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Protecting Your Client’s Income And Their Ultimate Retirement Goals

With the economy the way it is, most would agree that saving for retirement in these trying economic times can be challenging to say the least.
According to a CNBC study, 36% of American’s making over $100,000 a year, said they aren’t contributing a dime to retirement savings such as a 401k or IRA account.

Now imagine trying to save for retirement if you are too sick or hurt to go to work and earn an income. It quickly becomes next to impossible.

We have several carriers that offer solutions to help protect your client’s ultimate retirement goals if they were to get sick or hurt and could not work. One example is called DI Retirement Security.

DI Retirement Security allows your client to continue saving for retirement even if a disabling event should unexpectedly arise, by making a retirement contribution of up to 15% of their income or a maximum of $4,550 every month for the length of any long-term or total disability event.
 
Here are some sales approach tips:
  • Sell Individual DI Insurance and DI Retirement Security together
  • Approach clients who are at their maximum issue limits for Individual DI
  • Approach clients who are contributing the maximum to their 401(k)
  • Talk with business owners about providing DI Retirement Security as an employee benefit for executives and key employees
To find out more about how you can couple Individual DI Insurance with DI Retirement Security to help your client reach their ultimate goal of retirement, please contact your dedicated DI Associate today.
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Unmatched Guaranteed Income For Life from An A++ Carrier

For advisors focused on improving retirement success rates, FIAs with income riders can be one of the most efficient ways to create dependable lifetime income. They help clients cover essential expenses with protected income they can count on, without direct market risk, mortality and expense charges, or underlying fund fees.
 
The key to evaluating FIA income riders is not just the rollup rate.
 
It is the combination of the rollup rate during deferral and the payout rate when income begins. The rollup rate builds the benefit base. The payout rate converts that benefit base into annual lifetime income. Together, they drive the final income number your client will receive.
 
That is why income efficiency matters so much.
 
A rider can look attractive on paper because of a high rollup rate, but if the payout rate is average, the final income may fall short. The strongest FIA income riders pair competitive growth during the deferral years with strong payout percentages at the age income is actually turned on.
 
For clients in their late 60s planning to start income in their early to mid 70s, one of our A++ carriers stands out with a 9% simple-interest rollup credit during the rollup period, and current payout schedules reach the mid-8% range for many relevant income-start scenarios. That combination can push guaranteed income levels to the top of the FIA rider competition for this planning window.
 

For advisors, the value is clear: no direct market downside exposure inside the FIA, no M&E charges, no fund fees, and a high level of guaranteed lifetime income clients can depend on.

 
When you combine protection, simplicity, and top-tier income potential, FIA income riders can become a powerful tool for helping clients build a more durable retirement plan and protect clients from sequence of return risk.
 
In the end, the best retirement income strategies are not just about accumulation. They are about turning assets into reliable income with confidence. For advisors looking to improve client outcomes, an efficient FIA income rider can help deliver exactly that. Contact us for your next income planning case. Together we can show you how these vehicles can better probabilities for retirement success.
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4 Ways Clients Can Cash Out On Their Life Insurance

Your clients need guaranteed life insurance protection today – but life changes, and so can your clients’ life insurance needs.

A unique feature on guaranteed universal life is a return of premium option, included at no additional charge within the policy, which provides clients with an exit strategy, giving them flexibility for their future.

How does this rider work?
 
Clients purchase a Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) policy and make the required premium payments – the required premium is the amount that guarantees the death benefit through age 100. On the 15th, 20th and 25th policy anniversary, clients have a 60-day window where they have the opportunity to surrender their policy and get their premiums returned to them. If they don’t exercise the rider, there will be no impact on the policy.
 
4 Cash Benefits For Your Life Insurance Clients
 
  1. For Retirement. A 45-year-old insured receives 20 years of death benefit protection and at age 65 receives her paid premiums back and uses the cash to supplement retirement income.
  2. For College Costs. The insured bought two permanent policies and currently has young children. One of the policies was a GUL policy with the refund option available. When the children are at the age to attend college, the death benefit needs of the family change. He can surrender his GUL policy in year 15, 20 or 25 and use the cash to help pay for the child’s college education.
  3. For Business Planning. The insured owns her own business and has a key employee, Tom. She purchases a GUL policy to protect her business if Tom died unexpectedly. In year 18 of 20, Tom resigns – and two years later she will receive all of her premium payments back.
  4. To Pay-Up Another Policy. A 55 year old has a need for $5M in life insurance. He purchases two GUL policies, one for $2M and another for $3M. When he turns 75, he no longer needs as much coverage. He surrenders the $2M policy and uses the cash value to pay up the remaining policy. The insured still has $3M of insurance with no further premiums due.
Contact your Life Sales Rep for more on how the return of premium option can positively impact your clients and your business.
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NT-proBNP Cases: Don’t Let One Lab Test Steal The Show

NT-proBNP… sounds intimidating, right? Like something that immediately sends a case into underwriting purgatory.

