Feb 12 Agent Talk: LTC and the Client With $1M in Savings

Good morning Everyone!

    I hope you can join us for today’s Agent Talk (11am CST).  Be sure to register at the link to get a copy of the Recorded Presentation sent to you.

    Today we will deal with a phenomenon that is very common in America: the very conservative client who keeps a large amount of amount in a money market or savings account.

Case Study: 54y/o with $1M

    We will continue with our theme of ensuring each client has a Long Term Care Protection Plan -- that goes beyond saying one’s policy has a Chronic Illness Rider. The client needs to have a LTC protection plan that dedicates a specific amount of income for LTC purposes separate and apart from his retirement plan.

    Today’s Case Study concerns one of our current cases from California.  Our client is 54 years old with $1M in a money market account (left by her deceased husband).  Client has a state job that pays her $80k a year with a pension of $60k.  

    Client wants to get the most income she can from her money without putting her money at market risk and recognizes she needs Long Term Care.  Client also wants to leave a legacy for her children.

Planning Approach…

    We will approach our planning from three (3) perspectives:

• Retirement Income Planning,

• Long Term Care Protection Planning, and

• Legacy Planning.

        Step 1 is to understand what the client’s current plan will generate in terms of Retirement Income, LTC and the legacy she will leave her kids.  We will create a Chart on these issues.

    Step 2 is to look a Retirement Income Options which do not involve market risk.

• Option 1 will be to move $800k from the money market acct to an IUL over 5 years, use $100k for a life plan dedicated for LTC protection and leave $100k in savings.

• Option 2 will be to place $400k into an IUL and $400k into a lifetime income annuity, use $100k for a life plan dedicated for LTC protection and leave $100k in savings.

    American National is one of the few carriers that offer Living Benefits (i.e., Chronic Illness and Critical Illness) in California.  The state of California requires carriers to provide a side by side comparison of a Traditional LTC policy with the Chronic Illness Rider of a life policy.  Anico’s compliance comparison Chart is attached on that issue.

     We also will look at a Global Atlantic solution for retirement income.  I hope you can join us.  Be sure to register to have a Recorded Presentation sent to you if you cannot join us.  Have a great day!

    -Marvin

Feb 5 Reflections Monday - LTC and the Client With $1M in Savings

     Our custom at Executive Strategies Group is to take a break from our Agent Talks on the first Monday of each month for Reflections Monday.  The goal of Reflections Monday is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect on your business in financial services… perhaps

• Being more well-rounded to be a better financial planner,

• Building your practice in a particular way -- such as Final Expense Planning, Long Term Care Planning, 401(k) Rollover Planning, Group Health Planning, or Retirement Planning with Small Business Owners,

• Improving your Prospecting routine from emails prospecting, Linkedin Prospecting, Cold Call Prospecting, or Existing Client Needs Prospecting, or

• Watching a webinar or two each week to learn and grow as a professional.

January Recap….

    We have added an online library at our Vimeo channel so folks can watch past Agent Talks.   Last week’s Agent Talk was actually our first for 2018 and focused our Goals for 2018. You can watch that presentation at the link, or via the attached Recording.

Long Term Care Emphasis....

    We are continuing our theme on providing each client with a Long Term Care Protection Plan.  The American Association for Long Term Care has a Sales Center  feature to its website with a number of great free videos on talking to clients about LTC.  Be sure to check out the videos at the link.

    The 2015 Long Term Care Sales Summit gives one access to 25 presentations from leaders in the field.  The most interesting are those that discuss building a lead generate to develop your own leads of folks who are looking for long term care.

Key Facts Flyer and an Example….

    Education is at the heart of what we do as planners.  Long Term Care Planning should be a highlighted portion of our presentations.

   I encourage you to use a tool like the attached flyer, Long Term Care: Key Facts You Should Know, to review with clients, and gradually build your own flyer from facts as the Association for Long Term Care’s website.

    Clients should also know from the amount of money from a Chronic Illness Rider of a life policy that can be dedicated to long term care protection.  The attached is an example for a 45y/o contributing $25k a year to a plan.

New to Executive Strategies Group?

    We recognize that we have agents and wealth management advisors at different points of the ‘curve’ when it comes to our primary emphasis:  Retirement Income Planning with Non-qualified Executive Benefit Plans similar to the plans used by Fortune 1000 companies for their executives.  A Personal Non-Qualified Plan using indexed universal life can generate 25% to 30% more income for the average person that can be provided via mutual funds -- and do so without the market risk.

    You are more than welcome to reach out to my office to schedule one on one time.. Via an online meeting or in person.  

General…

    Thanks for all that you do.  Be sure to sign up for next week’s Agent Talk where we will talk about using the Chronic Illness Rider of American National for a client’s Long Term Care protection plan.   

    Please feel free to call if you need help with an illustration, putting together a proposal or any other type of support.

    -Marvin

Our Goals for 2018...

Good morning Everyone,

   I hope you can join us for our first Agent Talk of 2018.  Today’s Agent Talk will be our “State of the Union” address where we talk about some of the objectives of Executive Strategies Group for 2018.  

