Life Cycle Financial Planners, LLC

Tag: financial planning

Retirement Tips & 10 Useful Retirement Terms.
Whether you’re in retirement or getting ready to retire, here are 10 useful retirement tips and terms.

Protect Your Nest Egg:
1. Full Retirement Age: Full Retirement Age (FRA) is the age you can receive 100 percent of your Social Security benefit. If you delay, the benefits will increase by 8 percent, up to 70.
2. Spousal Benefits: Another strategy that may help maximize your Social Security income is the spousal benefit. The spousal benefit is an option to receive your own benefit or one-half of your spouse’s benefit, whichever is greater.
3. Lifetime Income: A term used to describe income for life. Social Security, pensions and annuities all provide lifetime income.
4. Retirement Asset Diversification: Similar to portfolio diversification, you may benefit from having different types of assets. One of the most important retirement tips to consider is working with a retirement professional to stay properly diversified.
5. Required Minimum Distributions: Mandatory IRS distributions to begin taking withdrawals from your retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401k. They are taxable and they begin at 70½, regardless of whether you want them.
6. Re balancing: Re-balancing is a strategy to help keep your investments aligned with your time horizon and risk tolerance.
7. Medicare Parts A, B, C, D:
- Part A – Hospital Coverage: If you qualify for medicare, you’ll pay no monthly premium for Part A coverage. However, you will have to meet the annual deductible before Medicare kicks in.
- Part B – Non-Hospital Medical Coverage: Optional coverage for doctor’s visits, tests, physical therapy, etc. You may want to opt out if you continue health insurance through a qualifying employer, or spouse.
- Part C – Medicare Advantage: An alternative to Parts A and B, it offers coverage through private insurance companies that contract with Medicare. May provide benefits such as vision or dental care at an additional cost.
- Part D – Prescription Drug Coverage: Adds prescription drug coverage to Medicare. It is offered by insurance companies and other private companies approved by Medicare.
1. Donut Hole: A retirement term that describes the gap (or hole) in Medicare Part D, prescription coverage.
2. Long-Term Care Insurance: Coverage for people who need help with common daily living activities, such as bathing, eating and dressing.
3. Estate Planning: Preparing for retirement is a good time to review or create an estate plan. Updating living wills and powers of attorney is a good idea too.
Please contact me at 561-869-4500 or email me to discuss these retirement tips or a review of your current plan.

You can visit us at www.facebook.com/lifecycleplanners and www.linkedin.com/tedbernstein

ted bernstein, ted bernstein insurance, ted bernstein boca raton, ted bernstein life insurance, deborah bernstein
June 20, 2018
Permanent Life Insurance, Lower Net Cost Than Term.
Term Insurance or Permanent Insurance?

Watch out for these term insurance risks .

Do you want permanent life insurance coverage for your family or business, regardless of how long you live? Then a permanent insurance policy is right for you.

There are important differences between term life insurance and permanent life insurance such as whole life and universal life. These differences go way beyond price. The proper way to compare life insurance is to compare the net cost of different options. The people pushing term insurance use a marketing gimmick known as “buy term and invest the difference”. The problem is:

Nobody invests the difference!

If you want a policy that will protect your family for life, a permanent policy is the only option. If you want a better net cost, again you want to be looking at permanent coverage. The net cost is much lower than term insurance.

The Risks of Term, Look at the Math: A male 35 will pay $950 annually for $1,000,000 of term (for a female, a little less). The 10-year net cost of this policy is a LOSS OF $9500. Over 30 years, the policy will have a net loss of $28,500. The term policy will lapse at age 65 with no value. If this person is healthy, he has 20 more years to live, using today’s projections. If the person is unhealthy, he will be unable to get life insurance or it will be un-affordable. Millions of people over 60 today cannot afford what is available to them.

The Advantages of Permanent Life Insurance: On the other hand, the same 35 year old can buy a permanent policy for $9525. Yes, the premium is significantly more than an equivalent term policy and this automatically rules out all the people who currently do not have the cash flow to buy a permanent policy. The $9525 premium is guaranteed to stop at age 65. The 10-year net cost of this policy is projected to be a GAIN OF $2721. The 20-year net cost is a GAIN of $97,816 and the 30 year GAIN is $343,059.

Over 30 years, the net cost for term is a negative $28,500. The projected gain, using the current dividend scale, is a stunning $343,059. If you would you like to see a simple presentation customized for you, please complete this form and we will be in touch or feel free to call us at 561-771-4647.

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A permanent policy will remain inforce as long as you need it to without any new medical information. The equity in the policy can be tapped at anytime and today, many permanent policies offer Accelerated Benefits for health emergencies.

Why doesn’t every life insurance buyer own a permanent policy?

The number one reason young people select term insurance is affordability. Many young life insurance buyers do not currently have the necessary cash flow to purchase permanent life insurance, and that forces them to purchase term. In too many cases, the term policy that was selected only for its lower cost is not replaced with a better, more appropriate permanent policy, when it is affordable. The right insurance professional should be stressing the importance of replacing the term policy as soon as possible. Term insurance is the right product only if your need for coverage is temporary. Paying premiums into a term policy is throwing away money 97% of the time because 97% of all term policies lapse before paying a claim.

Most young people underestimate their desire to have life insurance later in life. People over 50 want insurance for life to protect their spouse, children or grandchildren.

If you have not looked at the net cost advantages of permanent life insurance recently, you might be surprised at its low premiums and low net cost. The entire process, from quotes to underwriting, can be done online and, in many cases, there is no medical exam at all.

Why Permanent Life Insurance?
- The net cost of permanent life insurance is superior to term.
- Does not expire, is there when you need it most, one policy for life.
  - Consult with an experienced insurance professional to get a customized policy.
    
    DO YOU WANT YOUR HEIRS TO RECEIVE LIFE INSURANCE PROCEEDS, GUARANTEED FOR LIFE?
    
    Secondary market value. A permanent policy can be sold for cash if you do not need or want the policy after age 70. Typically, you cannot sell a term policy in the secondary market if it can’t be converted.
The following video speaks to the virtues of permanent life insurance.

You can visit us at www.facebook.com/lifecycleplanners

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_life_insurance l https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_insurance#Permanent_life_insurance
March 5, 2018
Power of Indexed Annuities
Indexed Annuities – The Facts:

Using Fixed Indexed Annuities, insurance companies guarantee lifetime income for a critical part of your retirement plan. Annuities are not investments. Instead, they are contracts you enter with multi-billion dollar financial institutions that are regulated by 50 states. To maintain Triple A ratings, they are transparent to regulators and are considered to be extremely conservative.
- Insurance companies have higher reserve requirements than banks.
- Insurance companies must comply with strict investment guidelines.
- The 30-year bull market in bonds may be over. The Fed has said it will continue to raise interest rates, which is not good for bond owners, especially open-ended mutual fund bond owners. Now is a great time to protect gains and protect retirement assets with a principal protected, lifetime income solution.
- The right annuities, fixed indexed ones, can participate in the some upside of the markets, without any downside risk. This allows you to participate in potential stock market growth without the anxiety from the roller coaster of stock market losses.
- There are contracts with 100% liquidity from day one – a full return of premium if you want out for any reason. These are special contracts not offered by everyone.
- When stock market returns are negative, your annuity is credited at zero percent. When the markets are positive again, you will participate in a portion of the upside. This is a tremendous benefit during down years and bear markets.
- Annuities provide higher income payouts as you get older. The longer you wait, the higher your guaranteed payout will be.
- Annuities can provide guaranteed income for both spouses. The guaranteed income may continue for as long as the surviving spouse is alive. The life expectancy for two lives is much longer.
- Some contracts DOUBLE the income payment for long term health care costs in the event you cannot perform two out of six Activities of Daily Living.
- Upon the owner’s death, any unused principal will be transferred to the beneficiaries. The amount of money you contribute, plus all gains credited to your contract, will pass to your heirs.
Please contact me at 561-869-4500 or email me, Ted Bernstein, about a complementary consultation about indexed annuities and your specific needs. You can visit us at www.facebook.com/lifecycleplanners

ted bernstein boca raton
August 7, 2017
Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule is DOA

Today, the President delayed the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule that was set to take effect in April. I have been advocating for either a repeal or a delay for many months. The rule was hastily written and poorly written during the Obama administration.

The DOL fiduciary rule attempted to legislate the definition of working in the best interest of a client. On the face of it, trying to legislate this kind of behavior is absurd. Compounding that absurdity, the regulation itself was rife with ambiguities that would undoubtedly create litigation between consumers and insurance companies, wealth management companies, banks and others. This country does not need anymore poorly drafted legislation leading to litigation over judgment calls.

