Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

A top Medicare official predicts that a tax bill could keep the program solvent for at least 75 years — if the bill raises as much money as supporters hope it will. Paul Spitalnic, chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that runs Medicare, made that prediction in an analysis of the possible impact of S. 1174, the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act. What It Means Agents and advisors who work with high-income clients may have to pay more attention to S. 1174, now that an agency has suggested that implementing it could keep Medicare solvent. The Medicare Part A Trust Fund Medicare trustees now predict the Medicare Part A hospitalization program could empty out a trust fund that helps pay the claims by 2031. At that point, tax revenue and premium revenue would cover about 89% of projected Medicare Part A bills. The Net Investment Income Tax Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wants to raise money to shore up Medicare by increasing the 3.8% net investment income tax. The tax affects the investment earnings of single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of at least $200,000 and couples with MAGI of at least $250,000 that...

1. Social Security and Medicare choices interact in important ways. One common area of confusion among clients and advisors is the link between Medicare and Social Security, Mantell said. To be clear, Social Security and Medicare are distinct programs serving older Americans, but they have an important commonality. That is, the Social Security Administration handles enrollment for Medicare Parts A and B. For most people, Medicare eligibility starts at age 65, Mantell explained. If a client is receiving Social Security retirement benefits at that time, the SSA will send them a Medicare enrollment package at the start of their initial enrollment period, which begins three months before the month they turn 65. If a client has not yet filed for Social Security benefits, however, they will need to apply for Medicare directly on their own. A client can do so any time during the initial enrollment period, Mantell said. Credit: Adobe Stock

Tom Halloran, Cetera Wealth Partners president, is being promoted to serve as the new head of the firm’s independent advisor channel, replacing Brett Harrison, Cetera Advisors CEO and president, who is leaving the company after more than 25 years, a Cetera spokesperson said Friday. Halloran was Voya Financial Advisors president when Cetera Financial Group said in 2021 that it was acquiring the independent financial planning channel of insurer Voya Financial. He became Cetera Wealth Partners president after the acquisition. Before joining Voya, he was managing director, head of product and acquisition at Merrill Edge from 2010-2013, according to his LinkedIn profile. “After more than 25 years of leadership, commitment and innovation at Cetera and its predecessor firms, Brett Harrison will be pursuing a new chapter in his career as he considers his long-term future and retirement,” the Cetera spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor. After Harrison steps down, Halloran will “assume an expanded role over the Independent Advisor channel,” which includes Cetera Advisors and Cetera Wealth Partners, the spokesperson said. “Tom is well suited to guide the team into the future and will play a key role in executing Cetera’s continued growth strategy.”

LPL Financial’s Liquidity & Succession program is now available to advisors not affiliated with LPL, the firm said Wednesday. The program was launched internally in May 2022 as a test, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. “We are really excited by the results and are confident this program will be a positive addition to the industry,” Jared Fingeret, senior vice president of Liquidity & Succession, Strategic Programs at LPL, said in a statement. “Advisors who are nearing retirement are paired with other, philosophically aligned, independent advisors to help provide clients with a similar experience and seamless transition,” he explained. “With so many seasoned advisors expected to retire within the next 10 years, LPL Liquidity & Succession not only helps ensure the continuation of independence — it creates opportunities to position the next generation of independent-minded advisors for success.” The LPL spokeswoman told ThinkAdvisor on Thursday that “most of our products target advisors who are already here but this one is likely to be a driver to bring additional advisors to LPL.” The new program, she explained, is “very different from” LPL’s Assurance Plan, which she noted is ”for an unplanned exit from the industry” due to death or incapacitation.