Showing posts with label homeowners claim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeowners claim. Show all posts

Friday, January 30, 2015

Get your refund in 2 weeks

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Friday, December 12, 2014

Congress OKs another bank bailout from gambling losses

Banks WIN: new spending bill will make us pay for their gambling losses AGAIN
House GOP/DEMs approved bank derivatives trading after banning it in 2008. Buffett called derivatives “weapons of mass destruction,” and fears for our future.
They nearly destroyed our global system. Wall St. is trying to overthrow the financial controls put in place after the 2008 meltdown. Wall Street lobbyists attached a "rider" to the $1.1 T federal spending bill that would roll back parts of Dodd-Frank and let the Big Banks go back to gambling with our entire economy while expecting us to bail them out again.
We lost to Wall Street—they can trade “derivatives” and meltdown again.
You can avoid paying for the higher taxes to cover the next bailout: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976

Is the IRS most popular tax haven right for you?
You have a tax refund coming next April from earnings in 2014. Earnings for this completely tax-FREE account include alimony and maintenance payments. Any part time job or self-employment income will work too. This tax-FREE account has no age restriction, so it can be used to leave your family a legacy FREE of all income taxes like life insurance. Contributions to $5,500 per year ($6,500 for age 50+) can be made if your income is under $191,000 for married-filing-jointly taxpayers and $129,000 for single taxpayers. Contribute your tax refund (average is $3,000) for 25 years and you may have $400,000. That could produce $36,000 a year TAX-FREE.
Yes, the Roth IRA may be right for you: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-Refund-Millionaires-Let-Uncle-Help/dp/149595644X


Congress to cut support for small business pensions
The employer-paid program backing multiemployer plans was $5 billion in the red. It projected that—unless Congress acted—there was "about a 35 percent probability" its assets would be exhausted by 2022 and "about a 90 percent probability" by 2032.
Don’t count on employer pensions. Make your own: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Pension-Box-tax-FREE-employer/dp/1481945157

Your broker may lose pay if they help you next year
Merrill Lynch told its brokers they will get higher bonus payments in 2015 for attracting new clients and assets but eliminated pay for servicing clients with less than $250,000. Merrill will pay brokers .10 percent of new assets clients use to buy loans, banking and trust products, or put into fee-based advisory accounts. Brokers attracting over $10 million of such assets get .20 percent and .23 percent for those reaching $50 million. However, bonuses in 2015 are being halved for new money put into low-profit money-market or bank accounts.
Unless you have $10 mill with Merrill, you should do your own investing with Vanguard’s Top Ten: http://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

ObamaCare plans renew automatically—NO WAITING
A 25 year old client enrolled in a health insurance plan on HealthCare.gov and only pays $20 a month! For 2014, 8 out of 10 people who signed up for health insurance on www.HealthCare.gov got help paying for their costs. Over the summer, the Obama administration decided that nearly everyone covered through the 34 federally run exchanges would be auto-enrolled in the same plans for 2015, with the same subsidies they received in 2014. The goal is both to ensure that more people would remain covered through Obamacare, to avoid both overwhelming the website during open enrollment and having a repeat of last year’s technical difficulties. Less than 100,000 opted out of auto-renewal when they signed up for 2014 coverage.
Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Car thieves have hard time too
Vehicle theft is down by more than 50 percent compared to 1991, despite an increase in population and registrations of over 60 million, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau. The drop—aided in part by better investigation from law enforcement and insurers, and new technologies—means vehicle owners are far less likely to have their cars stolen today than at any time in the last 44 years.
Save $2,000 with anti-theft discounts you must ask for: http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634


If you turned age 70 in 2014…
IRS reminded taxpayers born before July 1, 1944, that they generally must receive payments from their individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and workplace retirement plans by Dec. 31, 2014. Known as required minimum distributions (RMDs), these payments normally must be made by the end of 2014. But a special rule allows first-year recipients of these payments, those who reached age 70½ during 2014, to wait until as late as April 1, 2015 to receive their first RMDs. This means that those born after June 30, 1943 and before July 1, 1944 are eligible for this special rule. The amount is usually calculated by your IRA trustee using IRS lifetime estimates. If you don’t need the money, send it back to your trustee as a Roth IRA and keep it growing for health care or legacy.
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Spending-Plan-enough/dp/1461084016

GOP crazies
The current top Republican on the panel, retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), said it’s “pretty clear” the report’s main purpose is to attack Bush. He and other committee Republicans largely avoided cooperating in the preparation of the report, though he and several other panel members did vote to release it this spring.
GOP says torture is OK since CIA gets only the truth from the terrorist, who would never lie under duress. Right!?! McCain says NO WAY! Torture is wrong.
Republican Sen. John McCain, who was tortured and spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said the Senate report on CIA interrogation practices proves what he knows from "personal experience" -- that prisoner abuse is ineffective and greatly damaging to America. McCain says victims say “anything” to stop. Listen!
If torture is illegal and Bush/Cheney OKd it, will they go to jail?

