Friday, March 30, 2012

401k or IRA Tax-FREE or Tax-Deferred Which is best for you?

401k or IRA Tax-FREE or Tax-Deferred
Which retirement plan is best for you?
New, for your graduate!
Help them decide when the begin work.
$19.95 https://www.createspace.com/3828464

Last minute tax filing?
If your income is from employers and you don’t have many deductions/family complications, you can do it online and efile immediately.You may not even have to pay for it. Use the sites recommended by IRS. http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html.
You can either use a questionnaire type program or use the forms IRS provides and copy your W-2 info into them. I have used a number of the cheap questionnaire companies. Use your return from last year to help make sure you have entered all the information you need to enter before you send it by efile. The worst that happens is you don’t report all your income and they send you a bill.

If Romney pays 14% in fed inc tax, how much do you pay? More?
HINT: Only the poor pay less!
GOP wants to hold the current tax rates on the rich. However, the rich don’t pay the current rate of 35% so what is the big deal? The wealthy pay NO FICA, NO state income tax, NO Medicare, NO unemployment, NO state disability because they don’t earn a
wage. They spend little of their own money (their family office pays) so they pay little local sales tax either. It is a free ride on our tax dollar.
http://www.financialsamurai.com/2011/04/12/how-much-money-do-the-top-income-earners-make-percent/

Dog insurance? Another mandate for the common good?
Own a dog like a pit bull and live in Elephant Butte NM and you must carry special liability
insurance. As of March 1, those dogs are considered potentially dangerous by the city of Elephant Butte. Anyone with that breed and others now has 90 days to insure their dogs for $100,000 worth of personal property liability. Mandates are a GOP idea—a call for personal responsibility.

What are the Supremes deciding to take away this week?
You
have the right to be covered for pre-existing conditions.
You
have the right to put your kids on your policy if they doesn’t have ins.
You
have the right to buy affordable care so you don’t rely on charity.
You
have the right to get basic care no matter who you work for.
You
have the right to care no matter what that major surgery costs.
You
have the right to senior drug reimbursement.
Your employer
gets a credit for your health care coverage.
You
have a new medical center locally from funds of ACA.
You
have right to free screenings, especially for women and seniors.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/01/health_care_myths.html
http://www.insurancebroadcasting.com/news/Countdown-to-Coverage-2723194-1.html?ET=broadcasting:e3598:2224487a:&st=email

Supremes top GOP justice derides ObamaCare provision that isn’t in the law Scalia mocks health care law ‘Cornhusker Kickback’ provision—that no longer exists.
Could it be that GOP justices have already decided their votes without consideration?
This is our future life and they don’t even care what the merits are. Politics wins!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/scalia-mocks-health-care-law-cornhusker-kickback-provision-205148292.html

Banks are the last to recognize home values have fallen—head in sand?
The number of permanent modifications fell 44 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier and 16 percent from the prior three-month period, according to the report. At the same time, the number of homes seized through foreclosures rose 22 percent to 116,060 and the number of short sales, when lenders agree to sell for less than the debt on the property, increased 29
percent from a year earlier to 63,257.

SCAMS
“It's totally corrupt.”
According to one retiring senator, our elected representatives spend almost 50% of their time dialing for dollars on their donor lists EVERY DAY!
One said, 'I wake up every morning knowing that I have to raise $20,000 today.' 'It's a horrifying
thing to think of and it prevents me from doing most of my job.' Congress people have to rent an office that's not on federal property and just sit there dialing for dollars all day and have fundraisers every evening. It's no way to live. It's no way to do politics. It's crap. It's crappy politics. It's totally corrupt."

