Estate tax problem?

Will you have an estate tax problem?
The federal estate tax exemption is $5.34 million per person. Roughly 0.2% of the 2.4 million decedents in 2014 will have a federal taxable estate, while 99.8% will not have a taxable estate. See if you face a state estate/inheritance tax here. Most states have none: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-estate-taxes.html. Congratulations if you have an estate over $10.68 million. Use an attorney to retitle assets to exempt them and plan how to give away the excess now. Use this outline: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Spending-Plan-enough/dp/1461084016

Will you have enough for retirement?

The share of Americans 65 and older with mortgage debt rose to 30 percent in 2011 from 22 percent in 2001. The increase in mortgage debt may influence labor-force dynamics as some older Americans find they’re unable to completely retire, needing extra cash to keep up monthly payments. Loan balances doubled to $79,000. It also diminishes home equity and wealth, making these households more susceptible to swings in the economy and curbing spending on things such as vacations and visits to grandchildren. Pay ZERO tax in retirement:

http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976

GOP crazies

Trump goes bankrupt again—he’s really good at it—he can run in 2016

Trump, the 68-year-old real-estate ‘tycoon’ and reality-TV ‘star,’ began investing in Atlantic City in the early 1980s. His three casinos went through bankruptcy in the early 1990s, after opening the $1 billion Taj Mahal in a recession. This will be the third time the entire company was put into bankruptcy -- it sought court protection in 2004 and again in 2009, when Trump gave up the chairmanship for TV “reality” life.

Donald, sorry. You’re fired!

Are all the vehicle discounts right for you?
Each insurer offers up to 20 discounts for your coverage but you must ask. Most agents don’t go through the list because discounts reduce their pay. Make sure you are not paying for some coverage TWICE. You may never collect on some coverage so drop it. Shop every two years and save with the right policy: http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634

Is the Vanguard Windsor fund right for you?

Since 1958, this managed fund has provided an average return of 11.63%. It owns large companies that are temporarily depressed for non-crucial reasons. It costs more than the Vanguard 500 index (.37% vs .05%) but provides value-weighted market exposure for the long term. It is one of the Vanguard Top 10:  http://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

Manufacturing returning to American South for low wages, low costs, no tax?

Large manufacturers are demanding low wages, free land, free roads, free training, free taxes, free regulations to go south. America is split—wealthy enclaves and a Third World economy. Some states are “among the least expensive production sites in the industrialized world.” Wages are non-union $14 not $20. Extended families with more than one worker making $30,000 can make it but with no health care, retirement or college savings. Towns in the South must provide remedial training—reading and math are needed to make things these days. Two Americas—the poor and the rich?

Is a 401k loan right for you?

People turn to this easy to tap pot-o’-gold like they won the lottery. Unfortunately, this is giving up more than you realize. Each $10,000 borrowed robs you $100,000 later. This is a good chunk of your retirement money and you can never get it back. Time can’t be recreated. Time is what makes a retirement fund work. Each $3,000 401k annual contribution/FREE money from employer is worth $30,000 later because of compound interest takes time to add the extra $27,000 earnings. So if you have an emergency need for cash, consider that you may be sentencing yourself to your job for another 15 years. Check loans from your employer, bank, home, relatives, church, credit union and the folks you owe. Your 401k is your greatest asset: http://www.amazon.com/Tune-your-401k-EARN-Tax-FREE/dp/1490591028

Hospitals consider paying patient premiums

The South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association is trying to raise $5 million to donate to a foundation, which would pay the premiums for one year for 7,000 to 10,000 people who bought insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Hospitals around the country are considering third-party payer programs amid concerns that a provision in President Obama's health law could leave them on the hook for unpaid bills during a 90-day grace period if consumers fall behind on payments.

Insurers fight back.

Patients left without coverage in hospital and end up filing bankruptcy. Only IRA money protected.

SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?

We are paying for 164,253 of our active-duty armed personnel to be in 150 countries around the world. We have about 50,000 in Japan and 50,000 in Germany.

Are we preparing for WWII again? There are 1,208,083^[1] armed personnel in the United States. Our taxes pay for about HALF of the WORLD’s military expenditures every year. We have wasted $398.6 billion so far on the F-35 program—they can’t fly safely.

We just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.

Japan, Germany and S. Korea can pay for their own defenses.

Big oil undermines democratic process in CA vote

Oil companies are quietly working to make it look like working Californians are spontaneously rising up in protest against the climate standards. In recent months, groups have popped up that appear to be grass-roots organizations started by ordinary people opposed to the rules. In fact, they’re paid for by the oil industry. Fake groups scare public with higher gas price forecasts. Big oil aims to stop pollution regulations. Oil still gets our tax dollars in subsidy.

