Life insurance is a key cornerstone of a holistic financial plan. Yet, according to research from AIG Life & Retirement, Americans have significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions about life insurance. Perhaps even more concerning is that nearly half of Americans don’t have coverage¹, and many of those with coverage may not have enough to support their families, with an average gap of $200,000².
Life is busy, and if you’re like many people, your monthly expenses have changed without thoughtful consideration. When was the last time you took a step back to separate your must haves vs. your nice to haves? For example, does your must have list include protection for your family’s financial future should an unexpected event occur? If not, you may want to consider adding life insurance to your list of must haves.
Our term life insurance is based on a simple idea: Your policy is for the amount of benefit you need, for the length of time you need it.
Other insurance companies sell policies that last for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. AIG offers insurance for 10 years, from 15 through 30, or 35 years…18 different durations to choose from.
IRC Section 7702 sets forth tests to define whether a life insurance contract may be treated as a life insurance contract for federal tax purposes. Implemented in 1984, the tests were enacted to limit the investment orientation of a life insurance policy. A life insurance contract can satisfy Section 7702 either by the Guideline Premium Test (GPT) or the Cash Value Accumulation Test (CVAT). Any policy that does not meet one of the two actuarial tests under Section 7702 (GPT/CVAT) will lose the favorable tax treatment of a life insurance policy. Learn more about what's changing and the impact of these changes.
During an economic crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to put their retirement plans on hold, or even borrow from retirement accounts, in order to afford household bills.
Retirement plans are a core component of employees’ compensation and a key differentiator for employers.
Given their importance, it’s essential that laws and regulations governing them keep up with the evolving challenges workers face.
Many people who have had their income adjusted may be panicking and looking for other sources of cash to pay the bills.
One of the financial consequences of COVID-19 was that people’s retirement plans were interrupted in various ways.
Work-life balance took on a whole new meaning for employees, and particularly working parents, over the past year as students learned from home while many of their parents worked from home throughout the pandemic.
More than one income stream can help safeguard your well-thought-out early retirement strategy.
Women continue to be the primary caregivers in most families with children, but they are also likely to be important breadwinners for their families. In 2017, the latest year with available data, 41 percent of mothers1 were the sole or primary breadwinners for their families, earning at least half of their total household income.
Many people who have been successful in saving for retirement have established a large enough nest egg to be able to create a legacy for their children, grandchildren and favorite charities; leaving them to wonder how to best leverage their qualified or tax-advantaged retirement plans. A common concern is whether financially successful retirees should make their children the beneficiaries of their IRA, leaving a likely income tax burden.
The Alliance for Lifetime Income, a non-profit consumer education organization, has published a new economic report that puts a spotlight on the growth of retirees in America.
The report also focuses attention on the increasing number of Americans seeking early retirement. While 65 has long been considered the traditional age for retirement, many Americans begin retiring sooner.
A Roth IRA can provide a way to grow tax-free retirement income. In order for a distribution of earnings from a Roth IRA to be a tax-free distribution, it may not occur until five years from the first contribution to a Roth IRA and you are at least 59½ or you are disabled, you meet the requirements for the purchase of a first home (up to a $10,000 maximum lifetime limit), or die. Unlike Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax contributions.
It’s no secret that the world of annuities includes a complex array of terms. Understanding their meaning has been a challenge both to financial professionals and the consumers they’re trying to help.
No two people heading into retirement have the same set of needs, preferences, or goals. That’s why there are different types of annuities from which you can choose. Adding an annuity to your overall retirement portfolio can provide you with several valuable benefits, including protected lifetime income.
A new glossary of plain-English definitions and descriptions about annuities aims to make annuities and their benefits more easily understood, transparent and intuitive.
The most tumultuous year in recent memory—2020—may have come to an end, but we still have to file taxes for it. Before you begin accounting for last year's ups and downs, it's important to understand how the impacts of 2020 may affect your tax return in order to maximize your potential refund and prepare for any tax liabilities. From unemployment claims to new tax credits, learn the answers to five important questions many taxpayers are asking this year.
