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Houston to Sell $1.1 Billion Bonds for Firefighter Settlement

Article 0 Comments Houston plans to sell more than $1 billion in bonds to settle a firefighters’ pay dispute and the city’s chief financial officer is warning it will swell the annual budget shortfall by as much as 75%. The fourth-largest US city will need to sell so-called judgment bonds to cover a settlement that Mayor John Whitmire struck with the firefighters’ union earlier this month, City Controller Chris Hollins told reporters Tuesday. Over the 25- or 30-year life of that obligation, annual interest payments probably will amount to roughly $40 million, he said. City officials have estimated the interest rate will be around 5.5%, according to documents provided by the mayor’s office. Meanwhile, the new debt will expand the city’s “structural budget shortfall” to as much as $280 million a year from an estimated $160 million to $200 million in the current cycle, Hollins added. Read More: Houston’s $100 Million Ballot-Box Fight Over Firefighter Raises Houston operates on an annual budget of just over $6 billion. The firefighters’ union and city leaders had been locked in a bitter legal dispute over pay equity for eight years before Whitmire took office in January on a pledge to come to terms....

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Deducting Medicare Premiums

What You Need to Know Most clients can deduct the premiums only if they can itemize their medical expenses. The threshold is 7.5% of adjusted gross income. Self-employed clients can do more. As tax season approaches, Medicare beneficiaries often think about how their health care costs will affect their tax returns. Sarah and Tony are examples of Medicare beneficiaries who have two fairly common situations. Sarah is a beneficiary over 65 who has stopped working for pay and has diabetes. Tony, Sarah’s neighbor, is a beneficiary over 65 who’s self-employed as a graphic designer. The Question Can older, self-employed Medicare beneficiaries like Sarah and Tony deduct the Medicare premiums from their taxable income, and, if so, how does that work?” The Answer Yes, Medicare premiums can be tax-deductible under certain conditions. To do that, most clients must itemize their deductions. Only medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of a client’s adjusted gross income, or AGI, will be deductible. For example, if Sarah’s AGI is $50,000, she can deduct the total amount of Medicare premiums and other medical expenses over the $3,750 threshold. Of course, consult with your compliance advisors before discussing topics related to taxes with clients. Encourage your clients to talk...

Three Important Macro Trends Shaping Risk 0

Three Important Macro Trends Shaping Risk

Iryna Lozynska, Product Innovation Strategist, HSB Canada — Iryna Lozynska, Product Innovation Strategist New Solutions, helps us understand three emerging risks facing businesses and consumers, walking us through the most important macro trends she feels have implications for the risk landscape and insurance industry. 1.    Hiring and employment regulation is becoming more complex Businesses and organizations need to constantly keep pace with labour laws. At the provincial level, proposed regulations will directly impact employment practices. For example, Ontario’s Bill 149 will prohibit employers from including any requirements of Canadian work experience in public job postings. It will also require expected compensation to be advertised. Employers who use A.I. to screen applicants will now need to disclose this practice on job postings. In short, there is a strong push toward equity, transparency, diversity and inclusion. This will require a revision of current employment practices and consideration of legal liability exposures. 2.    Motor vehicles face cyber risks I was watching a recent popular movie where a cyber attack caused a fleet of electric vehicles to run on autopilot and crash into each other (and everything else in their way). It’s scary to imagine cars being turned into weapons of mass...

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Everything to Know About RMD Planning for 2024

What You Need to Know The age for required minimum distributions to commence remains at 73 for 2024. Planning should include strategy for this tax year and for future years as applicable. In some cases it might pay to transfer assets from other plans such as old 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts. Many advisors are already in the midst of planning for clients for 2024 and in some cases beyond. A key part of planning is required minimum distributions for both 2024 and years ahead. Here are some issues to consider for clients who are affected by RMDs. RMD-Related Changes Under Secure 2.0 There are three significant changes arising from the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) 2.0 Act that could influence clients’ RMD planning for 2024 and beyond. Maximum amounts for qualified charitable distributions will be indexed to inflation beginning in 2024. Those who are at least age 70.5, can now take up to $105,000 in these distributions in 2024, up from the prior limit of $100,000. Surviving spouses are now allowed to calculate RMDs on their late spouse’s accounts using the deceased spouse’s age and the more favorable Uniform Lifetime Table. RMDs are no longer required...