Who to sue if a robo-driverless car hits you?

Even if you don’t have to drive in your robo-car, can you sit in the same seat for hours waiting to correct a mistake?

“IRS” calls me warning a warrant for my arrest will be issued if I don’t call

IRS says they don’t call and no, I don’t owe anything.

It is just a scam, they say. They even have my Social. How’s that?

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts 

Best Graduation Gift?

Best Graduation gift? Help them start investing early!

Parking lot attendant Earl Crawley started early with $100 and now has $500,000:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0svDGyLWU 

Starting early is the easiest way to assure your grad of living well.

All it takes is $9 a day and 1 hour to set up a tax-FREE account.

Accumulate $1,000,000 with NO taxes EVER.

Compounding stock dividends is how millionaires double their money. http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-every-school-graduate-century/dp/1466427906

Tax deadline advice

The IRS has some advice for taxpayers who missed the tax filing deadline. File as soon as possible.  If you owe federal income tax, you should file and pay as soon as you can to minimize any penalty and interest charges. There is no penalty for filing a late return if you are due a refund. Free File is still working.http://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free

Will Obama’s budget change your retirement plan?

There are good, bad and ugly here: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2013/04/10/how-obamas-budget-impacts-retirement-savers

You have to make up for cuts in Social Security benefits. We need to grow our tax-FREE income NOW while we can: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Income-Replaces-Social-Security/dp/1484129539/

What will the “CPI in chains” do to your SS benefits?

Over time, the new increases will NOT keep up with inflation since most older folks need to buy medication and health care. These items have been increasing at twice the rate of inflation NOT less. The loss of benefits is estimated to grow quickly: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1334361-the-chained-cpi-how-big-of-a-difference-does-it-make?source=yahoo

401k fee disclosure just as undisclosed as before—fees can cost 40% of nest egg?

Most employees were supposed to learn in clear English, how much they were paying for administration, record-keeping and accounting as well as investment and operating expenses. The disclosures have been problematic for investors while creating more paperwork for employers and plan-management companies. Regulators are tracking claims to see if we are still intentionally misled. However, the point is that we still don’t know how much in total is taken from our money. We can learn a lot from Brightscope’s ratings of plans: EG Google: http://www.brightscope.com/401k-rating/367778/Google-Inc/372789/Google-Inc-401K-Savings-Plan/

Buy only tax-FREE low-cost retirement funds: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Mutual-Funds-retirement/dp/1481114026

Long-term care costs rise: is insurance right for you?

Study shows a continued upward trajectory when it comes to the cost of obtaining long term care services. The cost of receiving care in a setting such as an assisted living facility or nursing home is dramatically increasing, while the cost to receive care at home through homemaker services or a home health aide is rising at a much more gradual pace. The median annual costs have gone up from $65,200 to $83,950, increasing at more than four percent a year. The better news is that costs for homemaker services and home health aides have remained relatively flat. Since 70% of Genworth's first time long term care claimants choose in-home care, these costs have remained more manageable. Learn what the alternatives to insurance are:http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X

GAO says some pension plans in trouble: Can you prepare?

Government Accountability Office acknowledged that the most severely distressed multiemployer plans have taken significant steps to address their funding problems. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's financial assistance to multiemployer plans continues to increase, and plan insolvencies threaten PBGC's insurance fund's ability to pay pension guarantees for retirees, the GAO noted. Since 2009, the PBGC's financial assistance to plans has increased significantly, primarily due to a growing number of plan insolvencies. The PBGC estimated that the insurance fund would be exhausted in about two to three years if the projected insolvencies of either of two large plans occur in the next 10 to 20 years. By 2017, the PBGC anticipates the number of insolvencies to more than double, further stressing the insurance fund. Build your own guarantee fund: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Retirement-System/dp/1461030072

Are you prepared for medical costs in retirement?

While a man retiring in 2020 will have a 50-50 chance of having all his future out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed $109,000, a new study found that men's median estimate of those costs is just $60,000. For women, the median estimate of out-of-pocket costs is just $30,000. But partly because they tend to live longer, they have a 50 percent chance of having their future expenses exceed $156,000.

"Medicare only covers 60 percent of health care in retirement," study director Hoffman said. "Even with a Medigap policy or an employer sponsored retiree plan, people are still going to have out of pocket expenses. The hardest thing for people to plan for is to find the balance between the right level of coverage and the right level of what they might spend out of pocket." Retirees do have the option of a high-end Medigap policy that covers more, but that can be expensive protection. Premiums aren’t refundable.