Why are we paying our taxes to Nazis overseas?
The House unanimously passed a bill -- dubbed the "No Social Security for Nazis Act" -- on Tuesday that would cut off those benefits.

IRS thinks gas prices are going up in 2015
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014, 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014, 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-79.pdf

Court allows more Wall Street criminals to walk
US Court of Appeals overturned two of the government’s signature convictions, the case against the former hedge fund traders Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson, who were tried for insider trading of tech stocks. Citing the trial judge’s “erroneous” understanding of a precedent, the court threw out the case because defendants did not know the “intent” of the original info leakers.
Prosecutors complained that the ruling will tie their hands in pursuing Wall Street crime. From both sides, a consensus emerged that the ruling would have a chilling effect on insider trading prosecutions. More Wall Street tricks will work.
Get your fair share without crimes: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tax-Shelter-Young-Americans/dp/1500426520

Star Trek’s Photon torpedo is now real Navy weapon
Watch tax dollars at work: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/12/11/navy-persian-gulf-laser-defense/20255507/


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.
The War on Terror requires SEALS’ attacks on top terrorists at their homes. Iraq proved converting a nation to Western-style republic doesn’t work.

Our accomplishments in Iraq—one elite replaces another—again ?
Islamic State militants may be at the approaches to Baghdad yet members of Iraq’s Shiite Muslim elite are offering cash for $1 million homes. Gilded mansions with jacuzzis in Italian-marble bathrooms and armored vehicles parked in the drive are replacing the humbler dwellings of the former middle-class Sunni, Shiite and Christian inhabitants. The conspicuous displays of Shiite affluence in tony Zayouna are testament to the shift in political power since U.S. forces ended decades of Sunni dominance under Saddam Hussein, according to Andrew Bowen, Middle East.
We watched $12 BILLION tax dollars vanish in Baghdad!!
 
Cheney was wrong—torture does NOT work. Terrorists lie and lie and lie
They lie to get the CIA to stop torture, according to Senate report.
You knew that all along. People don’t tell the truth if they are terrorists—dahh.

Even the CIA was outraged by their contractor’s torture!
We paid people $80 million to torture people in our name and got no “smoking gun”
CIA hired contractors to do the dirty work. Contractors helped develop and operate the "enhanced interrogation techniques" that the agency used on terror suspects, including waterboarding, were paid more than $80 million, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on the CIA's interrogation program released Tuesday. Contractors include Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, a Spokane, Washington, company run by two psychologists, Dr. John "Bruce" Jessen and Dr. James Mitchell. The deal initially provided the two principals with $1,000-a-day tax-free retainers.
According to CIA counsel, John Rizzo, contractors Mitchell and Jessen were recommending "sadistic and terrifying" techniques.

Scam Alert to Wealthy—Avoid “Impact Investing” trend
The World Economic Forum has a message for wealthy families thinking about impact investing: Don’t buy on the buzz. Stick with what you know.
Seeking investments with the dual purpose of making a profit and improving society has become trendy among wealthy people and money managers, who rarely have the expertise or tools to put it into practice, according to a report released today.

Reema Shah, former Ameriprise money manager who pleaded guilty to securities fraud must pay $390,103, a figure roughly equal to the gains regulators said her funds earned based on an insider tip about Yahoo. Shah illegally recommended Yahoo stock in 2009 on the basis of nonpublic information about a search engine partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft. The SEC said the source of the information was Robert W. Kwok, a former Yahoo executive, whom Ms. Shah had given inside information a year earlier about another company, Autodesk Inc.