Agero Expands Deployment of Crash Response Technology Following Significant Growth in 2023 0

Agero Expands Deployment of Crash Response Technology Following Significant Growth in 2023

Agero’s volume of calls initiated through Crash Response has grown 475% since its first-year launch, with 44% year-over-year growth in 2023 Troy, MI (Mar. 19, 2024) – Agero, the leading white-label provider of digital driver assistance services and software for the majority of automotive and auto insurance brands, is pleased to announce the expanded deployment of its Crash Response technology after experiencing record growth in 2023. The expansion enables Agero to roll out its critically important Crash Response offering, which immediately works with emergency services to dispatch support after a crash has been detected, to more consumers across the U.S. – particularly important as vehicle accident rates and severity continue to rise. With two additional Top 10 carriers launching programs last year, Agero’s Crash Response dispatch volume doubled. This means not only twice the number of opportunities to realize savings associated with capturing vehicles from accident scenes, but also twice the number of potentially life-saving customer interactions. “Safety is always the paramount concern whenever a collision occurs,” said Ben Zatlin, Vice President and Head of Accident Management at Agero. “At Agero, we’ve long been proud of our ability to get to the scene quickly and help clients recover the vehicle....

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Plummer Acquires Nebraska’s Classic One

Article 0 Comments Plummer Insurance, Inc. announced the acquisition of Classic One Insurance from Riverstone Bank, effective March 15, 2024. Plummer Insurance was established in 1984 by Steve and Helen Plummer. The agency currently has nine locations in Western Nebraska and Eastern Colorado and offers multiple insurance products, including home, auto, farm, life, health, crop, bonds, business/commercial, truck, and specialty insurance, by several insurance companies. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Mergers? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

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Virginia Still Battling Shenandoah Valley Wildfires

Article 0 Comments Crews who have been battling still-burning wildfires in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this week have gotten an assist from rain and from the state government, which has deployed new resources to the area, officials said Saturday. “Without a doubt the rain is helping” said Cory Swift, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Forestry, who added the agency had no reports of injuries or fatalities connected with the fires, which sprang up mid-week amid gusty winds and low relative humidity. The fires led to trail shutdowns in the Shenandoah National Park, a smattering of evacuation orders, school closures in at least one hard-hit county, and damage to structures, the full extent of which was not yet clear. Containment increases had been reported as of 9 a.m. Saturday on the fires that are part of the so-called Luray Complex, which are burning on a mix of private and national Forest Service land in Page County, Swift said in a phone interview. The three larger fires that make up that complex range from 50 to 70% contained and are being managed by a joint command that includes the U.S. Forest Service, Virginia Department of Forestry and local agencies, according to...

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3 Ways to Help Clients Minimize 2023 Tax Liability Now

What You Need to Know Employee clients can add to retirement accounts. They may be able to add to health accounts. Business owners have a third, great option. Do you ever have a déjà vu feeling? Like you’ve done this very thing before? For me, it happens every year when I prepare my taxes. I start going through everything and determine what I owe the federal government in taxes. As I complete this process, I think to myself, are there strategies that would help me maximize my tax efficiency? But what can I do now? Once the calendar year turns over, there is very little clients can do to increase their deductions and lower their tax bills. They can contribute 2023 payroll income to a SIMPLE or 401(k). Still, that option is based on 2023 payroll taxes and is primarily gone after the end of January. So, what options are there? There are a few, and they are limited. Of course, as always: You should understand all of the options, and you should consult with your own compliance advisors about whether and how to talk about the options with clients. 1. Traditional IRAs If a client hasn’t reached the maximum...

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House Panel Passes Bill to Quash DOL Independent Contractor Rule

Members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee voted this week to advance their version of a bill that seeks to invalidate the independent contractor classification and reporting rules recently adopted by the Biden Labor Department. As detailed on Congress.gov, the Republican-controlled committee voted 21 to 13 to advance House Joint Resolution 116 to the full House. A similar bill remains in committee in the Senate, congressional records show. According to the House and Senate bills’ backers, the legislation is intended entirely invalidate the rulemaking under chapter 8 of title 5 of the United States Code, which grants Congress the authority to review and potentially block agency rulemaking. Supporting lawmakers say the rules are arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act and that they also violate the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Similar arguments have also been raised in litigation filed by a variety of industry groups representing trucking companies, retailers, chambers of commerce and other interested parties — including trade groups in the financial services industry, where advisors commonly work as independent contractors.

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Icebreakers: 17 Questions to Ask Cruise Fans

6. What is your favorite port? Everyone who cruises has stories about great places they have visited. They often want to visit again and again. Their answer can give clues if they are beach people or if culture and history are their interests. 7. How is the food on board? This will get people talking. Meals in the main dining room, buffet and room service are generally included in your cruise fare. Most ships have specialty restaurants offering more upscale options, with a small surcharge. Veteran cruisers will tell you which cruise lines have better food or how the selections have changed over the years. 8. What is your favorite ship (or cruise line)? The cruise line they chose is not necessarily the one they most recently sailed. It often comes down to getting a good deal. Their favorite cruise line or ship might be a memory from the past. Many Cunard passengers speak fondly of the Queen Elizabeth 2, better known as the QE2. It left service in 2008. 9. Have you considered becoming a shareholder in the parent company? This might sound like an odd question to ask, almost pushing business into the conversation. Many of the cruise...