Learn about options: http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X

Why are employers picking high-deductible plans?

Mercer report says the number of employers switching to high-deductible health plans increased from 12% in 2010 to 26% last year. Moving even a small number of employees out of a more expensive plan into a CDHP can result in significant savings for an employer. The cost of coverage in a CDHP with a health savings account is about 20% lower, on average, than the cost of PPO coverage – $7,833 per employee compared to $10,007. Employers are also looking at “self-insuring” their plans to control costs and benefit from cost reductions directly. Large employers have been self-insured for years, saving the capital insurers take from premiums. Use our Guide to buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Congress hides its stock trades AGAIN—only bill GOP and DEMS agree on!

Congress rushed through a bill to exempt federal government employees from having to disclose their financial dealings online. Critics said this law eviscerates part of last year's Stock Act, designed to stop insider trading by federal officials. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced the bill on Thursday and had the chamber vote on it late that evening. The House took the bill up on Friday afternoon and passed it by unanimous consent, with no members objecting.

Most Congress people get richer by investing in firms they know will benefit from laws they pass. It is illegal for Americans to use insider information but Congress was exempt until last year. Now, no one will know if they do illegal trading. The median net worth of a U.S. senator was $2.63 million in 2010, the most recent year for which financial data are available. That was up 11% from the year before. Studies by Alan Ziobrowski at Georgia State University conclude that our ‘reps’ regularly outperform the markets by large amounts due to the “significant information advantage” they derive from their jobs. 

You need an Investment Edge too: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Investment-Edge-Tax-FREE-Account/dp/1482695677

SCAMS           “Deficits don’t matter” GOP grandfather, Dick Cheney, 2002

Gas prices remain high despite US producing more oil/gas here--No energy independence pay off!

American refiners export more than 3 million barrels per day to other countries, which are willing to pay more than we are. Also, U.S. shipping interests have made it more costly to move fuel between U.S. ports. This in particular hurts the Northeast, which is struggling to meet its fuel needs after several refineries closed in the last two years. As a result, it’s often cheaper for a Gulf Coast refiner to send gasoline to Brazilthan to New York. Despite the hype, Venezuela doubled its imports in 2012.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-28/why-abundant-oil-hasnt-cut-gasoline-prices

Bank America sued for taking kickbacks from insurers

Bank of America must face claims by homeowners that it took kickbacks from private insurers. Three Pennsylvania homeowners sued the bank last year claiming its pay-to-play reinsurance scheme cost borrowers $284.7 million between 2004 and the end of 2011. That’s the amount Bank of America allegedly collected from private mortgage insurers as its share of insurance premiums for referring borrowers, according to the complaint.  Home buyers who take out mortgages with less than 20 percent down payments are typicallyrequired to purchase private mortgage insurance at closing. The premium paid by the borrower protects the lender in the event of a default. Bank collects twice with no risk.

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

We export gas, that's why

Who is to blame for high gas prices?
For the first time in 50 years, our top export is fuel. Yes, we are being gauged because oil companies can now make more selling gas to other countries. Obama has nothing to do with it. The U.S.is using less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. Gas costs over $5 there. In 2011, U.S.refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier. The last time the U.S.was a net exporter of fuels was 1949. Refiners can simply make more selling away from us, driving the price higher. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2011-12-31/united-states-export/52298812/1Speculators are also driving the price up: OPEC said the world has plenty of crude but that the number of barrels of oil changing hands in the financial markets is 35 times greater than the actual supply. Every time oil contracts change hands, someone gets a markup. ‘Drill Baby Drill’ is NOT the answer. GOP candidates are wrong.

Wealth: What every high school graduate needs to know in the 21st century
This book shows you how to:
Buy discount financial service DIRECTLY online.
Save $3,000 a year on products and services you already use.
Invest savings without high commissions or fees.
Compound assets tax-FREE forever.
Buy whatever you need without going into debt.
Self-insure manageable risks—invest the premiums saved.
Manage your financial system in 1 hour per year.Accumulate a $2,000,000 Wealth ReserveTM..amazon.com/Wealth-every-school-graduate-century/

