Washington Cares Act
{4 minutes to read} Today, I’d like to talk about new laws in the state of Washington. Even though most of us won't be residing in the state of Washington, there is an interesting new law that is going into effect called the Washington Cares Act. This Act is the state's long-term care insurance coverage, intended to provide a limited benefit for long-term care services for qualified Washington residents. It will be funded by collecting a 0.58% payroll tax from all employees with no income limit. The Washington [...]
Premium Financing
{2 minutes to read} Today, I want to talk about a strategy called Premium Financing. Premium financing is for high-net-worth people who want to purchase permanent life insurance for estate planning purposes. The insurance would provide funds to pay estate taxes, so that the family doesn't have to liquidate assets such as real estate, businesses, or even stocks, at a time when it might not be the best time to sell. Premium financing is a concept that has taken off because we are in an extended period where [...]
Estate Planning 2021
{4 minutes to read} As the Biden administration ramps up, it's inevitable that there are going to be some tax law changes. The extent of those changes obviously can't be predicted, but I think it's a good topic for people to consider. Donald Trump put in a very large increase to the amount of wealth that can be transferred either by gift or at death, from one generation to another. People made decisions in 2016 and '17 regarding their estate plans, based upon the changes that were made [...]
Changes in the Long-Term Care Business
{5 minutes to read} Today, I want to go over the ongoing and continuous changes in the long-term care business. Since the beginning of 2021, we have seen two additional carriers pull out of the standalone or traditional long-term care space. Those carriers include MassMutual and Trans America, leaving a very small number of carriers still selling traditional, standalone, long-term care policies. Recently, one of my brokers sent me a letter from Genworth talking about what their position is with their long-term care block of business. Here is [...]
Actuarial Science and Retirement Planning
{5 minutes to read} Today's blog is on actuarial science and retirement planning. What moved me to write about this was a recent article in Forbes Magazine by Dr. Wade Pfau, a professor at the American College. His article is titled “Whole Life Insurance in a Lifetime Financial Plan.” What he talks about is a strategy that shows how life insurance can help make your retirement better with higher income. However, a lot of people simply don't see this as a positive, strong, or commonly used strategy, because [...]