The OBAMACARE Healthcare.gov site continues to be loaded with glitches. On Fri I spent 3 hours working with a client. We got booted off the system 3 times and was finally able to complete a registration for an account. However the site never allowed us to select a plan and order insurance. We eventually had to call the 800 number to select a plan. Even when we were on the 800 line they were unable to get payment instructions or provide a policy number.
Then Tuesday while working with another client we got his family registered for an account but he wanted to speak with his wife before selecting one of the 2 plans I recommended after looking all the selections and discussing the plan features. When they talked he signed back in to the OBAMACARE site only to find out that they had deleted the registration we had spent over an hour setting up earlier in the day!!
Then today in the paper there was an article about OBMACARE subsidy eligibility. Remember in earlier correspondence we discussed the legal challenges to OBAMACARE due to offering subsidies to families buying from the Federal Exchange or Marketplace. Remember that the laws stated that subsidies were only available for those who bought insurance from a STATE Exchange. That flaw in wording technically ruled out subsidies for those buying insurance from the Federally Facilitated Exchange or FFM. Well any way the courts ruled that all states with FFE or FFM as well as the states with a STATE Exchange are able to offer subsidy in spite of the poorly crafted bill. Another bullet dodged by OBAMACARE. Now if only they can get the stinking website to work!!!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
What are the most common reasons used for not buying Long Term Care Insurance
Today I want to list some of the most common EXCUSES for not buying LTC insurance
Frankly that is exactly what they are. By not planning for your LTC needs by default you get the government plan for LTC. If you truly understand that this is a fact you would not use any of these excuses!!!
A, It wont happen to me!
B, If I don't use it I loose the money!
C, It is to expensive!
D, I will just self insure!
E, I am to young to buy it!
F My Health insurance plan, Medicare or Medicaid pays for LTC
Please give me your ranking in order of priority numbers 1-6 with 1 being the highest valued answer in your mind!
Now for some TRUTH about the above items A-F
A If you take 2 couples or four adults the truth is at least two out of the four will need LTC!
B Yes sometimes that is true but there are several products available that eliminate that risk!! Call to arrange a meeting to learn how to avoid that risk!
C The cost is actually modest if you consider the risk and if you buy the policy early enough!
D How much money does it really take to self insure. Some people truly are able to self insure but the funny thing is that most of them go ahead and buy LTC Insurance because it is a SMARTER use of their resources. In reality most of the people who want to self insure do not have enough assets protected from market risk to be able to Self Insure!
E The only protection from being medically uninsurable is to buy it while you still think you are to young to buy it. Every year you delay you just increase the costs for the premiums!
F Only about 10- 12 percent have LTC Coverage today. Your Major Medical Plan does not pay for LTC, Medicare Does not pay for LTC, and Medicaid only pays after you and your family are destitute. Is this a situation you want to leave for you or your loved ones?
Talk to a licensed professional to develop a LTC plan!
Frankly that is exactly what they are. By not planning for your LTC needs by default you get the government plan for LTC. If you truly understand that this is a fact you would not use any of these excuses!!!
A, It wont happen to me!
B, If I don't use it I loose the money!
C, It is to expensive!
D, I will just self insure!
E, I am to young to buy it!
F My Health insurance plan, Medicare or Medicaid pays for LTC
Please give me your ranking in order of priority numbers 1-6 with 1 being the highest valued answer in your mind!
Now for some TRUTH about the above items A-F
A If you take 2 couples or four adults the truth is at least two out of the four will need LTC!
B Yes sometimes that is true but there are several products available that eliminate that risk!! Call to arrange a meeting to learn how to avoid that risk!
C The cost is actually modest if you consider the risk and if you buy the policy early enough!
D How much money does it really take to self insure. Some people truly are able to self insure but the funny thing is that most of them go ahead and buy LTC Insurance because it is a SMARTER use of their resources. In reality most of the people who want to self insure do not have enough assets protected from market risk to be able to Self Insure!
E The only protection from being medically uninsurable is to buy it while you still think you are to young to buy it. Every year you delay you just increase the costs for the premiums!
F Only about 10- 12 percent have LTC Coverage today. Your Major Medical Plan does not pay for LTC, Medicare Does not pay for LTC, and Medicaid only pays after you and your family are destitute. Is this a situation you want to leave for you or your loved ones?
Talk to a licensed professional to develop a LTC plan!
Friday, November 22, 2013
What is a SAFE Withdrawal Rate in Retirement?
This question comes up a lot. It is critically important for 2 primary reasons. First if you take out too much you will run out of assets before you run out of Life. Second if you don't know what you can spend each year how do you know what income you will have in retirement!
Many people and most Financial Advisors are familiar with "The 4% Rule." Everyone should be!
It states that you should be able to withdraw 4% of your assets each year in retirement and Usually have your assets last as long as you live. Note that I said usually! You do not want to be an outlier who falls into the category of retirees who fail to have their assets last! What can you do to prevent it? I encourage my clients to use a withdrawal rate of less than 4% when working with their self managed money. There are products that offer a guaranteed rate of withdrawal higher than 4% and we can discuss those later.