Did you make the 1% club?
In 2007, an estimated 2.3 million U.S.adults had gross assets of $2 million or more, holding more than $12 trillion in combined net worth. More than 1.3 million top wealth holders were men, while just under 1 million were women. In 2007, Californiahad the largest number of individuals with net worth of $2 million or more, while Wyoming had the highest per capita population of these very wealthy residents. Between 2001 and 2007, there was an increase of 12.1 percent in the number of individuals with net worth of $2 million or more in inflation-adjusted dollars. This increase outpaced the 7.3-percent increase in the overall adult population of the UnitedState. Members use a tax-FREE account to help them reach $2 million: amazon.com/Build-Your-$2,000,000 Tax-FREE-Wealth-Reserve/

Beware Chevy owners
If you can start your car from an airplane, with your phone, hackers can stop it . . . while you’re driving! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNm860owoV0But why would you want to start your car from an airplane? Cars don’t need to warm up anymore. Hackers could endanger the lives of motorists by turning off their car engines as they drive along, warns a software security firm. Anti-virus firm McAfee warn that as cars become ever more reliant on computers, wireless systems such as Bluetooth, and software to function, it places them at increasing vulnerability to malicious hacking.The firm warns that software is embedded in so many car parts now - from airbags and radios to seats and cruise control systems - that cyber-criminals could wreak havoc. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2035063/Hackers-turn-car-engine-driving.html

USAA and State Farm Are Top Insurers in Customer Experience
USAA was the top-rated insurance carrier followed closely by State Farm, which are the only two insurers to receive "good" customer experience ratings. Seven insurers received "okay" ratings while five carriers at the bottom of the list - Travelers, 21st Century, MetLife, American Family, and Liberty Mutual -received "poor" ratings. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usaa-and-state-farm-are-top-insurers-in-customer-experience-ratings-according-to-new-temkin-group-research-141024893.html

CA health care buyers face 15% rate hike
Blue Shield has $3.1 billion in excess surplus, yet still plans to raise rates up to 14.8% for 320,000 Californiapatients. Repeated rate hikes in the face of massive company surpluses at the same time that inflation slows show the need for a ballot initiative to prevent excessive rate increases, said Consumer Watchdog Campaign.

CO affirms students can carry concealed weapons around campus too.
The University of Colorado overstepped its authority when the school's board of regents imposed a ban on the carrying of concealed weapons at its four campuses, the state's Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In overturning the policy, the court said that a concealed -carry law passed by the state legislature trumped the school's ban because it did not carve out an exception for the state's flagship university.
Dodge City banned guns in town because people got shot.

ObamaCare: Do we really want to get rid of it? Is FIRING your insurer an option?
Before the GOP votes to end the Affordable Care Act, let’s make sure the mandate is really a bad thing. First, if you are one of 40 million without health care, you need it. Second, if you are a senior, you receivediscounts on prescription drug payments. Third, if you have kids without employer coverage, they have health insurance because the law allows these young people to stay on their parents' health care plans up to age 26. Fourth, if you are a senior with the early-stage cancers and other medical issues due to free wellness visits that Medicare now covers because of health reform, you are happy. Fifth, if you were not able to get insurance before due to a pre-existingcondition, you can now. Sixth, if you could not afford coverage before, exchanges will be available soon to buy it from. Seventh, there are now new community health centers like in Windham CT that benefited from funds in the Affordable Care Act. Seventh, if you were being treated for cancer or other costly care, your insurer can’t stop paying—now there is no limit. The GOP attacks the mandate to cover everyone but they have no alternative to cover people without coverage. Politicians have FREE government coverage already so it does not hurt them and the 1% to use this issue to win back control in Washington.What will the 40 million do when they get sick?
Ron Paul said he expects hospitals to give free care. GOP promises to cut Medicare. We will all end up in line at the hospital.

GOP wants “mandate” for auto insurance
MS considers “mandate” by GOP legislature to reduce uninsured motorists which make up 28% of drivers, it is estimated. Many drivers let coverage lapse after the 1st month. This forces premiums higher for everyone else. GOP for the mandate to have coverage. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57387521/miss-lawmakers-try-again-on-auto-insurance-checks/
PA drivers to pay more
Three Nationwide Group companies are raising rates on thousands of Pennsylvaniaautomobile policyholders to bring in a combined $31.9 million more in premiums. No explanation was given. Erie will also raise rates. Members shop for coverage every 2 years to make sure they have only what they need: amazon.com/Industry-Insiders-Guides-Buying-Insurance/dp/1466435712/

Is long-term care insurance for you?
Some insurers seem to raise the price dramatically and the end result is that you must cancel. AARP writer documented one policy started in 1994 for $1,006. In 2004 the premium was up to $1,409. In 2007 the state-approved rate went to $1,902. The owner could not afford any more so he converted it to a savings account basically. The owner filed suit that the policy was ‘guaranteed renewable’ but was priced high on renewal so it would lapse. Then the insurer did not have to pay. The owner lost on appeal too. He might have been better off if he had chosen an alternative. Members find out: amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X/

Prudential to stop selling long-term care insurance
Pru will continue group coverage to employers but has joined other insurers in quitting the individual sales. Apparently, even with price increases, insurers can’t make enough money with the coverage.