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair,
NJ 07042
973.746.2014
http://www.insuranceadvisorsnetwork.com/

Friday, March 23, 2012

Use your refund for your future Wealth Reserve

Your tax refunds could be your future Wealth Reserve
What you do with your refund (average over $3,000) could determine your future financial life. Investing $3,000 a year can accumulate in a tax-FREE Wealth Reserve and provide you with a reserve to pay cash instead of giving up interest and in the future, a comfortable retirement. Use it for deductibles and pay fewer premiums for all contracts too. Consider: $3,000 a year can
compound to $115,000 in 15 years, 215,000 in 20, and $700,000 in 30 years using 10 funds averaging over 11% a year.
See Snoring is the Best Way to Create Wealth:
http://www.amazon.com/Snoring-Best-Way-Create-Wealth/dp/1466408928/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331930231&sr=1-2

Can you do your own taxes online?
Yes, you can complete and file your federal and state return online for as little as $20. You need to know what the W-2 from your employer represents. You can enter bank interest received. You can deduct property taxes and mortgage interest. Most online and 'in box' software accepts the amounts listed on the forms you receive to make it easier. Thus, the number in box 7 on form 1099-R goes into the space "Box 7" on the entry screen. If you read the software instructions, you can file unless you have a special situation or business. Our members have not used the 'box' software and the telephone support so we don't know if that is helpful. If you have used telephone support, send me an email with your experiences. You can find a low cost site at http://www.freefile.irs.gov/ If you use a tax prep service, look for a discount coupon online first.

“Drill Baby Drill” doesn’t change gas price, study finds
Analyzing 36 years of gasoline prices and U.S.oil production, the Associated
Press
finds no statistical correlation between how much is pumped out of
the ground and how much is paid at the pump. AP says four independent
statisticians came to the same conclusion.

Long-term care policy premiums going up
Premiums are soaring by 20 to 90 percent for thousands of Minnesotans who carry long-term care insurance, and many older people are struggling to figure out what to do.
"I guess we'll just bite the bullet," said Peter Wyckoff, 67, of Shoreview, a
retired advocate for seniors, who said his annual premium will rise by more
than $2,000. He got a letter recently saying that the annual premium for the
John Hancock policy covering him and his wife, Sue, will rise from $1,816 to
$3,834. About 8 million Americans own long-term policies. The average buyer is
57 and pays $2,100 a year. People are living longer and insurer investments are
doing poorly. Some owners are cutting back from six years to two years of
coverage.

GOP says NO to
$31B “revenue enhancement” At least Reagan saw need!
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, said in a statement that noted the Buffett Rule proposal would have little effect on reducing thefederal budget deficit. “It was designed for no other reason than politics. There is no economic rationale for it.” GOP against millionaires paying 30% like the rest of us seems unfair. Reagan raised taxes “revenue enhancements” when deficit shot up after he cut taxes and nothing happened.

Obama's 2013 budget plan would raise taxes for 27 percent of U.S. households
Obama focuses the tax increases in his 2013 budget on corporations and the top 2 percent of individual taxpayers. 98.4 percent of people earning more than $1 million would see their taxes increase next year by an average of $184,504. The budget would impose restrictions on multinational corporations' ability to defer U.S. taxes on income earned outside the country. Oil and gas companies would lose several breaks.

Boomers not using FREE wellness screenings
A study of 400 pre-Medicare Boomers (age 47 to 64) and 400 older adults (age 65 to 75) with an annual household income of between $25,000 and $75,000, found that less than half (42 percent) take advantage of Medicare's annual wellness visit. Fewer than half (47 percent) of women and only one-third (32 percent) of men used this preventive care service in a one year period. More info at http://www.medicare.gov/navigation/manage-your-health/preventive-services/medicare-physical-exam.aspx?