A recent article published in Financial Planning was titled " A Safer withdrawal rate using various returns distributions" The conclusions stated that a safer withdrawal rate for todays environment is only 2.52%. Their work indicated that the more common 4% number fails almost 18% of the time. That conclusion says that 1 in 5 will die destitute if they don't adjust there spending or use other strategies besides self managing their retirement assets. Protection from that risk requires the use of some SAFE Money Strategies for some significant portion of your assets.
Only 3 thing can guarantee you a lifetime of income. Social Security (if the government stops stealing from SS funds), an ADEQUATELY funded private pension, or a properly funded designed and guaranteed life insurance product. Notice Stocks bonds mutual funds are not on this list because of Market Risk. They cannot guarantee you a value tomorrow never mind a value 20-30 years from now. Never Forget 2001, 2008-2009! It can happen again! On average you get negative returns 2-3 year out of 10. Look at the graphs for Stock Market Historical performance. If you doubt there is risk answer these questions.
What is the true unemployment rate today? You need to adjust the official numbers for those who quit looking! A more meaningful number is the % of working age adults actually working!
Is the Federal and state government controlling their spending?
Is the Deficit increasing?
Is Obamacare inflationary?
Is the real cost of goods and services you need to live on increasing?
Many people and most Financial Advisors are familiar with "The 4% Rule." Everyone should be!
It states that you should be able to withdraw 4% of your assets each year in retirement and Usually have your assets last as long as you live. Note that I said usually! You do not want to be an outlier who falls into the category of retirees who fail to have their assets last! What can you do to prevent it? I encourage my clients to use a withdrawal rate of less than 4% when working with their self managed money. There are products that offer a guaranteed rate of withdrawal higher than 4% and we can discuss those later.
A recent article published in Financial Planning was titled " A Safer withdrawal rate using various returns distributions" The conclusions stated that a safer withdrawal rate for todays environment is only 2.52%. Their work indicated that the more common 4% number fails almost 18% of the time. That conclusion says that 1 in 5 will die destitute if they don't adjust there spending or use other strategies besides self managing their retirement assets. Protection from that risk requires the use of some SAFE Money Strategies for some significant portion of your assets.
Only 3 thing can guarantee you a lifetime of income. Social Security (if the government stops stealing from SS funds), an ADEQUATELY funded private pension, or a properly funded designed and guaranteed life insurance product. Notice Stocks bonds mutual funds are not on this list because of Market Risk. They cannot guarantee you a value tomorrow never mind a value 20-30 years from now. Never Forget 2001, 2008-2009! It can happen again! On average you get negative returns 2-3 year out of 10. Look at the graphs for Stock Market Historical performance. If you doubt there is risk answer these questions.
What is the true unemployment rate today? You need to adjust the official numbers for those who quit looking! A more meaningful number is the % of working age adults actually working!
Is the Federal and state government controlling their spending?
Is the Deficit increasing?
Is Obamacare inflationary?
Is the real cost of goods and services you need to live on increasing?
Friday, November 15, 2013
If you live in Ohio or Indiana and need Obamacare Health Insurance, check this out
I have completed OBAMACARE training and can offer the best products available from the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) or Exchange, or from the companies directly.
visit this website for help or information
http://hemahelp.com/broker/grainger/contact.html
visit this website for help or information
http://hemahelp.com/broker/grainger/contact.html
Savvy US individuals purchased over $17 Billion in 2013. What do they Know, that you don't?
Savvy individuals and investors purchased $17 B of one type of product this year. That represents almost 7% increase over last year. The investors did it to control risk, earn a decent rate of return and in many cases to guarantee lifetime income or at least guarantee income for a fixed period of time. How does that sound to you? How about Zero market risk! Is that important to you?
These products are offered by some of the strongest financial companies in the world. The companies I recommend did not lose money in 2001, 2008 or 2009. They did not require any government bailout! They actually made money in 2008-9. They are well positioned to weather the next market downturn which we all know will happen! We just can not say when.
These products work with both qualified and non qualified money. They work in ROTH and Traditional IRA accounts, SIMPLE Plans, SEP Plans or even within ROTH or Traditional 401K Plans that I run for my clients. They can be used in Trusts, can fund charitable contributions or work within estate plans.
These products are offered by some of the strongest financial companies in the world. The companies I recommend did not lose money in 2001, 2008 or 2009. They did not require any government bailout! They actually made money in 2008-9. They are well positioned to weather the next market downturn which we all know will happen! We just can not say when.
These products work with both qualified and non qualified money. They work in ROTH and Traditional IRA accounts, SIMPLE Plans, SEP Plans or even within ROTH or Traditional 401K Plans that I run for my clients. They can be used in Trusts, can fund charitable contributions or work within estate plans.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Did you know November is Long Term Care Month?
Yes, November is Long Term Care Month!
If you are in a room with only 4 adults how many of them will end up need Long Term Care (LTC)?
The answer is at least 2! I don't know who is going to need it but I know what percentage will need
it! That's over a 50% chance of needing LTC!
