What Social Security Retirement Benefits Are Available?

Presented by David Corwin Almost everyone in the United States who is employed or self-employed is covered by Social Security, which pays benefits to or on behalf of covered workers who retire, become disabled or die, assuming that eligibility requirements are met. Retirement Benefits Eligibility: To qualify for monthly Social Security retirement benefits, you must be fully insured which, for most workers, means that you must have 40 quarters of coverage at retirement. Benefits: Social Security retirement benefits are based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which, in turn, is based on your earnings history (your “Average Indexed Monthly Earnings”). When you retire and begin receiving Social Security benefits, your spouse is entitled to a benefit equal to 50% of your PIA beginning at his/her normal retirement age. A spouse eligible for retirement benefits based on his/her own work record will receive the higher of those benefits or spouse benefits based on your work record. In addition, any of your children under age 18 (19 if in high school), or of any age if disabled before age 22, are also entitled to a benefit equal to 50% of your PIA. The total benefits that all members of your family can receive based on your earnings record, however, is limited to a Maximum Family Benefit. Normal Retirement Age: The normal retirement age for full Social Security benefits is age 65 for people born before 1938. For those born between 1943 and 1954, it is age 66. Full retirement age is gradually increasing to age 67 for those born after 1954. Early Retirement: A permanently reduced Social Security benefit can be taken at any time between age 62 and your normal retirement age. Your spouse can also elect to receive permanently reduced benefits as early as age 62, unless caring for your eligible child. In this case, no reduction is made based on the spouse’s age. Late Retirement: If you delay receiving Social Security benefits beyond your normal retirement age, your benefit will be increased by a percentage factor for each year you wait, up to age 70.

Developing Desire to Succeed

Presented by Gary Peterson I saw this article and thought it was interesting – a good way to push ourselves in these economic times. DEVELOPING DESIRE TO SUCCEED by Tom Hopkins Here are three methods of developing a burning desire to succeed. They will work – if you want them to. 1. The greatest obstacle to developing desire is a conviction that we’ll never be able to fulfill it. So many people discourage desire to avoid the frustration they may encounter. If you don’t have a burning desire to better your life, you’re cheating yourself and your loved ones with phony excuses. You’re choosing a level of life that’s poor compared to what you could have with the extra exertion you’re capable of. It’s all on your shoulders and there’s no way you can shift a bit of the responsibility to anyone else. 2. Focus on the specific things you want. Make agreements with yourself. When I do this, I get that. Don’t try to make yourself work for nothing. 3. Take it in steps. If you’ve never made more than minimum wage, don’t aim for half a million dollars the first year. The essential element is faith in yourself. I know former migrant farm workers who came out of the fields and made themselves wealthy. If your sunshine wants far outstrip your cold morning desire, have a talk with yourself, then have a lot more talks. Convince yourself you can succeed and will succeed.

How am I doing?

Presented by John Schraut Everyone in the customer service industry should ask themselves this question regularly. Have a sincere discussion about the value you bring to the table and any areas where you might improve or ways to help keep current clients and obtain new ones. When was the last time you were evaluated? If it has been awhile or never, now is the time to do it. Get feedback from your clients – ask your 10 best clients what value you bring to them? Listen to the feedback – ask what you can do now or in the future to improve their experience? Everyone has room to improve, even the best of us. Set yourself apart from others in the insurance industry by taking steps to find out how to bring more value to your clients resulting in a happier experience.

Are you “in the business” or do you just…

Presented by David Corwin Here are some indicators to tell you where you are. • Do you have a business plan? Crafting a meaningful business plan takes a lot of thought and time. Set out a strategy for your business and in particular, your marketing strategy. Set targets and objectives, including sales and financial goals so that you can monitor business performance. • Are you actively looking for new prospects (referrals and warm market) or just replacing the business you wrote in the past? It really should be a 60/40 split. Sixty percent of your marketing efforts should be spent on referrals and warm marketing. Forty percent should be reviewing clients that you’ve written before, both fostering the relationship built, as well as, looking for new business. • Are you running enough appointments throughout every week to get the result you want? The old numbers game. It only makes sense that if you have enough lines in the water the more fish you will catch. The more successful agents run between 10-15 appointments per week. If you’re running less than that…run more. It’s as simple as that. • On your appointments do you implement a fact finder to obtain material facts that allow for cross-selling opportunities? If you don’t, well then, you’re probably an order taker and if you don’t have what they want you’ll go back to your office without the business. Last I checked, an insurance license allows you to sell Life, Annuities, Health, Long Term Care and Disability insurance. If you don’t use one, then you just have an insurance license. • Are you furthering your education through industry leading programs like CLU, ChFC or CFP? Furthering your education, you become better informed to assist with the variety of unique requirements that individuals, professionals and business owners may have with respect to their estate planning, wealth transfer, income replacement and risk management needs. Holders of these designations increase their sales by up to 51%.

Time to have a conversation with your client

Presented by John Schraut When was the last time you asked (or ever asked) your client, “If you were to unexpectedly die, become seriously ill or disabled, would you and your family suffer financially?” They would probably answer “YES”. What have you done as their agent to protect them from that concern? You have the tools available, but you need to have that conversation with your clients.