Insurance Admin

We can spend a lot of ink in this blog correct misinformation that appears in the popular press about life insurance, why it is important and in need . So it is refreshing to be able to link to an article that provides high information load for navigation on a topic that may indeed be complex.

Christine Dugas and Sandra Block of USA Today wrote the article "To have life insurance? Is this enough or maybe too? "In which they highlight some of the common mistakes that people make when buying life insurance. The first mistake they make up is not bold, but can be one of the most important ". Too often, parents take a quick decision, ignoring important considerations "

Taking the time to learn about your life insurance needs is important and a good place to begin your search for information seeking is the non-profit site is the foundation of life. Browse the information as needed (but not too quiet!). Also take into account the errors that this article USA Today highlights such as not buying enough life insurance, no insurance for a parent at home and relying only on life insurance you get through work.

There is . one area of ​​the article could have been exposed to a source quoted said: "Some people buy life insurance for babies, which is useless, unless the baby is a child model which supports family." There are other reasons to buy life insurance on a child that is not based on "gain an income." The blog "Gifts of a Lifetime" gives a very simple look why you might want to consider ensure a child.

that said, this article is to get people to think about their life insurance needs and take a measured approach to get it, which is a-OK in my book.

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has published a survey showing that nearly half (48%) of Americans aged 45-70 have no financial plans in place to protect against outliving their assets and the rising cost of healthcare should they live longer than expected. Other results show that more than a third are worried about retirement money missing, but the plan only 20% for the purchase of an annuity or some other form of guaranteed income for life to protect their belongings. Many baby boomers find themselves prepared to maintain their retirement lifestyle. They see the potential problem, but take no action. The survey revealed that almost three quarters (71%) of respondents plan to claim Social Security before age 70 years

The SOA said he can not stress enough the importance of having a plan in place that addresses all the specific risks may face in retirement, such as spending available assets too soon, meeting financial care needs, paying for rising costs of healthcare and adjusting financially to the loss of a spouse.

The SOA survey found that 75% of Americans ages 45-70 protect their tangible assets, such as their homes through home or renter's insurance; However, the plan 19% to ensure the extra costs of disability and welfare by purchasing long-term care insurance. These results reinforce my belief in the importance of working with professional agents and financial advisors who can guide people in their decision making. Many people are not aware of these problems until their agent or consultant educates their needs and affordable solutions to problems.

Act now while your health is good and the price tag for solving your planning problems is reasonable.

Like many financial professionals, I want couples to be at the table financial planning together. But the reality is one of the spouses is often the driver for financial matters in the relationship. And often, time and timing challenges make it easier to rely on "catch-up conversations," which can not end up happening.

Talking about financial issues and what might happen if a loved one dies is difficult. But even more difficult is what could happen if you do not. A client of mine remembers asking her husband one night what to do if he is dead. "It was just a passing conversation. Like, 'Do I pay the mortgage?" She said. "We never sat down and had a great conversation. I knew we had life insurance, but I do not know what to do with it. "

When her husband died in 08, she was still not sure what to do.

" I realize too late that I am involved in the planning, "my client said." you do not think it will happen when your husband is 49 ".

I see as part of my role to help change that. But couples should not expect a financial advisor to start doing the work. You can:

• Get the conversation takes the road and discuss what you want if the unfortunate were to happen
• Use free tools like Value Calculator life human LIFE Foundation. or their life insurance needs calculator to estimate of your needs.
• Stay cool on financial matters of the family by creating an action plan and meet monthly.

When everyone is informed, it can make a big difference during a very difficult time in anyone's life.