Is your bank the place to buy investments?
A recent survey says only 20% of people who own investments and annuities bought them at the bank. Customers who purchase investment and insurance products where they bank have on average $348,000 of investable assets, 84 percent more than financial assets held by other banking customers. However, only two out of every 10 affluent customers have purchased these products from their bank or credit union, according to The Value of an Investment and Insurance Customer to a Bank, a study by Kenneth and Christine Kehrer and Peter Bielan. Members buy DIRECTLY and save. amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X/

AZ passes bill to help pay for long-term care
Arizona will allow taxpayers to fund a tax-deductible savings account to pay for non-hospital expenses, such as nursing home care, home health care, and assisted or alternative family living. It also would allow taxpayers to take deductions for long-term health care insurance premiums.


WA goes forward with ObamaCare purchasing exchanges
The Washingtonstate Legislature has passed a bill setting rules for insurers preparing for the state's online insurance exchange. Uninsured will be able to buy health coverage with subsidy for poor.

CA starts ObamaCare early
All four Sacramento-area counties are joining a program that will insure tens of thousands of low-income residents who have been without coverage, more than a year before federal health care changes kicks in. For county governments and health care providers, the Low-Income Health Program is a chance to get a head start and work out some of the kinks in a new and complicated system -- one that must emerge by Jan. 1, 2014, but remains largely unformed. For new patients, the plan could mean the difference between getting sporadic care in unfamiliar clinics (or simply staying sick), and having something that resembles full-fledged health insurance, paid for in county and federal dollars. The Medicaid expansion is the piece that's starting early in California -- where the program is called Medi-Cal -- and several other states, including Washington, Connecticut, Minnesota and New Jersey.

IRS drops penalties for unemployed
Certain taxpayers who have been unemployed for 30 days or longer will be able to avoid failure-to-pay penalties. In addition, the IRS is doubling the dollar threshold for taxpayers eligible for Installment Agreements to help more people qualify for the program. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=236540,00.html

Republican government in VA “mandates” medical tests and you have to pay for them!
GOP is for "mandates" when it comes to controlling things they want but not health care for the poor. Is this political or what?


SCAMS
How the 1% lives: willing to rob a taxi driver—and investors?
Morgan Stanley's William Bryan Jennings, the bank's bond-underwriting chief in the U.S., was charged with a hate crime in the Connecticut stabbing of a New York City cab driver of Middle Eastern descent. The driver told officers that Jennings assaulted him Dec. 22 with a pen knife and used racial slurs after a 40-mile cab ride from New York City to his multimillion dollar home, Darien Police Detective Mark Cappelli said in an interview. Jennings refused to pay the $200 cab fare, the driver told police.

"I don't even consider myself wealthy,"
Mrs Romney said after discussing her collection of expensive horses—“I have one in every port.” http://news.yahoo.com/ann-romney-talking-awkwardly-money-now-too-225101365.html“Let them eat cake,”
Queen Marie-Antoinette on learning there was no bread left in Paris.

Mitt introducing his wife:
“I’ll introduce to you the heavyweight champion of my life.” Later he flip flopped: "I didn't mean weight."

“I told him to avoid the subject [of birth control]” says Karen Santorum. She also told him not to call Obama a snob because Obama wants every kid to have the chance to go to college.
Karen Santorum is a nurse and has a law degree. Lots of college! Go figure!

Rush Limbaugh loses 24 Companies But GOP OKs Rush slander
Limbaugh, the highest paid radio host with a $400 million 8-year contract, is often hailed as a top Republican voice outside of Washington who is credited with setting the tone for the Republican party. Interestingly, all of the Republican candidates have essentially failed to come out against Limbaugh's controversial comments with the exception of Ron Paul, who spent many years as an OBGYN. Law student Sandra Fluke can "definitely" sue Rush Limbaugh for slander over the talk-show host's ugly remarks on his radio program, legal experts say. Fluke seems to be leaving her options open.$400 million could probably cover her tuition and loans at Georgetown!


IAN 41 Watchung Plaza, B242 Montclair, NJ 07042 973.746.2014www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com