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Risk Management
Life Insurance
If you have anyone who depends on you financially, then life insurance should be a major consideration. Life insurance can be used for income replacement, estate tax planning, legacy planning, and business succession planning. Life insurance comes in many forms and the costs, structures, durations, etc., vary tremendously across the types of policies. Based on your specific needs, we can customize an insurance plan that will give you an optimal amount of coverage for the most affordable price.
The average New Jersey family has only
3 times income covered in life insurance.
2020 ACLI Fact Book (American Council of Life Insurers)
Do you have enough life insurance? How do you know?
*To learn about the different situations where a life insurance policy can be a viable solution, go to the "My Blog" section and read "The Need for Life Insurance".
Disability Insurance
Your most important asset is not your home, your car, or other possessions. It's your ability to earn a living. All of your plans for the future—from
buying a home to putting your kids through college to building a retirement nest egg—are based on the assumption that you will continue to earn a paycheck until you retire. But what would happen
if those paychecks stopped? That’s where disability insurance comes in. Should you become too sick or hurt and can't work, a personal disability income insurance policy can provide you and your
family peace of mind knowing that your standard of living can be maintained.
"One in three Americans between the ages 35 and 65 will become disabled for more than 90 days."
Statistics, ssa.gov
Small business owners can also benefit from specific types of disability income insurance policies. Business Overhead Expense (BOE) policies can reimburse the business owner most of the recurring monthly expenses attributed to "keeping the doors open and the lights on" of the business, should the owner become too sick or hurt to tend to the company's daily operations. Key Person disability insurance policies can provide most companies crucial benefits to protect the business from financial hardships, as a result of a temporary loss of a key employee or key salesperson due to a disability.
Annuities
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. It is designed to protect and grow your money, and then provide a stream of income during your retirement. In fact, other than pensions, annuities are the only products that provide guaranteed lifetime income.
Annuities have two phases – an Accumulation Phase and an Income Phase.
During the Accumulation Phase, the money you contribute to your Fixed Annuity (FA) will earn interest at a fixed interest rate. Fixed Annuities provide principal protection. This means, regardless of market conditions, you won’t lose the money you contribute to your annuity unless you take a withdrawal or surrender your contract during the early withdrawal charge period.
In a Fixed-Indexed Annuity (FIA), your annuity contributions can earn interest tied to positive stock market performance. Fixed-Indexed Annuities protect your principal by locking in your earnings and guarantee your contract values will not fall below a minimum value.
During the Income Phase, the money you’ve accumulated in your annuity can be turned into a stream of income payments. These payments can be for life, a specified period of time, or a combination of both, as well as to your surviving spouse.
For more information on annuties click the Articles tab and scroll down to the "Personal Finance Topics" section, look under "Annuities".
Annuity Terms
Annuity - An annuity is a contract with an insurance company. The insurance company promises to pay you income on a regular basis for a period of time you choose—including the rest of your life.
Fixed Index Annuity - A type of fixed annuity that earns interest based on changes
in a market index, which measures how the market performs. The interest rate
is guaranteed to never be less than zero, even if the market goes down.
IRS UPDATE - ESTATE TAX 2023
The new 2023 IRS adjustments for the Federal estate and gift tax are as follows:
· The unified estate and gift tax exemption amount for individuals is $12,920,000
(up from $12,060,000 in 2022). Portability between married couples still applies
if elected, has increased to $25,840,000 (up from $24,120,000 in 2022).
Estates are taxed at a maximum rate of 40% (same as in 2022)
· The exemption from the Generation Skipping Transfer tax is $12,920,000 (up from $12,060,000 in 2022).
· The Annual Gift Tax Exclusion will increase to $17,000 for individuals (up from $16,000 in 2022), and $34,000 for married couples (up from $32,000 in 2022) who split their gifts.
+ Changes to both the Estate Tax exemption and the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax exemption will sunset after 2025, and will revert to their 2017 numbers - adjusted for inflation.
· Income Tax "Standard Deduction" amounts increased to: $13,850 for individuals, $20,800 for heads of household, and $27,700 for married couples filing jointly.
*Please consult an estate tax attorney or accounting professional for specific information on the current tax code.