BSMG Blog: Protecting the Future of Families and Businesses

Critical Information Center

On our BSMG website you will now find a comprehensive page that includes updates and important content from us, our carrier partners and others in the industry. It’s important that you have access to the most up to date, trusted information from a variety of sources. 

Congress has passed and President Trump has signed into law significant retirement reform which will go into effect on 1/1/2020.  The new law has many provisions which involve expanding and preserving retirement savings, administrative improvements, and revenue provisions.

From the moment we all first received payment for work, we have, either consciously or subconsciously, put a dollar value on our time.

When I was 10 years old, with no earthly expenses, responsibilities, or any other place to be, $10 to mow the lawn at my parents’ house felt like a dream. If it took me an hour to do it, at $10/hour I felt like I was winning big. My expenses were zero, and I was therefore making infinity times my monthly expenses. I had nowhere else to be and no other method of earning, so my opportunity cost was also zero. Every time the lawn would get barely long enough to cut, I’d be asking to do it again, in what I felt like was a chance to cash the same paycheck.

At the end of 2019, two major shifts will happen in the life insurance industry behind the scenes.

• Insurance companies must move to 2017 CSO tables
• Most companies must adopt Principal Based Reserving

What does this mean for our industry?  A lot.

The U.S. House of Representatives easily passed the SECURE Act of 2019 (H.R. 1994) 417-3 on May 23, 2019.  The U.S. Senate currently has its version of retirement reform under consideration – the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) of 2019 (S. 972).  Both acts have many retirement reform provisions involving expanding and preserving retirement savings, administrative improvements, and revenue provisions.

Term Insurance Revolutionized

Vive is revolutionizing the term insurance business? 5 minute online orders, no paperwork, and underwriting offers in as little as 24 hours.  Vive also creates a better experience for you and your client. Period. This revolutionary platform can make an important difference in the ease, speed-to-issue and profitability of your term life business. See some of the benefits of using Vive below. 

Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) are always a hot button with brokers and clients, especially recently when Donald Trump asked the Treasury Department to examine RMD life expectancy and distribution tables due to longer life expectancy and more people working well into their 70’s. Nevertheless, RMDs “are what they are”, a required distribution that every individual who turns 70.5 must start taking from their IRAs. At its simplest level, an RMD will be withdrawn and either deposited into a client’s checking account, or reinvested. Let’s look at other ways to utilize an RMD.

Anyone seen Doc Brown’s Delorean Around?

When will this Bull Market end? Short of grabbing a ride in Doc’s time machine, there’s no way to know…but it’s a hot topic right now. Almost every day there seems to be an article prognosticating that “The End is near for the Economic Boom” (Fortune July 19, 2018) or “Here’s why the Dow will hit 40,000 by 2025” (CNBC July 10, 2018).  There are convincing points on both sides for how long our “Bull” will last this time around. Buzzwords abound as well: Ultra-low unemployment, a looming trade war with China, the threat of inflation, persistently low interest rates, another bubble? Here's a question to consider. 

The use of an indemnity Long Term Care (LTC) rider is crucial to keep the life insurance death benefit estate tax free. That’s because any rider benefits will be paid only to the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) as policy owner, and NOT used to pay extended care costs directly to the extended care provider. Since LTC benefit claims are paid only to the ILIT, this indemnity style LTC rider does NOT create an incident of ownership in the UL policy.

Term Life Insurance prospects are everywhere. You just need to know where to find them. Agents have shared countless stories with us about "picking up" clients in all kinds of places, from the gym to the grocery store line, even in the bar! There is a reason we've made selling term life insurance fast and easy; it is because there are so many reasons to offer it to your clients and prospects! Check out these 8 term opportunities that open a gateway into having the conversation!