Peter Lewis, CHFC, owns the Lewis Group, a subsidiary of General Agency Life Insurance Company Massachusetts, Sapient Financial. You can contact him at peterlewis@finsvcs.com

Wells Fargo recently released their sixth annual retirement survey, and according to this study, women still lag in saving for retirement. The survey focused on women of the middle class in their mid 20s to those who are already retired and in their 60s

• Just 54% of women said they are "confident" they will have enough saved to "live the life they want" in retirement, compared to 62% of men.
• Although both men and women are underfunded for retirement, women have saved less than men. women also set their sights lower than men's. When asked how they thought they would need to sustain for retirement, women said they aimed a median of $ 0,000, whereas men predict they will need retirement savings of $ 400,000.
• Nearly 30% of women between the ages of 40 and 69 are "not sure or can not estimate" how much they will have to withdraw their retirement savings each year while in retirement, and about 32% of women in their 40s and 50s feel they will remove 11% to 30% or more every year, not exactly a realistic number or viable on their life.
• In all age groups, women are much less likely to qualify as a financial decision maker "primary" than men (35% against 55% of men). Among married women, 83% say they are the joint financial decision maker, while 58% of married men say they are a joint decision maker.
• Only 27% of women have confidence in the stock market as a place for investment gains for their savings, against 40% of men. If given $ 5,000 to the instruction that it be "put away for your retirement," 40% of women say they buy bank CDs instead of putting money in the market, against 30% percent men.

According to Wells Fargo, women hold more than half of the high-paying management and professional positions in the US and three women are in college for two men. But when he comes to retirement, they lag in their confidence about how to prepare for this phase in life and are less likely to be in the driver's seat.

and these are only some of the why men and women should consider working with agents and professional advisors. Use the LIFE agent locator to find someone to help you.

Watching the news on the events unfolding in Japan was disturbing. The damage left by the earthquake in Japan, as well as images quite incredible tsunami of whole towns and villages literally sweep in an instant-these present events lasting mental pictures to me. Houses, cars and people also have literally been washed away in an instant. The damage and destruction will take years to clean up and rebuild. Some people may never recover.

Close your eyes for a moment and turn this mental image damage tsunami / earthquake in a picture of what happens to a family or a business when the breadwinner dies unexpectedly or becomes disabled . A family or a company sees the foundation of washing by sudden death or a persistent disability. Where stable ground once existed, now there is a gaping hole. The breadwinner is either "disappeared" or foundation of the family (income) is so damaged that the household and its contents now sitting on a very fragile layer of debt, tension and emotional and financial instability mounting.

He does not have to be that way.

The life insurance and disability insurance can magically and instantly help replace a washed financial basis or be "reinforcement" for the surviving family members and associates key business. Money can certainly never solve emotional problems associated with premature death and disability, but it can buy time and stability for those left to deal with a foundation "washed".

The events in Japan remind me of the devastation the Americans have lived in our own country, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. My heart aches for Japanese citizens who are in a complete daze and whose dreams, futures and memories were literally washed away.

Although earthquakes and tsunamis can occur, often with catastrophic results, the scenario is much more probable sudden death or disability of a loved here. Make sure you have sufficient quantities of life and disability insurance so that you and your family will not risk your capital base is washed away.

(If you want to help the victims of this disaster, click here.)

I just finished judging over 40 of the nearly 1,500 total requests that the LIFE Foundation received this year from college age children requesting more than $ 100,000 scholarship fund.

Each year, LIFE is seeking applications for the scholarship program of its life lesson. The applicants submitted stories about how one or both parents have died without life insurance in place (or not enough life insurance).

The judgment is absolutely gut. Each story is unique and emotional, but they all contain basic components:

• broken families
• refused dreams
• inability to stay in the family home
• surviving parents who take more than one job to make ends meet
• siblings are often split up to live with the family
• on trust and good neighbors family to support
• realization that after the funeral is over, the lives of everyone continues
• sometimes there dependency and pain in other family members
• children having to work too early in life to help support their families
• missing children to "grow up" and normal school activities
• sudden changes in Plans
• relocation to other cities to be near the family
• grandparents, aunts and uncles being placed in positions they were not looking
• children, saying, "If my mom or dad had known the problem that it caused"
• realization that life will never be what they had hoped for and dreamed
• children saying "I will never leave my family is this type of situation."
• children, saying, "If only one agent had told my mom or dad into buying life insurance."
• the burden of long-term debt due loan origination students

He does not have to be that way. While life is glad to be able to give some of these deserving children an opportunity with financial support, it would be much better if there were no children who needed the help of LIFE .

