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:

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