All is not lost however. I truly believe that most professionals are working in the best interest of their clients. There are, for sure, some bad actors who just don’t seem to understand this concept. They seem to be intensely focused on how much commission a product pays or how high of a fee they can charge against the account each year. They will survive changes in regulations, that is for sure. The DOL’s failed attempt here has a silver lining. It most certainly was felt by some of these bad actors as a shot across the bow. Some will be more cautious now, some may even try to up their games.

For consumers of financial service products and advice, many have been monitoring the debate. Working in the best interest of a client is the gold standard for service. Fees and commissions are not the litmus tests. Charging fees is not better than being paid commissions. They are just different. That is an easy point to make. As one of the country’s leading proponents for life insurance without commissions, I would be the first person to say that a fee based model is better; but it isn’t.

The right professional makes recommendations based on several factors that place well ahead of compensation. The rejection of the DOL “fiduciary rule” today will not ensure that consumers have an easy way in determining who is working in their best interest. To know that always has and always will require a bit of work. I suggest that consumers ask for referrals, speak with other professionals such as C.P.A’s and attorneys as well as local chambers of commerce leaders. Trusting your gut is also important, along with the other due diligence.

If you would like to discuss this topic or anything else, please email Ted Bernstein or call me at: 561-869-4500

February 3, 2017
Long Term Care Covers More Than You Might Think.
Most people report uncertainty about the definition of claim triggers in their long term care insurance policy. My experience confirms that people want a better understanding about what IS covered and what MAY NOT be covered. You will be surprised about today’s long term care policies and find they DO cover you when you need it most.

The issue of Long Term Care is at the top of the list of retirement threats facing many of us. It is one of the largest uninsured financial risks facing the elderly in the United States today. Incredibly, long term care represents about 8½ percent of all health care spending for all ages and more than 1 percent of GDP.

Eligible claims: Let’s focus on what many people find confusing – benefit triggers and when can you claim? For example, the REQUIRED wording for chronically ill is:
1. You cannot perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial assistance for at least 90 consecutive days; or
2. Cognitive impairment issues creating and requiring supervision in order to protect you from health and safety threats.
These are standard and straightforward definitions. Being aware of them will lead to the receipt of proper benefits under the contract.

The benefits are in the details! Looking closer at number One:

‘You cannot perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial assistance…’ Does this definition require the insured to be sick in order to meet the chronically ill definition?

No. These benefits are triggered by a loss of functional capacity – meaning you cannot manage Activities of Daily Living (ADL) without assistance.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are defined as “the things we normally do… such as feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, and leisure activities”.

Eligibility of claims in these cases IS NOT tied to a specific diagnosis or injury. You are not required by the policy to have MS, Parkinson’s, a stroke or any other diagnosed medical condition. You might be 70 years old or 85 years old – that does not matter.

A large number of people receiving long term care benefits do have one or more chronic conditions but do not have a catastrophic diagnosis. They are still eligible for claims under the right contracts.

Without a doubt, the longer we live, the more likely it is that we will need help with our daily living activities.

Fortunately, being sick is not a requirement to receive legitimate benefits.

Please feel free to contact me to arrange a consultation about long term care. There are dozens of threats to your nest egg in retirement and I will explain this one and any others you wish to discuss. You can email me or call me directly at 561-869-4500.
December 27, 2016
7 Helpful Tips to Review Life Insurance
Life Insurance Policy Forensics

Follow the 7 helpful tips to review life insurance coverage below and you will either improve it or have confirmation that the policy is appropriate. It makes sense to review all insurance coverage every two years. Done this way, each type of insurance should take no more than 15 minutes.

For many individuals who own or purchase life insurance, having an objective and impartial advocate in the process proves to be invaluable. It is a complex asset class, there are hundreds of insurance companies with 50 State Insurance Departments. For individuals or businesses, our service helps you navigate the life insurance world with the comfort of impartiality defining underscoring the relationship. Acting in the best interests of our clients is the cornerstone of our practice.

For institutional owners of life insurance policies or individual trustees of trust owned policies, life insurance is an asset that must be regularly monitored by the policy owner. The owner is a fiduciary and is therefore responsible for the policy and for keeping it in good standing as any other asset for which they have this responsibility. When revocable or irrevocable trusts are owners of life insurance, we recommend that the policy or policies be reviewed on a regular basis by the Trustee. If the review is out-sourced to a professional, we suggest that these reviews be done on a fee basis.