Do you own a house? Do you have homeowners insurance? Of course you do! Do you know that you only have about a 1 in 1200 chance of having a house fire? That's less than a 0.1% chance of a fire but you have protection against that risk.
Do you have auto insurance? About 98% of people have auto insurance. The risk of being in an accident is about 1 in 200 or 0.5%. But even with the low risk almost everyone insures the risk.
Why is that? It is because the risk of an event without the coverage is devastating to your financial health!
The risk of an uninsured LTC event is far more devastating than either of the two examples shown above. The average cost of a LTC event far exceeds the cost of replacing the average house! The average cost of a LTC event is 20 times the cost of a typical auto accident.
There are even products that protect those who are convinced it will not happen to them. If you never need it you get your money back!
If you are in a room with only 4 adults how many of them will end up need Long Term Care (LTC)?
The answer is at least 2! I don't know who is going to need it but I know what percentage will need
it! That's over a 50% chance of needing LTC!
Do you own a house? Do you have homeowners insurance? Of course you do! Do you know that you only have about a 1 in 1200 chance of having a house fire? That's less than a 0.1% chance of a fire but you have protection against that risk.
Do you have auto insurance? About 98% of people have auto insurance. The risk of being in an accident is about 1 in 200 or 0.5%. But even with the low risk almost everyone insures the risk.
Why is that? It is because the risk of an event without the coverage is devastating to your financial health!
The risk of an uninsured LTC event is far more devastating than either of the two examples shown above. The average cost of a LTC event far exceeds the cost of replacing the average house! The average cost of a LTC event is 20 times the cost of a typical auto accident.
There are even products that protect those who are convinced it will not happen to them. If you never need it you get your money back!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Why would anyone ever put up with earning only1.9%?
I was just reviewing Bank Rate.com and it showed a National Average 5 year CD rate of only 1.9%.
Why in the world would anyone want to park funds at a bank with a rate of 1.9%? Just think about it the average inflation rate over the last 5-10 years has been over 2.5-2.9%. That means in December you have lost money every year for parking money with your bank! Ouch! Your bank doesn't loose money they lend it out for anywhere between 3.9 - 19+%. Why should you loose money so the bank can make as much as17% per year on your assets.
Did you know that solid alternatives exist?
How about the following examples. I am going to mention just a few.
The only problem is that these rates might not last for ever. Don't Delay!
1) 5 year fixed rate guaranteed 3.25- 3.5% per year.
2) 8 year monthly income stream paying 6%
3) Insured High yield but variable rate 7 year product. Contractual low rate of 1.25% with an annual upside potential of up to 7 - 7.25%. If you get the maximum only 2 years out of 7 you get almost 2.8%, if you get the max 3 years out of 7 you earn almost 3.7% and if you earner the higher rate 6 years out of 7 you would earn over 44%. Compare that to the Bankrate.com national CD rate of 1.9% with a 5 year return of under10%. Which should you choose?
Call or email to learn more or to determine if these strategies makes sense for some of your assets!
Why in the world would anyone want to park funds at a bank with a rate of 1.9%? Just think about it the average inflation rate over the last 5-10 years has been over 2.5-2.9%. That means in December you have lost money every year for parking money with your bank! Ouch! Your bank doesn't loose money they lend it out for anywhere between 3.9 - 19+%. Why should you loose money so the bank can make as much as17% per year on your assets.
Did you know that solid alternatives exist?
How about the following examples. I am going to mention just a few.
The only problem is that these rates might not last for ever. Don't Delay!
1) 5 year fixed rate guaranteed 3.25- 3.5% per year.
2) 8 year monthly income stream paying 6%
3) Insured High yield but variable rate 7 year product. Contractual low rate of 1.25% with an annual upside potential of up to 7 - 7.25%. If you get the maximum only 2 years out of 7 you get almost 2.8%, if you get the max 3 years out of 7 you earn almost 3.7% and if you earner the higher rate 6 years out of 7 you would earn over 44%. Compare that to the Bankrate.com national CD rate of 1.9% with a 5 year return of under10%. Which should you choose?
Call or email to learn more or to determine if these strategies makes sense for some of your assets!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Congratulation the Award for the Worst Website Launch in Internet History is Awarded To ...
I can think of several world class awards we could give out. I'm trying to decide between an Academy Award and the Time Magazine Internet Man Of The Year. Unfortunately they would both be awarded to the same team. Five days into the OBAMACARE launch the stats looked like this 9.7 M attempted sign-ons to the website, followed by a whopping 36,000 American who managed to buy Obamacare insurance. Since then the government has not even been releasing statistics! Why not? So much for open government and public disclosure. I believe it was CBS that did a story on the fact that 2,000,000 Americans lost health insurance coverage either because their employers cut their hours for employees or just plain stopped offering insurance altogether!
Any half decent manager knows that if the product does not begin to be ready to release you Delay the launch. So why the disconnect?
Look at the numbers.
Admitted government spending on Obamacare website $300 Million
Probable real spending before rollout estimates $600 Million
Estimate for the total cost to write, correct and repair $1 Billion
What did we get for that $1 Billion?