Judge orders insurers to show paperwork for underpaid Sandy claims
Homeowners have sued Travelers and other insurers including Wright National Flood Insurance and Hartford. Suit says they illegally conspired with engineering firms and others to deny or underpay claims from Sandy. Some homeowners are still waiting for flood insurance to pay off since 2012. Sounds like Katrina all over again!
State Farm was notorious for its handling of homeowners’ claims related to the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Claims were routinely denied without basis and private home inspectors hired by the insurer have testified that State Farm told them to alter damage reports in order to avoid paying claims or pay less than the claims were worth.

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.746.2014
www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com
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Friday, October 24, 2014

Are these tax avoidance strategies for you?

Are these tax avoidance strategies right for you?
Check these year-end tricks to see if you can save this year. You may be able to divest a large, low-basis holding. You may be able to cut the AMT. There are several layers to the tax in US, so you need to see your accountant/planner/advisor to get started avoiding taxes. Your Congress person can probably help with a little non-quid-pro-quo giving. They write (with lobbyist’s help) the tax code. The Supremes have made it almost impossible to ‘bribe’ your representative, so go for it. In fact, your profitable corporation can just rent a post office box in the Caymans and lower its taxes to 0% like  Boeing, General Electric, and Verizon, and 24 others.
For the middle-class there is this tax haven: http://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Tax-FREE-Financial-System/dp/1466367466

How can you avoid income tax in retirement?
Stop adding money to your employer retirement plan! You have been converting the low rates that the rich pay on capital gains (15%) into income taxes that hit 25-35%. Switch to a low-cost Roth IRA and pay nothing on that money in retirement. If your retirement income is not subject to income tax then you are more likely to pay $0 on your Social Security benefits. Contrary to popular myth, benefits are taxable if you have other income. You may be able to avoid paying income tax later by converting your taxable IRA to a Roth now in years when you have lower income.
Other tax-avoidance strategies require more work: borrow from your assets without repayment, use your legal entities to borrow cash, offset taxes with tax losses, cash value life insurance, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Tax-FREE-Income-increases/dp/1484156951

Is a Roth IRA conversion right for you?
Conversions of deductible 401k or rollover IRA to a Roth IRA have increased 800% recently. Why? Each $1 you already put into those accounts could grow to $46 by retirement and if they were in a Roth, you would have 25-30% MORE because the $46 is all tax-FREE. Yes, you have to pay tax on the $1 plus earnings now, but those with higher incomes see the enormous benefits and are going for it.
Create the tax-FREE income you want:  http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Do-Numbers-Creating-Retirement/dp/1502775522

What is the best way to transfer your pension when your job is over?
If you are leaving your employer for another or for self-employment, there are important benefits to consider. Your advisor/broker may not know them all or may be receive a bonus for one way. Taxes are involved too. SEC regulators are concerned about advisors’ sales practices. Mistakes can cost you. Look before you leap. Know the best for YOU. http://www.finra.org/Investors/ProtectYourself/InvestorAlerts/RetirementAccounts/P436001

Youth consult family and friends for financial advice
Members of Gen Y, those born between about 1980 and 2000, are more likely to rely on personal connections for their financial advice than older generations, according to a new TIAA-CREF survey. They are more likely to value online tools and calculators (74 percent versus 57 present of the general population), seminars (68 percent versus 53 percent) or webinars (67 percent versus 54 percent) as channels for advice. They are more likely than the general population to involve their parents (47 percent versus 19 percent), extended family (22 percent versus 14 percent) and other trusted adults (31 percent versus 21 percent) in their search for advice. 
They use Leah’s Money Book: http://www.amazon.com/Leahs-Money-Book-control-money/dp/1448654408

Social Security benefits up by 1.7%
Make sure your account benefit calculation is correct by checking online. If you don’t have an account yet, create a personalized Social Security accounts online at socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. You can see your benefit information at any time. Make sure you will have enough income when SS benefits are reduced in 2033. Create your own tax-FREE income security: http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Social-Security-Medicare-Lifestyle/dp/1466394285

I just saved $840 on my car insurance—made $840 an hour
When I got my auto renewal policy bill today, they had raised my cost about $400. Last year they raised it by about $300. I decided to shop for a new deal. It took me 1 hour to save $840 after entering my info at two competitor’s online sites. One wanted $2,949 for a year. WOW. Another insurer told me to wait 5 minutes for a phone rep. I hung up. My vehicles are old—’98 and ’05, but I still carry collision and comprehensive. I don’t carry their PIP medical since I have a good health policy and it pays first anyway. I declined rental and towing and life insurance and disability just like before. I charged it on my card and downloaded my policy and proof of insurance. The new carrier is A++ and 2nd largest in US. In one hour I added $840 to my Wealth Reserve. http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X