Women paying more for health insurance
The health insurance company practice of charging women more
than men for the same coverage costs women $1 billion a year. In most states,
it is common for a female non-smoker to be charged more than a male smoker
simply because she is a woman. Fifty-six percent of best-selling plans charge a
40-year-old woman who does not smoke more than a 40-year-old man who does
smoke. In states where maternity coverage is not mandated (all but nine
states), only six percent of health plans available to a 30-year-old woman
provide such coverage. And in 25 states, there is no insurance plan available
on the individual market that covers maternity services. ObamaCare ends this
discrimination. Women in every state and every employer will have equal
cost/benefit profile as men. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j-CneONiGQ&feature=youtu.be



Homeowner’s coverage to jump 5% to $1,004. Time to shop?
In Georgia,GuideOne Insurance will raise rates by 12% on average starting this month.
Farmers Insurance is increasing rates in Texas by 10% on average. Last month, Allstate started raising rates by 15% in Pennsylvania. And Florida insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and North Carolina Farm Bureau are raising rates on some condo and homeowners by 21% and 6%, respectively. Insurers are not making money on their reserves so we will have to pay for Tom Wilson’s $11 million paychecks. Members use our tricks of the trade to cut premiums amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X/

Rewarding bad behavior—falling stock price and fewer customers?
Allstate CEO Tom Wilson saw his total compensation jump about 20 percent to $11.2 million in 2011 despite an 11 percent drop in the stock price. Allstate analyzed why its ranks of new auto-insurance customers were dropping by double digits and concluded that half the problem was higher rates. How can Tom look in the mirror?

Are ‘living benefits’ right for you?
Insurance policy benefits paid to you while you are still living, rather than paid to a beneficiary or survivor when you die. Also known as accelerated benefits. For example, benefits to pay for long-term care which reduces the death benefit. For annuities, guarantee that you can receive an income for life, regardless of the value of your underlying account. This provision is called a "guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit" (GMWB). There is another benefit, the "guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit" (GMAB). This guarantees that no matter what the markets have done, your account will grow at a certain percentage rate (usually 5 to 7 percent) for a period of time. Of course, there are fees every year and they are not small. There are better alternatives. See amazon.com/Not-Buy-That-Annuity-Guaranteed/dp/1466494573/

Graduation?
Leah's Money Book
can help your young graduate secure a confident future. The key to becoming a
financially confident person is having a plan. Leah has a plan. She started her
Wealth Reserve when she was in college. At current growth rates, she will have
a Reserve to buy a car, home, business and retirement fund in the future. Leah
explains how she can afford an apartment in NYC and how to shop for just about
everything. $15 amazon.com/Leahs-Money-Book-control-money/dp/1448654408/

How well are you prepared to handle financial problems? Take the quiz.
http://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-quiz.html

SCAMS
There are over 35,000 lobbyist and 4,611 PACs providing our representatives with $1.2 billion worth of “guidance.”
How does your 'vote' stack up?

Higher tax rates on the wealthy do NOT stop the job creators according to studyWhen rates were 79% we had growth from expanding middle class. Wealthy people don’t build new factories because they have money to spend. They do it when buyers demand products that increase their time or productivity. Tax cuts don’t pay for themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/business/marginal-tax-rates-and-wishful-thinking-economic-view.html
Ask Reagan’s advisor why they had the largest tax increase in history!
http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/bruce-bartlett/1632/reagans-tax-increases
To reduce the deficit.

Supremes say we can’t sue if denied medical leave
Supreme Court shielded states from claims that they illegally denied medical leave to workers, dividing along ideological lines in a clash about the federal government’s power over the states. Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence
Thomas, all appointed by Republican presidents, formed the majority in today’s decision. They are All GOPs—what did we expect?

Americans can always sue, I thought.
Will Supremes deny us health care too? Stories of what we
will lose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW6SJrX1ROw

Following computer directions can be a disaster—GPS leads them into ocean
http://news.yahoo.com/gps-tracking-disaster-japanese-tourists-drive-straight-pacific-172043575--abc-news.html
LEARN HOW TO READ A MAP!