The bottom line is that if you have someone who depends on you financially, and you have too little or no life insurance, you need to do something now. Not later. Now. You can start by knowing how much life insurance you may need with LIFE easy to use life insurance needs calculator.

You can also help these deserving children by making a donation to the scholarship fund life lessons here.

Disability insurance is a key element of the financial plan of an individual, and provides valuable coverage to guard against the risk of losing their income due to illness or injury.

Since a long-term disability can ruin the financial health of a person, it would be logical that everyone has coverage. However, less than a third of workers in the private sector have a long-term disability insurance through work, according to the US Department of Labor.

While those who do not have it through work (or enough of it) should be covering the risk of an individual disability insurance policy they buy themselves, many are disabled by the high price tag that often comes with it. Consequently, they put themselves in a dangerous position which could have serious financial consequences for them and their families.

There are alternatives to get coverage that do not involve buying an individual disability insurance policy. Disability income "rider" is an approach you can take to guard against the possibility of incurring a financial tragedy. These drivers are usually sold as an attachment to an individual life insurance plan.

Obtaining a life insurance policy with a disability rider is quite simple. First, since not all life insurance plans offer this feature, you'll need to find a company that does. After application of the cover, the process of life insurance underwriting is generally used as a starting point to determine whether or not you are eligible for additional disability insurance. In addition to life insurance issues, the company can get back to you with additional questions to screen you for the disability rider as well.

After the underwriting process is complete, you are usually either approved or denied coverage because there is usually no type of rating scale as it is with traditional life insurance . disability insurance riders are generally attractive because of the fact that they are cheaper than most individual disability policies. In addition, the insured can kill two birds with one stone instead of having two separate policies with different billing cycles

But please keep in mind this important fact :. The coverage of disability driver tends to be much more limited than it would be if you were to buy an individual disability insurance policy. Most life insurance companies that have these runners do offer benefits up to $ 3,000 per month, and coverage only lasts 2-3 years. Therefore, this type of policy is usually a great resource for disability insurance if you have not, but really does not protect against a prolonged disability situation.

William Rowan is the founder of eTermLifeInsurance .net, a website oriented term consumer education for life insurance and comparison. His only goal is for consumers to find the best life insurance policy for their individual situation .

I had lunch with one of my best friends yesterday. We discussed how quickly our children grow. He and his wife had just returned from attending the graduation of their eldest son. As he spoke to me of the pleasure of the graduation process and selfishness that is so apparent in young, he laughed and shared a cute story ...

When their son was only 2 years, my boyfriend was himself also to correct most 2 years must be addressed. My friend had told her son several times to stop doing something that was dangerous. Having said four or five times, the boy quietly went to his dad put his young hands on each side of Dad's face and said with all the sincerity he could muster, "Dad, you do not know? My do what mY will! "

this story was told time and time to the family of my friend. While they raised two more children, the story served as a constant reminder that while kids may think the world revolves around them and allows them to do whatever they want, we as parents and adults do not really know what is best for our children and our family ...

it gives me this visual image of my own family, or for that matter, the whole family grow together :. parents struggling to raise children the right way and children struggling to understand why mom and dad have to make difficult decisions, but looking at the way the mother and working hard daddy predict and feed their families . It's not until children are much older than they really understand the sacrifices and selflessness that parents must invest to keep the family safe and on the road to maturity.

A key element of this sacrifice is financial security. I'm not going on my soap box, but as you have this mental image in your mind of your family, or for that matter, the whole family, a pause for a minute to consider what happens if mom or dad should die while the children are young. Happiness and financial security become much less certain. The remaining parent has to double the effort of the family with little time to themselves to grieve and mourn the loss of a spouse.