IRC Section 7702 sets forth tests to define whether a life insurance contract may be treated as a life insurance contract for federal tax purposes. Implemented in 1984, the tests were enacted to limit the investment orientation of a life insurance policy. A life insurance contract can satisfy Section 7702 either by the Guideline Premium Test (GPT) or the Cash Value Accumulation Test (CVAT). Any policy that does not meet one of the two actuarial tests under Section 7702 (GPT/CVAT) will lose the favorable tax treatment of a life insurance policy. Learn more about what's changing and the impact of these changes.
Small saving moves now can significantly impact early retirement outcomes.
A large influx of funds—an annual bonus, inheritance or capital gains from a property sale—can move the early retirement savings needle, but it’s everyday savings habits that can have the biggest impact. That’s because consistent small savings and debt repayment actions often create forward-moving momentum while building net worth over time.
Annuities are flexible products and, depending on the type, can meet needs for protected lifetime income, growth and downside protection.
Managing your nest egg isn’t one distinctive event – it’s an ongoing process that needs to reflect life’s changes throughout retirement.
One of the most common fears people share when considering retirement is the very real possibility of outliving the money they’ve worked so hard to save.
Key points to discuss with your financial professional about protecting your retirement income
The first step in developing a successful income plan for retirement is understanding your options. Here are nine points you should discuss with your financial professional to make sure you’re on track for the retirement you want.
Thinking about retirement income can be a challenge: You don’t want to use your resources too quickly and run out of money, but you also don’t want to scrimp and save and reduce your lifestyle if it’s not necessary. So how do you find the balance? Begin by gathering a little bit of information.
Last year, most of us started with the same basic financial goals that are common in every new year: build an emergency fund, pay off debt, continue contributing to a retirement fund and maybe increase income. Nobody realized that 2020, for many of us, might be the “rainy day” for which we’d planned for so long.
Check off the Basics is a simple retirement planning approach that focuses on covering the various essential expenses people often need to cover in retirement, including things like a mortgage, utilities, groceries and transportation. And you decide what’s essential. You might not have a mortgage in retirement, for example, but you might have rent, condominium fees or home maintenance costs.
Good-bye nine-to-five, hello golden years.
It’s never too soon to start saving for retirement but if you want to retire early, you’ll likely have to do some extra planning. That’s because traditional retirement planning advice—namely to save an annual 10 percent of income—may not be enough to fund a longer post-career plan, particularly if a pricey hobby or extensive travel is on the agenda.
The decade before you retire is often crunch time for many would-be golden agers. It’s often a last-chance opportunity to fine-tune a plan that can set a successful retirement in motion. Still, many late-stage careerists aren’t sure exactly which steps they should take during those latter years—or how small course corrections can sometimes lead to large lifestyle wins. To get started, consider these four easy-to-enact retirement strategy boosters.
Many retirees want more covered than just their essential needs. That means they might be rethinking how much guaranteed income they need for a comfortable retirement.
Everyone needs a steady retirement income to cover the basics: shelter, clothing, food, transportation and healthcare. But what about wants beyond those five basic needs?
When you reach retirement, you expect to reap the rewards for decades of hard work and diligent saving so you can live happily ever after.
The Alliance for Lifetime Income’s 2020 Protected Lifetime Income Study – the largest protected income study of its kind – finds that Americans are more anxious now about their retirement savings, with nearly half (49%) of pre-retirees concerned their retirement savings and sources of retirement income won’t last through retirement.
Annuities come in a variety of types, and there are many different ways to structure them depending on your needs. There are three primary categories of annuities. Here is a quick overview of each type.
An annuity is simply a contract between you and an insurance company where you contribute money upfront, then receive payments over a period of time. You can receive those payments a variety of ways, including an income stream that lasts your whole life.