Who owns your account now?
The Hartford selling annuity and life and retirement plans businesses. Time to transfer your annuity using a 1035 exchange. See amazon.com/Not-Buy-That-Annuity-Guaranteed/dp/1466494573/



IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair,
NJ 07042
973.746.2014
http://www.insuranceadvisorsnetwork.com/
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 16, 2012

Increase your refund

Tax credits that increase your refund
There are credits that give you cash even when you owe no taxes—refundable credits. They have restrictions but you may qualify. 1. The Earned Income Tax Credit is for people earning less than $49,078 from wages, 2. Child and Dependent Care Credit is for expenses paid for the care of your qualifying children under age 13, or for a disabled spouse or dependent, 3. Child Tax Credit is for people who have a qualifying child. The maximum credit is $1,000 for each qualifying child. 4. Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, or Saver’s Credit, is designed to help low-to-moderate income workers save for retirement. Read how to claim: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=255095,00.html


Wealth Building is Like Brushing Your Teeth
Wealth is made by following a strategy as a habit. Some of the most successful investors have been those who invest regularly and reinvest dividends automatically. Unless you know how to pick the next Apple, you are better off buying a low-cost index fund of stocks. The secret to building wealth is letting compounding work. $250 a month has compounded to $115,000 in 15 years, 215,000 in 20, and $700,000 in 30 years. It was all habit like brushing my teeth. I just never sold. I wish I had started earlier. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Wealth-Like-Brushing-Teeth/dp/1470141469/

Can you deduct health insurance?
If you're self-employed and paying for medical, dental or long-term care insurance, there is a special tax deduction for some insurance premiums paid for you, your spouse, and your dependents. Take it on Form 1040, line 29 if you meet the guidelines. See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p535.pdf or your preparer.

NY requires insurer to pay for lead testing for kids
New York requires Excellus BlueCross BlueShield process claims for routine childhood screenings for lead and provide refunds to consumers who paid for tests out-of-pocket after initially being denied. Lead can lead to brain damage but Excellus did not want to pay. This is an example of what GOP bills will do if passed.

CA to ban lobbyist expense in premium increases
Health care generated $35.7 million in lobbyist spending in 2011, more than any other industry in California , and Kaiser was the largest spender at $3.5 million, according to a California Healthline analysis of state records released today. A ballot initiative proposed by consumer advocates would prohibit insurance companies like Kaiser from passing on lobbying expenditures to policyholders as premium increases, the same way current law prohibits auto and homeowners insurers from passing on those costs.

MetLife fails Fed’s test for capital strength
MetLife Inc., the largest life insurer in the United States , was one of four bank holding companies that failed the Federal Reserve's stress test, the central bank announced March 13. But MetLife has fired back at the Fed, arguing the capital standards laid out by the stress test are inappropriate for insurance companies. Also failing were Citigroup Inc., Ally Financial Inc. and Suntrust Banks Inc., which all have insurance subsidiaries.The stress test, officially dubbed the 2012 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, applied worst-case financial scenarios to 19 complex bank holding companies through the end of 2012. In failing the four financial institutions, the Fed rejected their capital management plans. Members shop for coverage and save. Term insurance costs less than a $1 a day for most under age 50 unless you use a name brand firm.

Is Home Value Protection right for you?
An insurance policy that protects homeowners from the impact of declining home prices. You can lock in your insured home value for up to 10 years. If home values appreciate, a homeowner can purchase a new insurance policy with a higher insured home value. For a typical Georgia home, monthly premiums are from $25 to $35 a month. A Home Value Protection claim requires two conditions:Your home must sell for less than the Protected Home Value; andLocal home values must have declined during the policy period, as measured by an independent home price index, the nationally recognized Case-Shiller® Home Price Index.The eligible claim is either the loss on the sale of your home (the Protected Home Value less the Sale Price), or the expected loss in home value as measured by the local home price index (the Protected Home Value multiplied by the percentage decline in the home price index), whichever is less. There is a deductible for the first two years and a Coverage Limit may apply. Sounds as if the protection is for the insurer. Your home value would have to decline with all others—a region-wide collapse like in 2006-8 for you to collect. Skip it unless you know your region will suffer a depression in the next 10 years.


Reagan advisor says taxes are very low compared to history and other countries.
Bruce Bartlett, former adviser to President Reagan, runs some numbers on taxes in the United States and finds federal taxes are at their lowest level in more than 60 years. TheCongressional Budget Office estimatedthat federal taxes would consume just 14.8 percent of G.D.P. this year. The last year in which revenues were lower was 1950, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The average federal income tax rate on the 400 richest people in America was 18.11 percent in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service, down from 26.38 percent when these data were first calculated in 1992. Among the top 400, 7.5 percent had an average tax rate of less than 10 percent, 25 percent paid between 10 and 15 percent, and 28 percent paid between 15 and 20 percent. 60% of corporations pay NO tax. The truth of the matter is that federal taxes in the United States are very low. There is no reason to believe that reducing them further will do anything to raise growth or reduce unemployment, Bartlett concluded.No wonder there is a deficit. We have 2 wars too. usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/040517/17edit.htm

Is a Target-Date fund in your 401k right for you?
These funds may be available to you in your 401k at work. They were created to make it easy to invest by letting you pick the date of your retirement as the criterion for how your money is invested. The reason is that if you are young, you have time to invest in stocks more heavily. This is perfect for some people because there is nothing else to decide. However, if your retirement plan charges excessive fees, it will greatly reduce how much you end up with in retirement. If you would have earned 11% a year but give up 1-2% in fees, you may end up with $500,000 by retirement. On the other hand, a low-cost fund will provide the same long-term investment profile on a tax-advantaged basis too. See amazon.com/The-New-American-Retirement-System/dp/1461030072/

Claim tax credit for your employees’ health care coverage
Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is only for small employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees. Those employees must make an average wage of less than $50,000 a year. In addition, a small business owner must pay at least half of each employee's single (not family) health-insurance premium. If your small business qualifies, you can claim a credit up to 35% of the premiums you paid in 2011. That figure will go up to 50% in 2014 under ObamaCare.http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8941.pdf

USAA, Amazon.com, Costco, Virgin America, Apple, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans Among the Highest in Customer Loyalty in the 2012 Satmetrix®Net Promoter® Benchmark Study http://www.satmetrix.com/

SCAMS
How a Canadian insurer engineered a $400 million tax refund from a fake loss.
It is called a “borrow to hold” deal. The transaction was a sham, according to a tax expert. The beneficiary of our $400 million tax dollars is a Canadian insurance company, Fairfax. And the IRS is buying it! WOW http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/business/fairfax-financials-400-million-tax-break-revisited.html

Now Congressmen are fessing up. AIG got more of our money!!!!
Former members of a congressional panel that oversaw bailouts during the financial crisis blasted the Treasury Department on Monday for quietly granting a tax break worth billions to insurance giant American International Group. The tax break amounts to a “stealth bailout” on top of the $182 billion that AIG received from the government, and it unfairly helps AIG, its shareholders and executives, former oversight panel chair Elizabeth Warren and others said.This is socialism for the benefit of the powerful just like in Russia. You and I had to pay for these businessmen's bad decisions. Stockholders and managers are supposed to lose money not us. AIG's Greenberg did not go to jail.http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/markets/former-bailout-watchdogs-condemn-tax-break-for-aig-as-a-stealth-bailout/2012/03/12/gIQAJ54X7R_story.html

Goldman’s CEO got $54.4 million for making derivatives that helped sink America in 2008
Wall Street firms will do it again because the money is soooooooooooooo good. For instance, Goldman's CEO Blankfein 'earned' a total of $54.4 million in 2006. His bonus reflected the performance of Goldman Sachs, which reported record net earnings of $9.5 billion. This was the year they were making and selling those bad mortgage derivatives. Blankfein never went to jail. He and Goldman will do it again. That is more money than God makes. Rage grows over mortgage settlement with banksThere are 11 million homeowners who are currently underwater on their homes, according to CoreLogic. And it's also a mere sliver of the 3.5 million people who lost their homes to foreclosure over the past four years. Banks paid a small fine. NO CEO went to jail. This is justice in America in 2012.