But here’s the truth: it’s just one guest at the party—and it shouldn’t get to control the music.

This blood test can flag potential cardiac stress, even in clients who look perfectly healthy on paper. And yes, when it comes back elevated, it can make carriers raise an eyebrow. But elevated doesn’t mean eliminated—and that’s where strategy (and we) come in.
 
Our Underwriting Team doesn’t panic over one lab result. We zoom out, look at the full picture, and ask the right question: Does this number really tell the whole story? Then we help position the case with the right carrier—and sometimes, we push back when the first offer misses the mark.
 
Let’s Talk Real Life
  • 49-year-old male
  • $4 million term case
  • Tobacco user
  • Blood pressure, controlled and behaving nicely
  • NT-proBNP: Elevated
  • Initial offer: Standard Tobacco
At first glance, the carrier played it safe. Totally understandable. But we weren’t ready to accept that as the final answer. Our Underwriting Team stepped in, took a closer look, and said: “This client deserves a second look.” We highlighted the strong parts of the risk and advocated for the bigger picture, then secured an updated approval at Preferred Tobacco.
 
An elevated NT-proBNP doesn’t mean your case is doomed—it just means it needs the right strategy. Bring it to us—we’ll help you tell the full story, fight for a better outcome, and turn “maybe” into placed business.
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Myth: Long-Term Care Is Just For Nursing Homes

Originally, the primary reason LTC Insurance was created was because it would help cover the high costs of a nursing home. But over the years, the policies have changed dramatically.

Now LTC Insurance is a comprehensive product that helps cover the cost of a variety services.

Consider the real-life Long Term Care example of Joe
 
He had helped care for both his parents for many years. So, he decided to purchase LTCi to help protect his family from the same responsibilities that he had with his parents.
 
Later in life, Joe developed an advanced stage of diabetes and several health problems occurred, including blindness and the amputation of his leg. His LTCi policy helped him stay at home by paying for renovations to his home, including ramps and grab bars.
 
The care coordinator helped walk Joe and his wife through the types of care he needed and provided a referral list of care providers in the area. His wife was able to receive caregiver training and a home health care nurse visits during the day while his wife is at work. LTC Insurance helped Joe stay in his home and have the care he needs.
 
There are many reasons to obtain Long-Term Care coverage, that can benefit both your client and their family.
 
To learn more, contact your Long-Term Care Specialists today.
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Complete Income Protection For All

Modern day Disability insurers are forever fearful of accidentally over-insuring their clients. This is particularly true when dealing with highly compensated clients.
 
In the past, the income replacement percentage was often subjectively determined by a particular carrier’s underwriter.

As of late, the Council for Disability Awareness has tried to modernize the approach by implementing a statistical analysis approach that determined the need to replace at least 65% of income.

Traditional carriers often meet and sometimes surpass the need for low to middle income earners, but fall short with incomes greater than $150,000.
 
Whether your client is generating a modest income or is highly compensated, there is an essential need to provide adequate income protection to help sustain an individual or family’s lifestyle during periods of non-productivity or severely diminished cash flow due to a short or long-term disability.
 
By stacking additional income protection on top of the coverage the traditional carriers provide, the client’s ability to maintain their current lifestyle turns from fiction to reality.
 
Contact your dedicated DI Specialist today to learn more about how you can offer your clients a complete income protection plan.
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Passing Property To Kids – Give It Now Or Leave It Later?

Recall the Prodigal Son, whose insistence led to his receiving his inheritance during life thus enabling him to proceed to squander his wealth in riotous living. Among the lessons in the tale is the not so gentle admonition about gifting property before the next generation will accept the responsibility that attends.

But even in the case of children rightly raised, there are several planning considerations when deciding whether to pass property now or at death.