Long before other professionals began working in this area, we recognized the value of an unbiased, fee-based option to give trustees and owners the proper level of due diligence assurance and trustee compliance.

The life insurance industry is in a constant state of change making a life insurance policy a complex financial tool. Many types of policies and their components are misunderstood by the policy owner. The insurance industry is constantly changing the way life insurance is designed, priced and underwritten. Having an objective professional who is not contractually prohibited from selling products is similar to the value of a real estate appraisal done by an independent appraiser.

FREE OR FEE? IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) should be treated as a “buy and manage” asset. Too often, life insurance agents offer only the buy function and not the manage function as this is typically not part of their standard discipline. Every Trustee and Owner of a life insurance policy must ask themselves this question: “Is there a difference in the value of a life insurance policy review done on a fee basis versus a free review?” Is the review being done by a sales agent as a way to create selling opportunities? The goal for policy owners is to develop a review and monitoring model based on best practices versus predatory practices. When the owner is in a fiduciary capacity, the review process should be done on a fee basis to ensure impartiality.

THE 7 BENEFITS OF A REVIEW – CHANGE CREATES RISK FOR OWNERS HELD TO A FIDUCIARY STANDARD.
1. Life Expectancy has lengthened. Insurance companies have implemented pricing and underwriting standards to reflect these improvements. There have been significant changes in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, mental disorders, medications and other medical issues.
2. Insurance companies have introduced innovative new products and pricing techniques that reduce premiums and improve policy performance. For example, indexed universal life is policy type that did not exist 20 years ago.
3. Interest and dividend crediting rates change. Economic conditions are always changing, requiring insurance companies to either increase or decrease their crediting rates. These crediting rates are directly tied to the rate of return in the policy. As a result, due to today’s low interest rate environment, many interest sensitive policies such as Universal Life, Variable Life, Indexed Universal Life and various combinations of these, issued prior to 2000 are not performing as originally intended.
4. Market conditions have changed. Fluctuations in the stock market have impacted life insurance. Many customers purchased Variable Universal Life policies in the 1990s that are at risk of failing or in need of re-calibration due to these fluctuations.
5. Planning goals of the policy owner may have changed. Evaluation of current goals and needs is an essential part of the life insurance audit process.
6. New products have emerged possibly making previous product selections less desirable in light of new options.
7. Federal Estate and Gift Tax laws have changed which can eliminate the need for coverage.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW?
- A client update of original goals and objectives and a policy summary.
- Location of original policy and all amendments.
- A review of the structure of the policy, ownership, beneficiaries, payment methods, relative to the client objectives.
- An assessment of possible rate class improvements.
- An evaluation of the effect of changes in interest rates/sub-account performance, increase in cost of insurance, or any combination thereof. Updated carrier ratings provided from national rating agencies.
- Market Comparison. An objective evaluation on whether there is a more cost effective and reliable way to provide the results the client expects. This is intended to ensure that the client’s current and future objectives are being met. Also review the availability of new or improved carrier products.
- Context Analysis –is the policy still suitable for the current estate plan, as circumstances are constantly changing in clients’ lives as well as applicable tax law?
- Premium Funding Analysis – Many policies will eventually lapse due to poor policy performance, leaving the client with a sizeable premium increase. Current projections will be obtained to view the policy under different conditions.
- Stress Test – Worst case scenarios will be analyzed by running a variety of different illustrations from inforce carrier(s) and alternative carrier(s).
- Secondary Market Analysis – If it is determined that a policy is no longer needed or wanted, rather than lapsing or surrendering the policy, it may make more sense to sell to a third party institution in exchange for an immediate cash settlement or arranging for a lender to make the premium payments.
Before any review can be begin, it is critical that we speak with the insured/owner and their advisors in order to gain important insight concerning the policy’s origination, purpose of insurance and how it fits into today’s planning goals and objectives. Please contact us at 561-9-869-4500 or email me to arrange a complementary consultation about our policy review services.
December 8, 2016
The Value of a Professional’s Advice
Professional Advisors Vital to Financial Health.

