Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

One example of the firm’s innovation efforts, White detailed, is the platform’s ability to analyze and onboard complex estate planning documents that are created externally. The platform digests the information and automatically generates a visual-based overview of the client’s estate. “Being able to do this digitally and efficiently is a game-changer for advisors working on the estate planning topic,” White said. “The old-fashioned way required advisors and attorneys to sit down and pore through the documents on an ad hoc basis.” Such capabilities, he continued, complement the platform’s document-creation power that may be of more use to end clients who are lower on the wealth scale and who may lack essential planning documents such as wills, trusts and advanced directives. “The vision is to be able to help support advisors who are themselves supporting clients at all wealth levels,” White explained. “Estate planning services are about more than tax savings for just the wealthiest Americans.” A Red-Hot Market No service category in the wealth management domain has more inherent opportunity than estate planning, White maintained. “There’s a good reason why you see so much investment and interest in this space — and why we have some great competitors and colleagues...

In response to public concern, Labor said it has narrowed the collection request from what was previously proposed. The information will help Labor establish and maintain the complete database contemplated by section 523 of ERISA. Labor is seeking “basic information about individuals of a certain age who may be owed benefits under ERISA retirement plans.” Specifically, EBSA states that it’s asking for the name and Social Security number of any participant who: separated from service; is owed a benefit from the plan; and is 65 or older. “The fundamental purpose of any job-based retirement plan is to pay promised benefits to the workers who participate in those plans and plan beneficiaries,” Lisa Gomez, assistant secretary for Employee Benefits Security, said in a statement. “Our goal, which we believe plan sponsors and administrators and their service providers share, is to make sure that workers and their beneficiaries receive all the retirement benefits they earned and were promised through their working careers so that they can look forward to a secure and enjoyable retirement,” Gomez said. The Retirement Savings Lost and Found database “will be another tool to help plans carry out this responsibility.”   Credit: Mike Scarcella/ALM

Travel considerations: Clients who frequently travel within the United States or abroad might benefit from plans that offer broader coverage. Original Medicare, often supplemented by a Medigap plan, might be more suitable for clients who travel often, as some Medicare Advantage plans have limited networks. Provider preferences: Some clients may have long-standing relationships with certain health care providers. Verifying that the selected Medicare plan includes these providers in its network is essential. Convenience and simplicity: Some clients may prioritize the simplicity of managing their health care. Medicare Advantage plans, which often bundle services including vision, dental and prescription drugs, may appeal to clients seeking a more streamlined approach. Paying for Medicare Plans Your clients can use various sources of retirement income to pay Medicare costs. Social Security benefits: Most Medicare Part B premiums are automatically deducted from Social Security benefits. You should factor this into a client’s overall retirement income planning. Required minimum distributions (RMDs): For clients over age 73, RMDs from IRAs and other retirement accounts can be used to help pay Medicare premiums. Pension income: If applicable, pension income can also be allocated to cover Medicare expenses. You should review your client’s pension plans and help them structure...

The 2017 tax cuts did produce some positive economic effects, but they were far more modest than the Trump administration and some Republicans forecast, said Kyle Pomerleau, a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute. “It will be important to watch to see if markets start to panic if enough deficit spending is being contemplated, or if they’ll decide to look through it,” said Martha Gimbel, executive director of The Budget Lab at Yale and a former White House economist under Biden. Tariff Issues Trump has vowed to impose a tariff of 10% to 20% on all imported goods plus 60% on Chinese products and promoted that as an offset for tax cuts. But lawmakers will have to decide whether to enact those tariffs in the tax bill so the revenue can be officially counted — a difficult vote for Republicans, especially those who want free trade. They could also just assume revenue would continue from presidentially imposed duties, even though Trump might later strike a trade deal that drops them. “There’s always a way to make things work,” said Dave Camp a senior policy advisor at PwC and a former Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee....