Why Your Life Insurance May Be An Asset   I will start by saying that I am not a fan of this new philosophy. I personally do feel that life insurance policies are an asset. They are simply a tool. They aren’t a tangible asset that you can touch. With that being said, there are [...]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)—Almost half of U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less, but that grim finding doesn’t fully describe the variability and uncertainty that characterize retirement in America, according to a recent study.   While some retirees struggle profoundly, living at or below the poverty line, others enjoy wealth and health—in fact, the [...]

Have you stopped to re- think about what happens to your loved ones after your passing?  Lifetime of income is probably the tip of the sword so to speak when it comes to retirement planning for baby boomers.  Leaving a legacy behind for your heirs is up there as well, but have you really thought [...]

 Those of you who are parents and have clients that are parents eventually come to the topic of paying for college. Whether in a social setting or during the discovery process, it is one the of the highest needs clients are looking to have met.  They can be younger and wanting to grow their money [...]

A survey of retirees asked “What is your greatest fear about retirement?” The most common answer given was “out living our money”. This is a major factor in why over 80% of annuities sold in 2010 had a guaranteed lifetime income rider attatched. There are more variaties of these riders today than ever before. This is [...]

Many advisors and agents that I speak to INSIST that their older clients simply “aren’t online” or “don’t use Facebook” but this naive statement is just like saying “I know where all of their assets are” or “I have all of their money.”  Our clients, young and old, are using social media on a regular [...]

I remember very early on in my insurance career hearing a salesperson say: “Get the money first and straighten out the details later.” Being the type of person that believes the money is in the details, I struggled with this thought process then, and I still do today. I am one of those detail-oriented people [...]

New surveys show that women continue to trail men when planning for retirement.   That makes it all the more important for most married couples to make retirement-planning decisions with the goal of leaving the spouse with greater longevity — typically, the wife — in good shape financially after the other dies.   After the [...]

“The risk that retirees will outlive their assets is a growing challenge,” according to a study from the Government Accountability Office scheduled for release today. Increased life expectancies and health-care costs coupled with declines in financial markets and home equity over the last few years have “intensified” workers’ concerns about how to manage their savings [...]

Tom Groenfeldt is a contributing writer for Forbes.com and recently wrote this piece regarding today’s Financial Advisor and their use of social media.    Keeping up with social media is not easy, says Sarah Carter, vice president of marketing at Actiance, a California communications compliance firm that was known as FaceTime Communications until January.   [...]