments that you need to protect.
However, the price may not be justifiable for some seniors. If you're on a budget, there are other cheaper alternatives that also offer great features. But in the end, it will still come down to your needs and preferences.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
