Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

What You Need to Know The estate tax exemption has effectively never been lowered — let alone slashed — but that outcome seems increasingly likely. FTI’s Scott Small says there are other key developments to be aware of. These include innovative uses of trusts to help families address problems with addiction and a growing ability to modify irrevocable trusts. Advisors serving high-net-worth clients likely know that the historically generous estate tax exemption established by the 2017 tax overhaul is on track to sunset at the end of 2025. Under the law, the exclusion amount for estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes was increased from $5 million to $10 million, and it was indexed for cost-of-living adjustments starting from 2010. For people who die in 2023, the exemption amount will be nearly $13 million. For a married couple, that comes to a combined exemption of a little less than $26 million. This state of affairs is now more or less common knowledge among the advisor population serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients, explains Fiduciary Trust International’s Scott Small. What many advisors may not appreciate, Small says, is the hugely disruptive effect this sunset provision could have on wealthy Americans’ legacy giving plans — and how...

What You Need to Know The simplified form would be similar to Form 1040-EZ as it existed in 2017. The bill would also expand the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to include income earned overseas like pensions and distributions from retirement funds. Duplicative forms required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Bank Secrecy Act would also be eliminated. New legislation, the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act, would require the IRS to create a short-form certification for Americans living abroad who owe no U.S. tax and earn less than $400,000 annually. The bill, H.R. 5432, introduced Wednesday by Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Dina Titus, D-Nev., would also expand the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to include additional types of income earned overseas, such as pensions and distributions from retirement funds. The legislation would also “consolidate duplicative and burdensome forms” that taxpayers must file under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Bank Secrecy Act. The simplified form, according to the bill, would be “similar to Form 1040-EZ as it existed in 2017.” “Ordinary Americans living abroad are often overlooked when U.S. tax policy is written, which can make it extremely difficult and expensive for them to navigate...

Americans are increasingly monitoring their retirement accounts on mobile apps, making satisfaction with these digital tools make-or-break for financial firms. While improved market performance has boosted overall satisfaction, according to the latest J.D. Power report, firms that want to differentiate themselves and increase customer satisfaction in both good and bad markets must do more on digital, especially with respect to mobile apps. “The good news is that overall satisfaction with the retirement plan digital experience is up considerably this year, but when we compare those scores to similar customer-facing industries such as wealth management, property and casualty insurance and automotive, it’s clear that retirement plans still have a lot of opportunities to improve their digital offerings,” Craig Martin, global head of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. Improved digital experiences are essential for strong financial performance, Martin said. “Participants who have a great digital experience vote with their dollars, with roughly double the amount of participants rolling in assets from other plans and more than triple the amount saying they will keep their money with their current provider if their job situation were to change.” Top Digital Performers Garner More Satisfaction J.D. Power’s research showed...