Right Now. (My thoughts on health care)

I don’t know the answer to the health care crisis in the United States. But I know there is a crisis and something needs to be done. I was just about to turn off the TV on a recent Sunday when I came across a PBS special report. I was intrigued simply because I had never seen a PBS “Special Report.” I quickly realized it was about health care, and the stories I heard were unbelievable.

A husband and wife were talking about how they don’t have health care. Coming in well after the start of the program, I’m not sure how they got to that point, but that isn’t what stood out about their story. The Oklahoma couple has two children, and the older one, a girl, has a chronic respiratory disease. She had bouts of being very sick, in and out of the hospital. At some point, she was denied health coverage because of her “pre-existing condition.”

These two words have come up a lot in the recent health care debate going on in Washington, with Obama pushing for a plan that would not allow companies to deny coverage to anyone with a “pre-existing condition.” This innocent little girl, not even 10 years old, put her parents in a compromising position. They couldn’t afford the medical bills piling up due to their daughter’s chronic illness. But they couldn’t deny her the medical care she undoubtedly needed.

Or could they?

The insurance company told the couple their daughter would be covered if she went one year without going to the doctor. Fearful of losing their house because of the mounting medical expenses, they knew this health insurance coverage was crucial.
They prayed their daughter’s condition would not flair up, that she would be healthy for a whole year. But one morning, she woke up very sick. Her parents put off taking her to the doctor. If they did, she would again be denied coverage, putting her family back to square one.

The couple thought maybe the illness would get better on its own. But it didn’t. The little girl was barely alert. They had no choice but to take her to the hospital.
If they had waited any longer, they could have been accused of medical negligence.
She was not only admitted to the hospital but spent days in the intensive care unit.

All because of money.

Fast forward to the end of the show, and viewers learn the girl and her brother qualified for children’s Medicaid in the state of Oklahoma. But their parents had to earn a limited income, so they worked less and made less money just to get their children health insurance. Still, neither of the parents had health insurance themselves. Instead, they just crossed their fingers hoping neither of them got sick or injured.

I turned off the TV just astonished at how messed up our system really is. Like I said, I don’t know the answer, but I know something needs to change.
Anyone who wants health care to stay the same needs as much help as the folks who don't have any health care help.

Responsible, hardworking people raising children born with “pre-existing conditions” should not be punished. What do you think?

Read more...

Life Insurance-The foundation to your family's future.

There are 68 Million Americans without Life Insurance. Why? Securing for your future and your family's future is one of the most important things you can do in your lifetime. That's why everyone needs to have insurance and once they have it........keep it!

Mom, Pop, kids, dog.......the whole family!

Life insurance, in combination with investments and retirement planning, is the way to secure the path for a financially set future. With this being the case, it is sad to think that most of us do not have the amount of life insurance that is deemed appropriate to see this goal come to fruition.

Life insurance has several reasons why it is deemed so important to our futures:

1.It helps to provide for your family monetarily after your death. It will aid in them paying their household bills and securing that they can keep the house. If there are stay at home parents out there, adequate coverage on the spouse can ensure the flexibility to stay at home stays in place.

2.It can aid in securing enough funds for the college education of your children.

3.It offers the benefit of being able to cover estate taxes, medical costs, funeral costs, and other costs that are associated with the timeframe of your demise.

4.It can help you to save for retirement in a more efficient manner.

If you leave your family without the protection of life insurance, they may end up losing their home and other assets trying to pay off your final expenses. Life insurance has important tax benefits where the beneficiary will not be required to pay any income tax on the amount received from your death.

If you are married or have people that are dependent upon you for support, you need life insurance. When purchasing life insurance, you should take out enough to cover five to ten times your annual income amount. This amount can vary per individual; this is just a standard guide.

If your place of employment offers you a group life insurance policy, it is a good idea to take advantage of it. In many places of employment, the company will cover the fundamental group coverage amount, such as a term life insurance policy. Making sure that you plan ahead to keep your family from suffering is the most important thing.

Sustaining their financial stability should be a number one priority and should never been put off until tomorrow. Making sure that you and the ones you love will be able to have some kind of peace of mind if something horrible happens is perhaps one of the best ways to seek ultimate peace of mind.

Comparing competitive life insurance quotes is the beginning, the best way to safeguard your loved ones is picking the company with the stability to be there for your family when you need it. Try AM Best to check the ratings of the companies.

Read more...

Protect your assets wisely

I know we love our kids. Some more than others and some just enough to try to get the gas turned on in the kids name. Well, even later on in life some people try to save on taxes by placing certain assets in their children's name. Especially the folks realizing that they are going to outlive their money.

Case in point. Retirees sometimes add their child’s name to their accounts in an effort to transfer ownership and remove assets from their estate. But doing so may cause problems later.

First, you aren’t realizing any tax savings by putting your child's name on a bank or brokerage account—i.e., registering it as joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS). JTWROS assets bypass the probate court process upon your death and go directly to the surviving joint tenant, so there will be fewer time delays and court costs.

However, the account will still be included in your estate. Moreover, adding your child’s name to your account could expose you to legal woes—and leave you without any money for retirement. Let’s say you’re getting older, and you aren’t able to manage your affairs well, so you add your adult child’s name to your bank and brokerage accounts. Your child can write checks on the accounts, and if you die, he or she will inherit the accounts, avoiding probate.

But there could be problems.

First, since assets registered as JTWROS are owned jointly during your lifetime, they thus can be accessed (and liquidated!) by your joint tenant while you are living. In other words, your child could potentially liquidate the account without your consent.

Perhaps more worrisome: If your child gets sued, you could lose all of your money. And don’t think you can change the title of the assets once legal proceedings begin—that’s called fraudulent conveyance, and it's a big legal no-no. There are look-back periods. Please proceed with caution.

A better option may be a durable power of attorney, which gives your child access to your accounts without placing the assets at risk.

Any other suggestions? I would love to hear from you. Have a good weekend.

Read more...

Put that old 401K back in use!

I've received numerous questions as to the how and why to rollover a 401K so here goes.....As retirement approaches, money decisions become increasingly major. One big decision concerns what to do with the money in your old company retirement plan.

Consider a direct rollover. For most people, the most attractive option is an IRA rollover. In other words, you transfer the money from your 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan into an IRA. It is not hard to accomplish, provided you have the guidance of a qualified financial advisor.

Basic steps:

A direct rollover is not the same thing as a direct payment to you. Yes, your employer can actually write you a check for the full amount of your 401(k) account, but 20 percent of that money will be withheld for taxes.

Do you want to avoid that 20 percent withholding? A direct rollover is the solution. It is a "trustee to trustee" rollover, which works like this: your employer writes a lump sum check not to you, but in the name of the trustee or custodian of the IRA that you are creating to hold the funds. You then let your company’s retirement plan administrator know that you’ll be doing a direct rollover. (There is almost always a form to be filled out, on which you can state the specific instructions for the distribution check.)

Your company sends you the check payable to the IRA trustee, with no withholding, and you have 60 days to deposit it in the IRA; day 1 is the day after you get the check. (Sometimes a wire transfer of assets occurs instead, between one investment custodian and another.) If you don’t complete the direct rollover in 60 days, you will pay tax on the entire amount. (There’s no grace period for weekends or holidays.)

If you want to leave work before age 59½ or you own shares of company stock, you should consider the tax implications created by those circumstances before attempting any kind of rollover.

When you leave a company, you usually have three options with your retirement plan: you can leave the money in the plan, roll it over into a new plan (if you elect to keep working for a new employer) or do a direct rollover into an IRA.

What you can and can’t do:

(Pay attention)
Is it time to roll over your retirement money? If that time is here or getting closer, you need to be very careful with what could possibly be the largest lump sum you ever receive. Be sure to ask a qualified financial advisor about your IRA rollover options today.

You can make unlimited direct rollovers of your retirement account assets, and you can add the money in your retirement plan to an IRA you already have, if you don’t intend to go back to work and put those assets into a new employer plan. Once your retirement plan assets are in an IRA, you can invest them in practically any way you choose. You can also set up your IRA to make systematic payments to you.

Good luck.

Contact Rodney Gilbert at rtgilbert@ft.newyorklife.com or (404)729-6485 if you have any questions.

Read more...

2010 IRA News!!!

Beginning January 1, 2010, individuals with modified adjusted gross income exceeding $100,000 will be able to convert all or some of their IRA into a Roth IRA. In 2010, taxpayers have a one-time opportunity to split the income equally into 2011 and 2012 thereby spreading out the tax owed.

Eligibility, however, does not automatically make it a good idea. One size doesn’t fit all so be sure to consider your current and future tax brackets, non-deductible basis in your IRA, cash flow needs, estate intentions, and whether you can pay the tax due from outside sources, among other things.

For more Info. contact Rodney Gilbert (404)729-6485 or email at rtgilbert@ft.newyorklife.com

Read more...