BSMG Blog: Protecting the Future of Families and Businesses

After a long and contentious political battle, the U.S. House (224-201) and U.S. Senate (51-48) have passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  President Trump signed the bill into law and it goes into effect on 1/1/2018.  Major changes in personal income taxes, business income taxes, and estate taxes will go into effect for tax year 2018.  

Last week, I talked about hybrid LTC solutions and gave you an in-depth breakdown on what these solutions are and how they are becoming increasingly popular. Today, I'll take it a step further by sharing a comparison of some of the most popular hybrid LTC options.

The U.S. Congress has spent the last few months slowly working its way through the legislative process to provide major tax reform.  This reform impacts personal income taxes, business income taxes, estate taxes, and taxation of foreign business income.  The U.S House of Representatives passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in early November.  The U.S. Senate just passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 last week. 

Do you have clients with no plan for long-term care, or a reluctance to plan for the unexpected?

In 2017, as in-force rate increases become the norm and more and more carriers are exiting the traditional/standalone Long Term Care (LTC) space, we continue to see the trend of clients migrating from traditional LTCi to hybrid solutions.

With this recent shift, I thought it would be helpful to share an in-depth breakdown of what these solutions are. My hope is to help remove some of the barriers you may experience when having the important LTC conversation with your clients. 

If you've ever found yourself thinking something that starts like this, "I'd sell more life insurance if...", you are not alone. In 2016, we conducted an online survey of insurance and financial professionals that focused on the state of advisor relationships and decision-making criteria regarding their Brokerage Agencies. Hoping to get a better understanding of some of the road blocks insurance advisors face, we asked them to finish the statement "I'd sell more life insurance if..." Below is a compilation of the most common responses we received, coupled with key ways other financial professionals are successfully addressing these road blocks.

This Life Insurance Awareness Month we've been sharing a lot of content with you from Life Happens. As we've mentioned before, this is a great resource for advisors and brokers to use and share with their clients. One of the most powerful ways that Life Happens spreads their message is through video. Their website has a plethora of moving and informative videos that explain the importance of life insurance, long term care and more! 

Share this video with your clients to remind them of the crucial role that life insurance can play in their lives.

Back to School!

And just like that summer is over. Every year summer seems to breeze by faster and faster and if you have a child entering college this summer probably seemed to fly by extra fast. Whether you're sending your first or last off to college it is a big transition that calls for a lot of planning. Most parents are thrown into the world of FAFSA's pretty quickly and without much direction save for a few information sessions at local high schools. Most likely you have clients who are in this very position, and if you've been there yourself you know how stressful this can be. Make sure your clients are armed with all of the facts and start talking to them about planning for college as early as possible. Both your clients and their children should be looking forward to this new chapter, make sure they are prepared. We've found a few resources for you to share with clients to help get the planning process started! 

Do you have clients with traditional IRAs? Are they close to age 70 or older? If so, you need to read on.

Current tax law requires clients who have an IRA and certain other retirement products to start taking a required minimum distribution (RMD) at the age 70 1/2. These minimum distributions are calculated annually based on their age, account balance at the end of the previous year, marital status and their spouse's age. If they do not take the annual minimum distribution, your clients may be subject to a 50% penalty tax on the underpayment, as well as ordinary income tax, as the funds are withdrawn.

The question we typically hear is, “how can I quickly calculate my clients' RMDs?"

We have the solution! Use our simple interactive calculator to get your clients' projected RMDs. This can be accessed when you need it on our website. All you'll need is the following information from your clients.

In celebration of Life Insurance Awareness Month, we're bringing you the most popular life insurance blogs posted by BSMG!