Ameriprise brokers use client info illegally
A pair of Ameriprise Financial Inc. investment advisers and three of their friends and family members allegedly earned more than $1.8 million in illicit profits through trades based on inside information that an insurance company was planning to merge with a Japanese firm. http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120313/FREE/120319962&dailycount=16&issuedate=20120315

IAN 41 Watchung Plaza, B242 Montclair, NJ 07042 973.746.2014http://www.insuranceadvisorsnetwork.com/Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 9, 2012

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/52298812/1
Speculators 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=nNm860owoV0
But 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 California patients. 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 Pennsylvania automobile 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 we 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

Friday, March 2, 2012

Unbiased financial information

Now, an unbiased source of financial information
Unfortunately, there are few unbiased sources of information about building wealth. Most people give up 1-2% of earnings per year—$500,000 over a lifetime—to salespeople for poor advice. Instead of building assets for a secure future, most people are at the mercy of salespeople who are building THEIR own secure future.
An industry joke is Where Are the Customers' Yachts?
Members of the Unbiased Advisors Network work in the financial industry but are unhappy with our industry’s role in NOT helping to educate their fellow citizens. We are unhappy that there is no basic financial education (beyond balancing your checkbook) in our schools. Now you can learn how to buy the best without paying commissions, fees and charges.Show More Show Less amazon.com/Unbiased-Advisors-Network-helps-tax-FREE/

Consumer Reports top car brands: Subaru No 1
The Consumer Reports top three auto brands: 1. Subaru 2. Mazda 3. Toyota Consumer Reports bottom three: 11) Mercedes-Benz 12) General Motors 13) Chrysler Honda fell farthest in the ratings due to lack of car to details, according to CR. Coincidentally, Honda and Acura are recalling 9,000 SUV for faulty gas tank vent. Oh.

Soon we may have more information on our broker/advisor
The regulators are considering making the information about complaints and discipline actions available to the public in more useable forms. Financial salespeople have been lucky up to now since the data is hard to decipher for most customers. Most of us just assume that if their salesperson is working for a national firm, they must be ethical. Regulators want to give the info to vendors who will use it to simplify it. http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120301/FREE/120309986/-1/INDaily01&dailycount=1&issuedate=20120301

Is your advisor taking you for granted?
Advisors are instinctively sales people. They must enlarge their client list or be demoted or fired. In order to serve more people, they must make certain assumptions about keeping your business. Advisors think they are the professional you will always seek for advice. They want you to contact them when you have money to invest/spend. They can’t afford to hold your hand every day unless you have a large account. Things are changing. Advisors naively believe in their clients’ loyalty, vastly underestimating the number of their clients who have direct accounts. Advisors reported that only 20% of their clients maintain direct accounts, which is at odds with what clients reported to Cerulli in a survey. More than three in four clients surveyed (76%) said they owned direct accounts. There are many reasons to have an account you control yourself. 1. Easy access 2. Low cost 3. Investing experiment thrill 4. Multiple account safety. Members have learned the hard way that advisors can take $500,000 or more of their account value in fees over time. amazon.com/Wealth-Without-Wall-Street-Commissions/dp/1442168137

Advisor chosen stocks lag passive index investing in most markets
In most markets, owning a fund that matched the market average return beat stock pickers’ fund returns. Even when active management beat the index fund, it was impossible to buy the correct fund that beat the index since not all won. Since the winners change every year, you would never own the winners consistently over time. SPIVA:http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DSPIVA_US_YearEnd_2010_FINAL_0311.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243867401012&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8

