Transferring Retirement Risk

Risk transfer is an important element of the wealth management process. When you pay another party to insure against catastrophe, it can be a good move Paying an insurance company a reasonable amount to ensure that you won’t go broke in retirement can also be smart. The cost, which is your agreement that your heirs […]

Health Insurance Marketplace Check-Up

If you have insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you may be getting advance payments of the premium tax credit. These are paid directly to your insurance company to lower your monthly premium. Changes in your income or family size may affect your premium tax credit. If your circumstances have changed, the time is right […]

Addressing Negative Issues can be a Positive Thing

Thinking about negative things is, well, negative. That’s why a lot of people procrastinate about managing risk: It deals with issues of poor health, infirmities and death. In addition, facing the prospect of working with an insurance agent often sends people running. It’s admitted that it’s difficult for people who sell insurance to be […]

When Nursing Home Insurance Makes Sense

One type of insurance coverage that has generated a lot of interest lately helps cover the costs of long-term nursing care. It provides a benefit for people who have difficulty caring for themselves as they age. From a wealth-management point of view, there are specific circumstances where long-term-care (LTC) insurance is most appropriate: You can […]

Two things to like

As a financial adviser, I like at least two things about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Both relate to the fact that anyone who is willing and able to pay for health insurance will be able to get it: First, Obamacare will foster entrepreneurship. I hear frequently from people who’d like to start their own […]

Medicare drug benefit revisited

If you enrolled in Medicare Part D, the Drug Benefit plan, for 2006 and thought you were all set, think again. Open enrollment for 2007 runs from Nov. 15 through Dec. 31, 2006. Although you can stay in your current plan without going through the enrollment process again, you are strongly advised to review your coverage. Most plans will be changing their costs, coverages, deductibles […]

How managing risk can improve financial health

You may know about the food pyramid. It tells you to eat more healthy foods, fewer “unhealthy” ones. There is another pyramid you should know about: the risk pyramid. Its message is that over time, the higher the risk of an investment, the higher the potential return; the lower the risk, the lower the potential […]

Do you need nursing-home insurance?

The question is being asked more frequently these days as nursing-home insurance is aggressively marketed by agents seeking the high commissions and high rate of retention typical of policyholders. Some agents insist that everyone needs nursing-home (long-term-care) insurance. These are the same agents that sell life insurance to toddlers. Fact is, not everyone needs it. […]

Don’t be an ostrich – confront your risks!

An important element of financial planning is protecting the things you can’t afford to lose: your income, for instance, or your house or car. The proper approach is one of managing risks – not necessarily buying insurance, but doing a thorough and thoughtful assessment of the risks you face, then deciding to take one or […]

How much, what kind of life insurance should you have?

Most people with dependents understand the importance of life insurance in their financial plans. Few, however, are methodical or objective in determining the right amount or the right type of life insurance to buy. Life insurance can provide a much-needed safety net for people who haven’t accumulated lots of assets and whose families depend on […]