Any half decent manager knows that if the product does not begin to be ready to release you Delay the launch. So why the disconnect?
Look at the numbers.
Admitted government spending on Obamacare website $300 Million
Probable real spending before rollout estimates $600 Million
Estimate for the total cost to write, correct and repair $1 Billion
What did we get for that $1 Billion?
Insurance , Where Does It Fit In?
Did you know that approximately 30% of Americans do not have Life insurance!
Did you also know that 50% of Americans know that they need to buy more life insurance!
Everyone should think about the following questions. I would love to see some replies or comments on line here on the blog or offline! Help for most of you is available!
1) What is your personal situation?
2) Do you have life insurance?
3) Do you have Life Insurance that isn't tied to your Employment?
4) Why does that matter?
5) Do you have enough insurance?
6) If you do not have life insurance what is your excuse?
If you have a spouse or dependents almost everyone needs to have life insurance!
People with a non working spouse or families with young children need the most death benefit. Even people nearing retirement often need insurance and Often buy it even though it is much more expensive at older ages! As we age sometimes we need different types of coverage or even different amounts.
Why does it matter if your insurance is tied to work? See the comments in the Blog post from October 23, 2013 for a discussion of employee life insurance!
Do you have enough life insurance? See the blog post from October 23, 2013 for a discussion about how to determine if you have enough insurance. Use the worksheet or call to discuss.
If you are uninsured because you waited to long to buy protection there is still hope. Call to discuss your specific situation.
Remember Life insurance serves two primary functions it offers protection against the "What If ..." scenario, and it helps anticipate and cover the "When I..." scenario. Can you figure out the What if and When I scenario.
Did you also know that 50% of Americans know that they need to buy more life insurance!
Everyone should think about the following questions. I would love to see some replies or comments on line here on the blog or offline! Help for most of you is available!
1) What is your personal situation?
2) Do you have life insurance?
3) Do you have Life Insurance that isn't tied to your Employment?
4) Why does that matter?
5) Do you have enough insurance?
6) If you do not have life insurance what is your excuse?
If you have a spouse or dependents almost everyone needs to have life insurance!
People with a non working spouse or families with young children need the most death benefit. Even people nearing retirement often need insurance and Often buy it even though it is much more expensive at older ages! As we age sometimes we need different types of coverage or even different amounts.
Why does it matter if your insurance is tied to work? See the comments in the Blog post from October 23, 2013 for a discussion of employee life insurance!
Do you have enough life insurance? See the blog post from October 23, 2013 for a discussion about how to determine if you have enough insurance. Use the worksheet or call to discuss.
If you are uninsured because you waited to long to buy protection there is still hope. Call to discuss your specific situation.
Remember Life insurance serves two primary functions it offers protection against the "What If ..." scenario, and it helps anticipate and cover the "When I..." scenario. Can you figure out the What if and When I scenario.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Where are our taxes going?
During the Obama presidency the federal deficit has basically doubled. We now have a federal deficit of over $17 Trillion that T not a B. You can not blame it on Iraq or Afganistan since those wars were well underway before he came into office and most of the expense is in the billions of dollars of equipment vehicles, building, arms, trucks, planes etc that were bought, built and transported to the battlefield most of which was already in country before Obama's election. You can not blame it all on the recession because if you believe Obama the recession is over and we are well into a recovery, or so he says. My reply to that claim is what recovery? So if its not the wars and its not the recession why have the federal deficits doubled since Obama took office? Its not the costs of OBAMACARE since the true inflationary costs of that program cannot yet have begun to be seen since the program doesn't really begin until next year! There really is only one answer and that is out of control spending beyond the tax income the government takes in!
So its our overspending without adequate tax revenue to offset the spending. Can we all basically agree on that? That brings us to the next question. If we are spending more than our revenue What impact will that have on future tax rates? Do you believe that the Congress and the president are going to balance the deficit in the next 10 years or so? I don't. So what do you think will happen to our tax rates over the next 10-25 years? The only logical answer is they are going to go up. If that is the case than it is even more important that we begin to plan for how to manage the taxes we will have to pay! Tax free or tax controlled income planning and tax free retirement products are therefore almost essential! We can help you with that!
So its our overspending without adequate tax revenue to offset the spending. Can we all basically agree on that? That brings us to the next question. If we are spending more than our revenue What impact will that have on future tax rates? Do you believe that the Congress and the president are going to balance the deficit in the next 10 years or so? I don't. So what do you think will happen to our tax rates over the next 10-25 years? The only logical answer is they are going to go up. If that is the case than it is even more important that we begin to plan for how to manage the taxes we will have to pay! Tax free or tax controlled income planning and tax free retirement products are therefore almost essential! We can help you with that!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
How Much Insurance do I need? Other great questions.
A client just asked me a number of questions about insurance.
Question 1) How much insurance do I need?
This is a great question. There are a number of ways to address this question. Some people use a ballpark approach , some use a multiple of 10-20 times incomes but there is a nice one page worksheet that can help you answer this question. Its called The D.I.M.E worksheet If you want to answer this critical question this worksheet will help you out. I can help with that!
D.I.M.E.
D. represents Death Benefit and Final Expenses
I. represents Income Replacement
M. represents Mortgage Payoff Amount
E. represents Education Expenses
The Sum of D.I.M.E. equals a reasonable estimate of your insurance need
Question 2) Since I have insurance at work why do I need more?
Almost 90% of work based insurance is Term Coverage. Workplace Term coverage has limitations.
If you retire, are disabled, quit or are terminated Worksite term is usually not portable. You leave you lose!! Your need for insurance doesn't stop just because you leave! I can provide Worksite Portable Life Insurance that you can keep. Ask me about how that works! So when you leave your ability to buy a replacement policy depends on you health and your age at that future date and time. If you can tell me when that happens or what your health will be then you might be able to say you do not need other insurance. If you cannot answer those questions than worksite insurance is not enough!! The typical 1.5 - 3 times salary is simply not enough! To get more you have to buy it and you should buy it from a professional who understands your real needs. You can't get that from a website! You only get that from a professional who works with you face to face.
Question 3) What is the right type of insurance for me?
Another great question. There are many types of insurance that fill specific needs. Only by sitting down with a professional who works with you to analyze all of your specific, assets, needs, debts, financial commitments is it possible to truly insure that your selected policy or policies truly meet your needs. I will tell you this. Most people have a complicated set of needs and in most cases one policy my not completely cover all of those needs. that's why insurance companies have created 6 or 7 different types of policies. How many do you need?
If you have a question that you would like to see answered please send me a question or get in touch for a one on one discussion!
Question 1) How much insurance do I need?
This is a great question. There are a number of ways to address this question. Some people use a ballpark approach , some use a multiple of 10-20 times incomes but there is a nice one page worksheet that can help you answer this question. Its called The D.I.M.E worksheet If you want to answer this critical question this worksheet will help you out. I can help with that!
D.I.M.E.
D. represents Death Benefit and Final Expenses
I. represents Income Replacement
M. represents Mortgage Payoff Amount
E. represents Education Expenses
The Sum of D.I.M.E. equals a reasonable estimate of your insurance need
Question 2) Since I have insurance at work why do I need more?
Almost 90% of work based insurance is Term Coverage. Workplace Term coverage has limitations.
If you retire, are disabled, quit or are terminated Worksite term is usually not portable. You leave you lose!! Your need for insurance doesn't stop just because you leave! I can provide Worksite Portable Life Insurance that you can keep. Ask me about how that works! So when you leave your ability to buy a replacement policy depends on you health and your age at that future date and time. If you can tell me when that happens or what your health will be then you might be able to say you do not need other insurance. If you cannot answer those questions than worksite insurance is not enough!! The typical 1.5 - 3 times salary is simply not enough! To get more you have to buy it and you should buy it from a professional who understands your real needs. You can't get that from a website! You only get that from a professional who works with you face to face.
Question 3) What is the right type of insurance for me?
Another great question. There are many types of insurance that fill specific needs. Only by sitting down with a professional who works with you to analyze all of your specific, assets, needs, debts, financial commitments is it possible to truly insure that your selected policy or policies truly meet your needs. I will tell you this. Most people have a complicated set of needs and in most cases one policy my not completely cover all of those needs. that's why insurance companies have created 6 or 7 different types of policies. How many do you need?
If you have a question that you would like to see answered please send me a question or get in touch for a one on one discussion!
What About Required Minimum Distributions (RMD's)? Any Alternatives?
Many people have assets in their retirement plans that they do not need to use for their retirement. They want to leave those dollars for a family legacy or a favorite charity. Unfortunately most Qualified plans include a requirement that the owner begin taking Required Minimum distributions begin when the reach age 70.5. The penalties for not taking the RMD are very severe and are designed to be Punitive in Nature. There are only a couple of ways to avoid these withdrawals or the Punative taxes. First you avoid that if your funds are within a ROTH IRA or A ROTH 401K account. But there is a way to avoid taking the withdrawal and avoids the taxable nature of the distribution. With Your Tax professional I can help you accomplish this. It involves a charitable contribution using some of your assets but does not increase your income or your income tax.
Lets assume that your retirement plan is large enough so you need to take a $20,000 withdrawal this year. If you don't take the withdrawal you tax penalty is $10 K. If you do take the Withdrawal your tax bill would be increased by $5 K assuming a 25% tax rate. That would leave you with $15 K after tax. By taking the withdrawal you might also find that you have been pushed into a higher tax bracket!! You may also find yourself caught with the new increases in taxes due to OBAMACARE. This may make it go from bad to worse. So in taking a distribution you did not want or need you will end up with maybe less than $10-15K. Lets say you have a favorite charity. If you gave them money here is an alternative scenario. The charity gets $20 K which is guaranteed to turn into no less than $21 K by the end of year one. You get no tax increase, you get no tax penalty, you are entitled to a tax deduction for your donation and you don't increase your income reducing your tax liability and not increasing the income subject to Medicare tax, or OBAMACARE Taxes. This is just one of a number of possible financial scenarios that you, your tax preparer and I can establish. This sounds like a WIN-WIN scenario!