   I also want your input and feedback on areas where you would like to be strengthened.  Be sure to register at this link to attend, and/or receive a copy of today’s recording.  You also can review this email at our new online Training Blog for ease of review.

Our Online Library at Vimeo….

We have just started our online library at Vimeo.  Our long-term goal is to have all of our Agent Talks and Agent Training online.  This will allow the new agent to hear fundamental training on Getting Started With Executive Strategies Group, and allow each person to locate presentations on a subject matter of interest.

 Our initial online subjects concern building a Long Term Care practice.  We want every client to have a Long Term Care Protection Plan which is more than simply pointing out the policy has a Chronic Illness Rider.  A Chronic Illness Rider is not a Long Term Care Protection Plan.   Our first two talks on the subject at Vimeo are as follows:

• Building A Long-Term Care Practice

• Long-Term Care Plans: Chronic Illness Rider vs Traditional Long Term Care Plan,

   We all should have a flyer on Long-Term Facts You Should Know (like the attached) that we use to educate each client.  This is particularly true when speaking before groups -- and writing articles.  The resources at the website of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance can help in building a LTC practice -- and you can purchase leads on folks looking for a LTC policy.

Presentations Geared Toward Your Audience…

   Too many of us are using the same presentation for all prospects and all audiences.  We want to create downloadable presentations that are geared toward the needs, issues and income level of each client:

• Retirement Income Planning

  • Non-qualified Deferred Comp (NQDC) plans for the C Corp owner and executive,

    • Supplemental Executive Retirement (SERP) Plans for C Corp owners,

    • NQDC plans for non-owner employees of S Corpos,

    • Personal non-qualified plans for the S Corp owners -- and for the average person.

• Long-Term Care Planning,

• Maximize Income From 401(k) Plans, and

• Legacy Planning.

Your 20% Tax Deduction….

   Most of you will be entitled to take a tax deduction of 20% off of your income in 2018.  This means that if you earn $80,000, the 20% deduction allows you to write off $16,000 ($80,000 x 20%).  The tax savings for someone in the 25% income bracket is $16,000 x 25%...or $4,000 a year.  

   Yet, if you are single and earn more than $157,5000, or married earning more than $315,000, that deduction is not available if you are in a ‘specified profession’ like doctors, dentists, lawyers, insurance professionals, and those in wealth management.

   If you are not in a ‘specified profession’ and earn more than the thresholds outlined above, your ‘business income deduction’ is limited to W-2 income. The attached article from WatsonCPA is a good primer.  We will hold several webinars on tax reform.

General…

   Next Monday will be Reflections Monday which for those new to ESG takes place on 1st Monday of each Monday.  This is a time to reflect on becoming a better planner and re-organize to serve clients better.  We also will have a ‘recording’ or webinar to share.

   Thanks again for being on our team.  Remember to register at the link for today’s Agent Talk.  Have a great day!

   -Marvin

Our 2018 Agent Talks Begin

   Our Agent Talks for 2018 will begin next Monday.  Our Agent Talks will start at 11am CST and will last 30 to 45 minutes.  Be sure to register at this link to ensure you receive regular updates.

Our 2018 Roadmap….

   Our goal for 2018 is to strengthen the foundation we laid to encourage individuals to use Non-qualified Plans similar to those used by executives in Fortune 1000 companies for their own personal use, or to build wealth with pre-tax monies more robustly than one can with a 401(k) plan.  

   Presentations that are geared towards your audience is a key theme for 2018:

• Non-qualified Deferred Comp (NQDC) plans for the C Corp owner and executive,

• Supplemental Executive Retirement (SERP) Plans for C Corp owners,

• NQDC plans for non-owner employees of S Corpos,

• Personal non-qualified plans for the S Corp owners -- and for the average person.

   Tax Reform has altered the landscape.  We first want you to take advantage of tax reform for yourself, and understand ways to use tax reform to create planning opportunities.  The attached article from WatsonCPA is a good primer.  We will hold several webinars on tax reform.

   Long Term Care Protection plans for each client is also a planning priority.  We must do more than simply mention the policy has a chronic illness rider.  We must use a rider similar to Global Atlantic’s Accelerated Access Rider (attached) and show the client the specific amount available for long term care…. Or have a policy dedicated solely to Long Term Care Protection.

   Prospecting and Marketing….  So many of you have made major strides in talking to owners and professionals about retirement planning.  We must help folks understand the need for a Retirement Income Plan.  We want to create a series of emails, e-letters, Linkedin messages so we reach more and more business owners and professionals.

   Online Library… We will be working to put more of our training and (webinars from our guest speakers) online in an organized format so an agent can engage in self-learning as he builds his business with many Case Studies as an example.

General…

   Reflections Monday will still take place on the 1st Monday of each Monday.  This is a time to reflect on becoming a better planner and re-organize to serve clients better.

  We have an incredible privilege to serve others.  I hope 2018 is the best year of your life -- and your financial services career.  Thank you for all you do for Executive Strategies Group!

   -Marvin