Life insurance, if purchased before, can not help with the emotional side of the loss, but you can help to ensure security, peace of mind, time to adjust and that funds for education, housing and other expenses related to the loss of income of the deceased parent

Think of this way. If parents were to take the same approach selfish "MY do what I want," the family unit would be much less stable. Fortunately, many parents take this decision ... life insurance just in case.

Have you?

According to Lincoln Financial Group study, the ratio 10 times income assets is a guide that can help people determine how they can be better prepared retired. In other words, if you earn $ 100,000 per year, you need a $ million in assets to retire comfortably. Understand that this is a guide, not a definitive report.

This seems too low for me, as a withdrawal rate of 10% with a long-term compensation rate of 5% over the $ 1,000,000 will last 15 years. Either you need more assets, a lower withdrawal rate or a higher rate of return. Maybe you'll need a combination of three to last 30 years or more, you can expect to live in retirement.

For example, if you reduce the down 6% with a conservative long-term rate of 4% return, $ 1,000,000 last 29 years. Can you live on $ 60,000 a year instead of $ 100,000? Otherwise, the relationship must change. The increase in long-term rate of return of 5% makes the final funding for 37 years. Taking 8%, or $ 80,000 per year while earning 5% will make you short of money in 21 years.

How long do you plan to live in retirement? Each person must determine their own personal relationship, and one of the easiest ways to do this is to work with a financial professional. Remember, the Lincoln Financial is a study guide to get started.

The study identified four behaviors that contribute to retirement success. The behaviors that lead to better outcomes are:

• Getting advice from a financial professional
• The member of a pension plan sponsored by the employer or IRA
• steadily Recording, and make additional contributions over the years, "energy saving"
• Have an investment strategy

research has also identified three retired behaviors that have reached the target of 10 times not to rely on. These behaviors are:

• Receiving an inheritance. This may or may not occur.
• The sale of a principal residence or earn money through real estate. Have you looked at the real estate market today?
• The sale of a business or shares in the company shares of the former employer. Again, it depends on market conditions and timing.

If these are your most important asset, what would happen if you need to turn these assets into income at a time when the market is down?

The study reinforces the recommendations of Lincoln for the actions that lead to better pension outcomes.

• The advice of a financial professional
• Participate in workplace pension plans (and IRA)
• Back up and "energy saving "wherever possible
• Have an investment strategy

Finally, do not rely on manna as an inheritance, or the product of the company selling shares, a company or your home. For more information on Lincoln Financial Life Retirement feeding studies courses, go to www.myconfidentfuture.com/retirementpower.

Parents certainly do not want to deprive their children of the chance to succeed. This feeling, this need seems particularly acute in this day and age of economic struggle, the middle class being squeezed into oblivion. At the approach of August, a number of my fellow parents face large tuition bills college for their children, some paid by fear (I suspect) that to do otherwise jeopardize the future of their children. But I know they do not pay tuition bills only 529 well-funded plans. So where is this money coming from? Their future.

This brings me to a question I asked myself for a long time: Is education "Ivy League", a degree from a prestigious university really worth it? (This from a graduate of a public university.) Parents should be risking their own financial future to pay the bill (or a partial invoice) for these educations "elite"? Is a degree from a high-ranking school higher earnings equal (ie, a better future) for a child?

According to Alan Krueger, professor of economics at (ironically) Princeton University, the answer seems to be no. In "The elite schools are overrated," in the June issue of Money magazine, Krueger and Stacy Dale colleague say they have collected data from more than 26,000 students from two dozen schools (y including schools such as Penn State and Yale), and the bottom line was: "during their career, students who chose not to attend the most selective schools to which they were admitted earned about as much as those who have similar qualities and results of tests that went to the highest rank they got to college. "

advice Krueger was present," ... if you have a child to apply to university, ignoring the different rankings. "

maybe we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief Think about how these economies will" buy "in terms of a more secure retirement Children may actually come out ahead.. They get a college education [ and will not have to worry about without retirement funds relatives traveling with them later and to the extent that the prestige name, a parent, I know had this to say: "Take a Sweat- shirt at the Harvard bookstore. "