If this is interesting to you lets talk.
Lets assume that your retirement plan is large enough so you need to take a $20,000 withdrawal this year. If you don't take the withdrawal you tax penalty is $10 K. If you do take the Withdrawal your tax bill would be increased by $5 K assuming a 25% tax rate. That would leave you with $15 K after tax. By taking the withdrawal you might also find that you have been pushed into a higher tax bracket!! You may also find yourself caught with the new increases in taxes due to OBAMACARE. This may make it go from bad to worse. So in taking a distribution you did not want or need you will end up with maybe less than $10-15K. Lets say you have a favorite charity. If you gave them money here is an alternative scenario. The charity gets $20 K which is guaranteed to turn into no less than $21 K by the end of year one. You get no tax increase, you get no tax penalty, you are entitled to a tax deduction for your donation and you don't increase your income reducing your tax liability and not increasing the income subject to Medicare tax, or OBAMACARE Taxes. This is just one of a number of possible financial scenarios that you, your tax preparer and I can establish. This sounds like a WIN-WIN scenario!
If this is interesting to you lets talk.
Monday, October 21, 2013
What is going on with OBAMACARE?
Here are some interesting figures on OBAMACARE week 1
Visitors to Healthcare.gov website 9.47 Million
Number of visitors to the Individual Marketplace 5.68 Million
Number who attempted to Register 3.72 Million
Number Who registered to set up account 1.01 Million
Number of people who managed to Log in 271 K
Number Who began enrollment 196 K
Number who completed Enrollment 36 K
Lets see about 1% of those who attempted to register actually we able to enroll
Like every BIG GOVERNMENT program the screw up and cost overruns are the Largest parts of the program cost.
In some ways progress is being made there are now somewhat close to 500K enrolled.
My question is how many of them had insurance through their companies before OBAMACARE became the law of the land?
Another key question is how many of the 9.47 million visitors have had their hours cut from full time to part time because of OBAMACARE?
How many of the new jobs created in the past year are really the result of Full time jobs with benefits being turned into 2 part time jobs without benefits?
Unfortunately no one is talking about these numbers!
Visitors to Healthcare.gov website 9.47 Million
Number of visitors to the Individual Marketplace 5.68 Million
Number who attempted to Register 3.72 Million
Number Who registered to set up account 1.01 Million
Number of people who managed to Log in 271 K
Number Who began enrollment 196 K
Number who completed Enrollment 36 K
Lets see about 1% of those who attempted to register actually we able to enroll
Like every BIG GOVERNMENT program the screw up and cost overruns are the Largest parts of the program cost.
In some ways progress is being made there are now somewhat close to 500K enrolled.
My question is how many of them had insurance through their companies before OBAMACARE became the law of the land?
Another key question is how many of the 9.47 million visitors have had their hours cut from full time to part time because of OBAMACARE?
How many of the new jobs created in the past year are really the result of Full time jobs with benefits being turned into 2 part time jobs without benefits?
Unfortunately no one is talking about these numbers!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Are you prepared for retirement Poll
Today I'd like to stare a retirement poll. Everyone is welcome to participate either through a comment here on the blog
or with a telephone vote #614-264-3864
or an email financial-services@live.com
I will compile the comments and votes and share them in a blog post
When It Comes To Being Ready For Retirement I feel that I am...
A) Right on Track
B) I was right on track until 2008-2009
C) May fall short on my income needs
D) Have no idea where to start or who to turn to
Knowing where you are going to finish at the end of the race requires knowing where you are at the start of the race. Today is the Start of your Retirement Race. Some of you still have an ultra marathon left, some have a regular marathon left, some have a 5K race and some of you only have a 100 meter dash left. Wherever you are in the race today everyone can use some help or at least a review.
If you were to retire today how much lifetime income would you be able to guarantee?
or with a telephone vote #614-264-3864
or an email financial-services@live.com
I will compile the comments and votes and share them in a blog post
When It Comes To Being Ready For Retirement I feel that I am...
A) Right on Track
B) I was right on track until 2008-2009
C) May fall short on my income needs
D) Have no idea where to start or who to turn to
Knowing where you are going to finish at the end of the race requires knowing where you are at the start of the race. Today is the Start of your Retirement Race. Some of you still have an ultra marathon left, some have a regular marathon left, some have a 5K race and some of you only have a 100 meter dash left. Wherever you are in the race today everyone can use some help or at least a review.
If you were to retire today how much lifetime income would you be able to guarantee?
Monday, October 14, 2013
A very interesting study about the american majority.
A study reported on Meet The Press indicated that the Majority of American voters DO NOT favor or support the Radical Democrats or The Radical Republicans. Even if you add both parties RABID Followers and mix them together you do not have a Simple Majority!! The Majority are in the middle!!! Its time to clean house.