Smart investors pick Roth IRA
Smart investors choose Roth IRAs over traditional IRAs, according to a recent study by Texas TechUniversity. The researchers determined that people with high IQs were the most likely to own a Roth IRA, even after controlling for education, income, and net worth. 12,686 young adults participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth beginning between ages 14 and 22 and who were between 43 and 51 in 2008. Some 14.3 percent of people in the highest IQ quintile owned a Roth IRA by 2008, compared with 3.8 percent of all the study participants and just 0.9 percent of people with the lowest IQs. Members pick Roth because withdrawals are FREE: amazon.com/Create-Your-Tax-FREE-Financial-System/

Chase and Bank America only want customers with over $100,000
The largest U.S. banks said about 70 percent of customers with less than $100,000 in deposits and investments will be unprofitable following regulations that cap lenders’fees.Banks want to sell more products to those with more assets and will target their offerings appropriately. Major banks tried the $5 monthly fee but customers baulked. Customers with less than $100,000 may find services curtailed. The defection rate for large, regional and midsize banks averaged between 10% and 11.3% of customers last year, according to a J.D. Power and Associates' survey of more than 5,000 customers who shopped for a new bank or account over the past 12 months. Perhaps it is time to shop for a better deal. Members find other alternatives with better rates: . amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp

ME denies Anthem increases
State regulators were justified last May in denying a planned rate hike by Anthem Health Plans of Maine, the state's highest court ruled.

Tax credits that increase your refund
There are credits that give you cash even when you owe no taxes—refundable credits. They have restrictions but you may qualify. 1. The Earned Income Tax Credit is for people earning less than $49,078 from wages, 2. Child and Dependent Care Credit is for expenses paid for the care of your qualifying children under age 13, or for a disabled spouse or dependent, 3. Child Tax Credit is for people who have a qualifying child. The maximum credit is $1,000 for each qualifying child. 4. Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, also known as the Saver’s Credit, is designed to help low-to-moderate income workers save for retirement. Read how to claim: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=255095,00.html

Do you have money coming from the IRS?
There are $ billions waiting to be refunded. For more information: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=254725,00.html

Employers dropping health insurance—more deaths expected
The number of Americans getting health insurance from their employers continues to drop, hitting a record low of 44.6% in 2011. Not surprisingly, the percentage of Americans who are uninsured has increased, rising to 17.1% this year. Preventive care like colonoscopy is reduced.

SCAMS
NY tells insurers to pay full death benefit
New York regulators told insurance companies they must pay out fully when members of the military are killed in action as the standard practice, rather than automatically establishing a kind of checking account that provides interest to the companies.Families can often get a better return on interest if they invest the bulk payment, rather than draw down from "retained assets accounts" that are now commonly set up by insurance companies. Under the accounts, the families receive some of the return on interest and the company gets the rest. Shame! http://online.wsj.com/article/AP8f5183695b76429cbdaa4b39e2442490.html

We taxpayers are still paying big agrato grow or not AND bribes
Just ten percent of America's largest and richest farms collect almost three-fourths of federal farm subsidies – cash payments that too often promote harmful environmental practices. We pay for their crop insurance too. We are sending $147 million to the Brazil Cotton Institute under an agreement that was forged to get around a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that subsidies to American cotton farmers violate international trade rules. This is bribe money pure and simple. We pay the subsidies AND the bribe to keep others from complaining. Shouldn’t the largest farm corporations pay for the bribe? http://www.ewg.org/farmsubsidies

Speculators blocking rule that prevents traders speculating on gas prices
Wall Street is pushing to stop a new rule that would crack down on speculation in the energy markets, which many blame for contributing to the spike in gas prices.The new rule -- part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to reform Wall Street -- would set limits on how much traders can buy, preventing firms from grabbing large chunks of the energy market. But those limits may not be set anytime soon. Nearly two years after the new law, the rule has yet to be fully implemented. And on Monday, two Wall Street trade groups asked a federal judge in Washingtonto delay or block the rule.

Who owns your account now?
AutoOne and AutoOne Select Insurance Companies from OneBeacon Insurance Group to Interboro Holdings.

IAN 41 Watchung Plaza, B242 Montclair, NJ07042 973.746.2014www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/