Among other things:
  • The effect on the property’s income-tax basis is different – A recipient of a gift takes the same basis in the property as the gift-giver. Sale of the property later could result in a high capital gains tax. But an heir gets a “stepped-up-basis” in inherited property to its fair-market-value. As a result, sale of the property later results in less taxable gain.
  • Planning strategies – Gift only high-basis property or property that is unlikely to be sold later. Otherwise consider waiting and bequeathing the property to the intended recipient.
  • But… remember that a Will can be easily changed – If property is promised at death, the instrument that would make that happen (either a Last Will & Testament or the dispositive provisions of a revocable trust) can be changed with no duty to inform the initial intended beneficiaries.
  • Make sure there are no remaining first generational needs – As an example, sometimes a family business is left to children by a deceased managing parent overlooking a surviving spouse who might still need distributions from the company’s revenue stream. Make sure that the potential for income from any asset to be transferred will not be needed down the road by those passing the property.
We are ready to help you fully inform clients regarding the planning issues that are involved with transferring property to their next generation either during life or upon death. We are ready and available to take part in conversations with you and your clients and eventually, if needed, with their advisors. Contact Tom Virkler at tom@cpsadvancedmarkets.com or 706-614-3796.
 
For what it’s worth: As for the Prodigals to be found in any clientele, astute planners keep in mind the adage regarding family wealth that has proven reliable enough to still be around: The first generation builds it, the second maintains it, the third loses it.”
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One Life Insurance Plan – Numerous Benefits

Life Insurance is one of the most valuable assets there is – especially when you consider the numerous benefits that a Permanent Life Policy can provide now, while still securing a financial future for loved ones down the line.

Successful individuals between the ages of 30 and 50 with young families will find that permanent Life Insurance is an ideal asset.

If properly structured, permanent Life Insurance can produce:
  • Tax free death benefit to loved ones
  • Tax deferred cash accumulation and income
  • Tax free benefits to pay for long term care expenses
On top of all these benefits, permanent Life Insurance also offers:
  • Flexible payments
  • No required minimum distributions
  • The opportunity to earn premium discounts and rewards – for clients who engage in John Hancock’s innovative Vitality Program
Do you know which clients you should be marketing Permanent Life Insurance to? Look for clients that seek out value – not just the lowest price on a spreadsheet. Talk to individuals who are open to new concepts and would be interested in one plan that will address their multiple needs.
 
Contact your Life Sales Rep to learn more regarding what benefits you could be offering using Life Insurance and a few hundred dollars per month.
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Vaping – Underwriting Non-Combustible Tobacco Use

Non-combustible tobacco products are those that do not require burning the tobacco for consumption. Vaping, or electronic cigarettes, is a type of non-combustible tobacco that is heated at a lower temperature to create an aerosol for inhaling.

Generally, vaping is rated the same as combustible tobacco; at smoker rates.

There is a special program offered by one of our carriers that can allow non-tobacco rates for vaping if an additional biomarker lab test checked by the carrier is negative.
 
If eligible, the rate class can be improved from tobacco rates to non-tobacco rates with a one-class downgrade. For example, a Preferred Tobacco rating to Standard Non-Tobacco.
 
To qualify:
  • Tobacco use must be non-combustible only; nicotine delivery devices (vaping), chewing tobacco and snuff
  • No use of cigarettes or cigars in the past 10 years
  • A tobacco combustion biomarker ordered by the carrier is negative
Contact our expert Underwriting Team to find out more about this special program.
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Open the Door to Small Business Sales

Selling Long-Term Care Insurance to small business owners is not like the emotional roller coaster sale it is when selling to individuals. Business owners tend to look at this as a logical discussion of how you can help with their business finances.
 
Many are always looking for a way to save on taxes so a great way to open the door to an LTC sale would be, “If I could show you something that could help your business reduce its tax burden, would you be interested?”

All businesses can deduct LTC Insurance premiums paid using business dollars.

Depending on the tax structure of the business, the owner can either deduct the actual premium or eligible premium.  How?
 
Owners of C corporations can deduct the actual premium paid on a LTC Insurance policy for the owner / employee, spouse, dependents and a designated class of employees.
 
Self employed business owners such as sole proprietors, partnerships or LLCs can deduct the eligible premium paid for the owner, spouse and dependents. The eligible premium is established annually based on the medical care components of the Consumer Price Index.
 
This opportunity allows you to approach any type of small business because you are able to offer a money saving solution. Be sure to approach small business owners with a plan that provides essential LTC coverage and allows them to take advantage of federal tax incentives.
 
For more information about selling LTC to small business owners contact your LTC Specialist today.

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