The elected officials of both parties seem to be unwilling to work for the electorate that put them in office and therefore they all need to be replaced. If the voters want to see financial responsibility in our government we have to vote out incompetence. Unless and until that is done the economy will continue to be weak and the financial markets will be subject to a bursting bubble! Our weak and fragile recovery and I use the term Recovery loosely is subject to cancellation on a moments notice.
Write to your democratic and republican elected officials and thell them to get to work or prepare to be FIRED!!!
The elected officials of both parties seem to be unwilling to work for the electorate that put them in office and therefore they all need to be replaced. If the voters want to see financial responsibility in our government we have to vote out incompetence. Unless and until that is done the economy will continue to be weak and the financial markets will be subject to a bursting bubble! Our weak and fragile recovery and I use the term Recovery loosely is subject to cancellation on a moments notice.
Write to your democratic and republican elected officials and thell them to get to work or prepare to be FIRED!!!
OBAMACARE Still a mess!
OBAMACARE. Still a dysfunctional disaster!
The government cant keep their websites up and operating. Enrollment partially due too the high downtime of the sites is still very low. The administrate failed to properly prepare for the launch!
they should have tested the site before a national rollout! Oh yes but doing that would require a thoroughly thoughtout plan. Something the government is not very good at.
OBAMACARE is not much beyond a premium discount plan. It does virtually nothing to address
the dozens of factors producing the high cost of healthcare in the US. There is no negotiation on the proce of healthcare services themselves. The Goverrnment including the White House Staff, the House and Senate and all the federal agencies should be included in OBAMACARE. If they were all included and bound by the good and the bad of OBAMACARE maybe just maybe the elected officials who passed the bill might have actually read the bill!!!!!
I am not saying OBAMACARE is all bad. It is not all bad. But the Design has been flawed since its very inception and to claim otherwise is nothing but Administration lies! If you want some unbiased input look at factcheck.org a nonpartisan organization. Both parties lie when they talk about OBAMACARE.
The government cant keep their websites up and operating. Enrollment partially due too the high downtime of the sites is still very low. The administrate failed to properly prepare for the launch!
they should have tested the site before a national rollout! Oh yes but doing that would require a thoroughly thoughtout plan. Something the government is not very good at.
OBAMACARE is not much beyond a premium discount plan. It does virtually nothing to address
the dozens of factors producing the high cost of healthcare in the US. There is no negotiation on the proce of healthcare services themselves. The Goverrnment including the White House Staff, the House and Senate and all the federal agencies should be included in OBAMACARE. If they were all included and bound by the good and the bad of OBAMACARE maybe just maybe the elected officials who passed the bill might have actually read the bill!!!!!
I am not saying OBAMACARE is all bad. It is not all bad. But the Design has been flawed since its very inception and to claim otherwise is nothing but Administration lies! If you want some unbiased input look at factcheck.org a nonpartisan organization. Both parties lie when they talk about OBAMACARE.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Current financial SAFE MONEY opportunities
Here are some current opportunities and ideal candidates
1) pay $119,332 now collect $242,138 in 15 years for a 5% effective yield
perfect for someone trying to fund a child or a grandchild's education
2) pay $113,200 now and collect $250,000 split into 4 payments over 23 yr period for effective 5% yield funding a trust or for some part of a retirement, perfect for a ROTH
3) pay $76,542 now and collect $151,330 with many payments over 27 years for a 5.4% yield
retirement or trust funding
4) pay $3,532 now and collect $62,000 in 43 years for a 7% return
tax free if you use ROTH Funding for grandchild or trust
5) pay $112,800 now and collect $266,750 in payments between 2025-2033
ROTH or 401K plan for someone retiring in about 13-15 years
6) pay $46,000 -70,000 now and collect 8 years of equal monthly payments for a 6% yield
current retiree, or current worker looking for a reasonable but guaranteed rate of return.
7) FDIC Insured variable rate CD. Guaranteed rate of 1% with upside potential of up to 7% annual return on a 7 year CD. Minium purchase price $30,000
These are just some of the interesting opportunities that are available. Pleas contact for more information or to determine if they are suitable for your situation. These are all Safe Money
financial products with no Market Risk of loss of principal. All of these are subject to availability limited time opportunities
1) pay $119,332 now collect $242,138 in 15 years for a 5% effective yield
perfect for someone trying to fund a child or a grandchild's education
2) pay $113,200 now and collect $250,000 split into 4 payments over 23 yr period for effective 5% yield funding a trust or for some part of a retirement, perfect for a ROTH
3) pay $76,542 now and collect $151,330 with many payments over 27 years for a 5.4% yield
retirement or trust funding
4) pay $3,532 now and collect $62,000 in 43 years for a 7% return
tax free if you use ROTH Funding for grandchild or trust
5) pay $112,800 now and collect $266,750 in payments between 2025-2033
ROTH or 401K plan for someone retiring in about 13-15 years
6) pay $46,000 -70,000 now and collect 8 years of equal monthly payments for a 6% yield
current retiree, or current worker looking for a reasonable but guaranteed rate of return.
7) FDIC Insured variable rate CD. Guaranteed rate of 1% with upside potential of up to 7% annual return on a 7 year CD. Minium purchase price $30,000
These are just some of the interesting opportunities that are available. Pleas contact for more information or to determine if they are suitable for your situation. These are all Safe Money
financial products with no Market Risk of loss of principal. All of these are subject to availability limited time opportunities
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Just Completed OBAMACARE Navigator training
I just wanted to announce the completion of the 5 modules of federally mandated training for OBAMCARE, The Affordable Care ACT, (ACA).
We only had a couple of problems with the training program. The Federal government lost the records for the completion of module one and the successful passing of the test required for module 2. It took about 3 weeks to get the database records corrected to reflect my having passed the tests. I had to seend them copies of the certificates of completion three different times before we got it fixed.
Then for the past 5 days the training website was down and out of service. If this is any indication of what to expect going forward all I can say is WATCH OUT!!!!!! Oh and also the internet security certificates are screwed up on the Training website. This mess really inspires confidence!
We only had a couple of problems with the training program. The Federal government lost the records for the completion of module one and the successful passing of the test required for module 2. It took about 3 weeks to get the database records corrected to reflect my having passed the tests. I had to seend them copies of the certificates of completion three different times before we got it fixed.
Then for the past 5 days the training website was down and out of service. If this is any indication of what to expect going forward all I can say is WATCH OUT!!!!!! Oh and also the internet security certificates are screwed up on the Training website. This mess really inspires confidence!
Friday, September 27, 2013
How does the Afordable Care Act aka OBAMACARE affect me?
Over the next few months I will be presenting a number of OBAMACARE, Affordable Care Act (ACA) workshops for individuals, families and business owners trying to make sense of how OBAMACARE will affect you. If you are in the Westerville or Northern Columbus area of Delaware or Franklin County please feel free to sign up by following the link provided below or Calling Adult Services at the Westerville Public Library. The program will include general information about OBAMACARE, how to get pricing, sign up for Health insurance or make a future appointment for a private meeting with a Federally certified Navigator who can help you enroll. If you are a business owner trying to determine how OBAMACARE affects your business help will be available for you as well. OBAMACARE Affects us all regardless of age of individuals or the size of a business.
We will also tell you what documents you will need to have available in order to sign up.
To call the library please contact them at Adult Services, Westerville Public Library 614-882-7277
or online
http://host4.evanced.info/westerville/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?ag=&et=&kw=obamacare&dt=dr&ds=2013-9-27&de=2014-12-31&df=list&cn=0&private=0&ln=0
If you represent a civic or community group or a company manager and you would like to discuss another time and place for a meeting please contact us here
We will also tell you what documents you will need to have available in order to sign up.
To call the library please contact them at Adult Services, Westerville Public Library 614-882-7277
or online
http://host4.evanced.info/westerville/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?ag=&et=&kw=obamacare&dt=dr&ds=2013-9-27&de=2014-12-31&df=list&cn=0&private=0&ln=0
If you represent a civic or community group or a company manager and you would like to discuss another time and place for a meeting please contact us here
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Safe Money Financial opportunities
If you could take a portion of your assets and guarantee better than 4.5-5.4% on you money for as much as 17 to 27 yrs would you be interested. What if you could get a guaranteed monthly income over that period. Admittedly not everyone is eligible or has enough liquidity to do this. If you are a younger successful professional or business owner this might be right for you. Another candidate would be an older individual who is interested in providing for children or grandchildren's benefit.. Someone who is tired of the ups and downs in the market could benefit.
All of these opportunities offer protection from market risk and offer a guaranteed future rate of return and a schedule of income. It certainly would not be appropriate to allocate most of ones assets like this. However using this for a a portion of ones Safe Money Strategy could be a good fit.
Here are some examples. Availability changes over time
allocate $154,000 and collect 300 payments of $1,008+ for a guaranteed 5.4% guaranteed yield and a total of almost $303K in total return. Retirement income or estate planning
allocate $122 K today get over $242K to pay for childs college or for retirement in 14 yrs Without market risk and if ROTH funds used $120K in tax free gains.
allocate $46,700 now get 6 payments of $11,173 over the next 16 years for a total of $67,039
Allocate 30 K or maybe more and collect a guaranteed 6% rate of return ewith 8 years of equal monthly payments.
Call if interested, or to find out if it might be right for your situation.
All of these opportunities offer protection from market risk and offer a guaranteed future rate of return and a schedule of income. It certainly would not be appropriate to allocate most of ones assets like this. However using this for a a portion of ones Safe Money Strategy could be a good fit.
Here are some examples. Availability changes over time
allocate $154,000 and collect 300 payments of $1,008+ for a guaranteed 5.4% guaranteed yield and a total of almost $303K in total return. Retirement income or estate planning
allocate $122 K today get over $242K to pay for childs college or for retirement in 14 yrs Without market risk and if ROTH funds used $120K in tax free gains.
allocate $46,700 now get 6 payments of $11,173 over the next 16 years for a total of $67,039
Allocate 30 K or maybe more and collect a guaranteed 6% rate of return ewith 8 years of equal monthly payments.
Call if interested, or to find out if it might be right for your situation.
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