Education Center
As you prepare for our initial meeting, consider the topics
discussed in these brief summaries and how they relate to
your long- and short-term financial goals.
Making Your Retirement Everything You Dreamed It Would Be
Imagine waking up on your first day of retirement. What will
you do all day? Play golf? Romp with the grandkids? Go sailing
or take a trip? You'll need a plan to turn your dreams into
reality. On that first morning, you'll want to awaken to a
retirement lifestyle that is as comfortable, or more, as when
you were at the peak of your career.
Right now is a great time to start thinking about your ideal
retirement lifestyle. It's likely you will be retired longer
than those who are retired today. Putting aside more today
can help you live comfortably during a longer retirement.
At Long Island Planning Group, we're experienced in helping
people prepare for a bright future. We offer you products
to help make your retirement everything you envisioned and
more. You work hard to set aside money for retirement. We
can help you make it go even further.
Advantages of Donating Life Insurance Proceeds
Charitable giving is a chance to help your church, school,
or favorite cause and gain personal satisfaction in the process.
Life insurance provides a way to help you multiply the value
of your gift beyond what you might be able to give outright.
Say you want to donate a certain amount of money to your
alma mater. If you used the money instead to pay the premiums
on an appropriate life insurance policy and named the school
as the beneficiary, the death benefit may be worth more than
the amount you had originally intended to give. The larger
amount might help create a scholarship in your name or help
the school pay construction costs for a new building.
Using life insurance as a gift can help preserve your other
assets for heirs. Premiums can easily be paid from your annual
or monthly budget. This way, any major assets that you intended
to benefit and provide for your heirs can remain in the family
while your desire to make a large donation can be met as well.
Provided you kept the policy in force during your lifetime,
the death benefit usually is paid quickly, with minimum delays
to the beneficiary. Life insurance proceeds typically are
not subject to probate or estate settlement costs.
If a qualified, non-profit organization purchases the policy
but you pay the premiums, some or all of your premium payments
may be tax deductible. (Laws vary from state to state, so
it's a good idea to consult with your legal and tax advisers.)
Plus, the death benefit typically won't be counted as part
of your estate for estate tax purposes. When you retain ownership
of the policy, the policy’s proceeds are included in your
estate, but the amount paid to charity may be deductible as
a "charitable bequest" if your heirs owe estate taxes.
If your selected charity purchases a permanent life insurance
policy with you as the insured, the charity may be able to
borrow some of the policy's cash value, which typically builds
up over time, but the loan will reduce the available death
benefit if not repaid before your death.
When you make the gift of life insurance, no one has to know
about it except you and the charity. Not even your family
has to know, if that's what you desire. When a death benefit
is paid, the courts typically aren't involved, there may be
no public record of the gift, and it's extremely difficult
for surviving heirs to dispute. Best of all, this type of
arrangement is simple to set up.
Planning a Legacy for Loved Ones
After decades of working hard, saving, and investing, it's
common to want to share what you've accumulated with those
around you. If you are one of millions of Americans who are
concerned about leaving something to family members or a favorite
charity, now is the time to begin planning your legacy. Employing
the appropriate giving strategies now may help increase the
value of your gifts both to yourself and your intended heirs.
Educating Your Children
If you have children and you want them to attend college,
the first day of classes will be here sooner than you expected.
When that day comes, you'll likely face one of two scenarios.
It could be that you'll wave good-bye as your child's car
pulls out of the driveway packed with school supplies and
dorm furniture, knowing that you've planned well for the expenses
— expected or otherwise — that the next four years are certain
to bring.
Or you could wave good-bye with a lump in your throat, wondering
if the next four years will be filled with loan applications,
financial aid requests, and the specter of having to scrimp
and save to make each tuition payment.
Fortunately, Long Island Planning Group offers a selection
of products to help you avoid the second scenario. We understand
how important it is to you to educate your children, and we
are committed to helping you meet that goal.
Protecting Your Home
Part of the American Dream is to own a house. But having
a home that you work to make a special place, where you raise
a family and spend your happiest moments, is much more than
just having a roof over your head. It's a major financial
commitment to own and maintain a home, so it's important to
think of it as one of your most important investments — one
that needs to be protected. Planning to safeguard your investment
in your home is critical to help ensure it will be there to
protect your family for years to come.
One way to help ensure your family can pay off the mortgage
if something should ever happen to you is to consider insurance
products for mortgage protection. The death benefit from the
appropriate Permanent Life or Term Life insurance policy can
help your family retire the mortgage and help preserve their
current lifestyle and their dreams for the future. Protecting
your family's future now may help you put your fears to rest
so you can focus on living like you want to.
There are many financial products and services out there
to choose from. I can help you decide which are most appropriate
for your situation and help you make adjustments as your needs
change in the future.
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