Make no mistake about it. The research continues to confirm that getting advice from professionals is beneficial in every measure: insurance, retirement planning, investing and quality financial plans.
- Within 4 to 6 years, households who used advisors accumulated 58% more assets than those who self-directed their investments.
- Using a professional advisor for 7–14 years essentially doubled the wealth accumulation of those without an advisor.
- After 15 years, households held 2.7 times more wealth than those who did not seek professional guidance.
- No other strategy guarantees lifetime income with no principal risk like indexed annuities.
These are NET RESULTS after taxes and accounting for the costs of the professional advice.

Advisors encourage their clients to save twice as much while simultaneously helping their clients develop long-term insurance, investment and retirement plans.

The Growing Demand for Advice.

Millions of people benefit each year from the value of annual reviews. Life Cycle Planning is financially rewarding and leads to more security. We will continue to demonstrate the value of professional advice by offering the best products, solutions and service to our clients. Please call us at 561-869-4500 or email me to arrange a complementary meeting to discuss how we may help.
December 3, 2016
Beware of Bad Financial Advice.

Beware of bad financial advice from your friends and family https://t.co/h5zoIuf6SF

— dnason (@dnason) November 7, 2016

November 7, 2016
Lower Your Life Insurance Premiums With A Smart Hybrid Policy – Protect Your Beneficiaries Better.
Lower the Cost of Your Life Insurance and Protect Your Heirs the Way You Intended:

Until now, life insurance buyers did not have an option to structure the payment of the policy’s proceeds to their beneficiaries. All that has changed – now you have the control to design the payout exactly as you want them paid. Why does this matter?

Turning the proceeds into guaranteed payments by the insurance company LOWERS THE ANNUAL PREMIUMS as much as 40% and protects the proceeds from every kind of risk.

Do you want the beneficiaries of your life insurance policy to receive a lump sum? One of the most important things you can do for your heirs is to protect them exactly as you intended when you decided to purchase life insurance. Remarkably, life insurance proceeds only last, on average, 3 years! Ask any parent or spouse if they INTEND the proceeds to be gone in 3 years. That is never their intention.

The perfect plan guarantees the number of payments you choose, turning the proceeds into payments that can never be mismanaged. With interest, the insurance company makes structured payments to your beneficiaries based on the plan you create when you set up the policy. Everything is guaranteed. You can change the plan anytime.

For example, instead of a $2,000,000 lump-sum payment, your beneficiaries can receive equal payments of $200,000 for 10 years. Or equal payments of $100,000 for 20 years. How about a plan that pays $500,000 upon death and 10 more equal payments of $150,000? Each person is different and now, each person can customize the payout to meet their precise, individual needs.

It gets better. The premiums can be as much as 40% lower every year depending on the time frame you choose. Or, for the same premium in your current policy, you can increase the amount of insurance up to 40%!

The “Installment Payout Option” allows the policy owner, at the point of purchase, to choose how many years to defer these payments.

Win –Win: You either purchase up to 40% more life insurance for the same premium as a lump-sum payout or lower your annual premiums up to 40% every year. By choosing a greater number of payout years, the ANNUAL SAVINGS is increased.

The surge in annuity sales over the past several years is evidence that principal protection and guaranteed results are critically important to millions of consumers. “This groundbreaking alternative is the perfect life insurance solution”, says Ted Bernstein of Life Cycle Financial Planners. And, it is available for both term and permanent coverage.

Why upgrade to the Installment Payout Plan?
1. Transform lump-sum proceeds into guaranteed installments.
2. Offers the most competitive premiums available – everything GUARANTEED.
3. Reduces premiums as much as 40% for same amount of death benefit.
4. Protects life insurance proceeds from market risk.
5. Tremendous flexibility, installment periods between 5 and 30 years.
“The biggest challenge we face is raising awareness of this important option”, says Ted Bernstein, Owner of Life Cycle Financial Planners. “Almost everyone can upgrade their insurance coverage and we are uniquely qualified to help our clients…even smokers and people paying more for rated policies.”

Please call us at 561-869-4500 and let us help you compare your existing policy with the benefits of the Installment Payout Option. Or, email Ted.

Make sure to inquire about Life Insurance with living benefits and turn the face amount of your life insurance policy into an emergency health insurance fund.
October 20, 2016
The Incredible Value of Life Insurance – Nothing Else Can Do This…

As September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, this is a great testament to the value of how life insurance protects us. We offer state of the art solutions that are customized to meet your specific goals and objectives. Let us help you minimize your premiums and maximize the value of your coverage. Please call me at 561-869-4500 or email me at tb@lifecycleplanners.com

October 19, 2016