Life Insurance

MYTH: “I won’t need life insurance when I retire.”

Presented by Brian Leising

Four responses you can use with your clients.

4- Really? So, that means you love the government more than you love your family?

Did you know your money can go three places when you die? Your family, charity, or the government. Even if you will all your assets to your family, the government may still inherit part of it. All money in IRAs, 401(k)s or other Qualified Plans, plus growth in non-Qualified annuities is taxable to the person receiving it. The government is going to get their share, but will your family get theirs? Life insurance death benefits pass tax-free to beneficiaries. Why not purchase a life insurance policy to cover the taxes your family will pay the government upon your death? Better yet, you could omit the government completely with proper planning. You could name a charity as beneficiary of your Qualified money (charities pay no income tax) and replace the value of the asset with a life insurance policy. Your loved ones win, your favorite charity wins and the government gets nothing. As George Thorogood says, “Who do you love?”

Life Insurance

MYTH: “I won’t need life insurance when I retire.”

Presented by Brian Leising

Four responses you can use with your clients.

3- Really? So, that means you will be a statistical anomaly and won’t need extended care services?

According to AALTCI, over 70% of Americans over age 65 today will need some form of extended care services before they die. Most life insurance companies now offer policies that perform two functions, they pay a death benefit when you die and a living benefit when you require long term care services. Retirement plans diminish quickly when long term care expenses are withdrawn in addition to regular living expenses. Since hybrid plans are so readily available, why pay for separate policies when you could have two plans in one?

See response #4 next week.

Life Insurance

MYTH: “I won’t need life insurance when I retire.”

Presented by Brian Leising

Four responses you can use with your clients.

  1. Really? So, that means you are getting a free funeral?

The last time I checked, it is actually against the law to dump a body in the nearest ditch, bury someone in the backyard or cremate your remains in a giant bonfire (marshmallows anyone?). You won’t die for free. Cremation may cost less than a traditional burial, but morticians and funeral homes still like to be paid for their services. Why reserve dollars you could spend and enjoy when a basic life insurance policy will cover your final expenses for pennies on the dollar? With no planning, you will become a burden to your family. (Unless they’re skilled with large bags, ropes, rocks, have a large car trunk and live near a body of water. Oh, wait, that’s the other kind of Family.)

See response #2 next week.

Annuities

Monthly Averaging vs. Monthly Point-to-Point

Presented by David Corwin Today I’m going to share the difference between two common crediting methods in indexed sales. In order to help you understand monthly averaging, we will compare it to monthly point-to-point, or as some carriers call it, monthly sum.
  1. Calculate twelve monthly percentage changes in selected stock market index.
  2. Apply the product’s cap rate to each of the twelve monthly percentage changes.
  3. Add the twelve monthly capped percentage changes together to determine the annual interest amount to be credited.
As with all indexing methods, if the result is zero or negative, no interest is credited during that contract year. There are four steps used with the monthly average indexing method, as follows, with the first step identical to the monthly point-to-point method:
  1. Calculate twelve monthly percentage changes in selected stock market index.
  2. Add the twelve monthly percentage changes together.
  3. Divide the total by twelve.
  4. Apply the product’s cap rate to the result.
Now, from all the material that I’ve seen, it is – drum roll please . . . monthly averaging that wins.  If you had $100,000 under the monthly averaging model in the beginning of 2000 you would have roughly $160,000 fourteen years later.  In that same time frame you’d only have $154,000 under the monthly point-to-point model.