Do you really need an advisor or broker to help with your financials?
As a former manager of advisors and brokers at banks and security firms, I see a change in the way you can obtain help. First, determine how your salesperson gets paid. This helps you understand how they can help you. All licensed staff work for firms that only offer products that provide them with revenue. You are offered what the firm sells NOT what you might need. Vanguard and TIAA-CREF operate differently. Their products don’t pay commissions, so most firms don’t sell their products, but you can.  
In the last 30 years, products like low-cost mutual funds, discount brokerage and useable information have become available to everyone. Personal service can be obtained just for the asking. For instance, Vanguard provides free or low-cost advice, brokerage and trustee services even for small account customers.
Advisors that charge you by the hour may have lower-priced products. Your employer’s pension plan is more likely to offer lower cost products too. Costs are spread over your group so you pay less.
Also, you can now learn enough on your own to succeed by paying less: http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Predictor-Investment-Success/dp/1502524082

How much would a US election cost you?
If you could buy an election (thanks to Supreme Court), how much would it cost you? In the previous midterms, in 2010, the top 0.26% of donors gave 68% of all individual political contributions, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Much of that went to GOP candidates. Tom Steyer, hedge fund croupier, spent $20 millions so far. Bloomberg spent $11 mil and Uline owner, $5 mil.
These billionaires are NOT counting on alleged “voters with fake IDs” either.

GOP crazies backed by Supremes agree to suppress vote
If you can’t win with centrist policies, keep 600,000 Dems from voting. Supremes 5 old guys sided with voter suppression in TX. The law sets out seven forms of approved ID — a list that includes concealed handgun licenses ($150 credit card only) but not college picture ID, which are accepted in other states with similar measures. Dissenters called this decision "unconstitutional burden on the right to vote" and the equivalent of a poll tax in finding that the Republican-led Texas Legislature purposely discriminated against minority voters in Texas. TX has never found case of voter fraud.
Stephen F. Austin, Founder of Texas, would not been allowed to vote in TX under this law. Voter fraud to change outcome does NOT happen in US study finds.

DEM crazies
Cut budget by 7.6 Billion a year—jobs from greater demand—lower income inequality
Raise the minimum wage to the same level as in Reagan’s time—$10.10 per hour and take people off food stamps. That is the proposal DEMs are making now and confirmed by the CBO—nonpartisan Congress analyst. Can Congress vote on anything?
At Costco, hourly workers make an average of more than $20 an hour — well above the national average of $11.39 for a retail sales worker — according to a 2013 Businessweek story. For employees who put in 40 hours per week, that works out to about $43,000 a year. In addition, Businessweek reports that 88% of Costco's 185,000 employees have company-sponsored health care.
Why doesn’t GOP see the facts—good pay equals more money to buy equals more profit

Our hard-earned wages going to waste
Congress spent $25 billions of our taxes on stupid projects while running up the deficit. According to the GAO, during a three-year period more than 57,000 employees were placed on leave for 30 days or more, costing taxpayers $775 million in salary alone. Pentagon to destroy $16 billion in ammunition that it deems no longer useful at of cost of $1 billion just to destroy the ammo. Both Dems and GOP guilty of this despicable behavior. You won’t believe the things they wasted our money on. Wastebook 2014
But they won’t fix our bridges and roads because Obama proposed it.

Pope tries to move older churchmen
Francis warned bishops against what he called "hostile rigidity" in their thinking on these topics, his remarks earning a five-minute standing ovation. Catholic bishops rejected a landmark change Saturday in the rigid stance on gays and divorcees, revealing enormous gaps within the church at the end of a two-week meeting. The synod's final statement failed to include remarkably conciliatory language revealed a week ago that would have welcomed the "gifts and qualities" of gay Catholics and called on pastors to "avoid any language or behavior" that could discriminate against divorced Catholics.
Change is coming, Mr Scalia.

How much can you invest in your pension?
IRS announced (IR-2014-99) that you can now sock away $18,000 in 2015, up from 17,500 in your 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans. Employees over age 50 can add another $6,000. IRA limits remain at $5,500. The deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $183,000 and $193,000. The income limit for the saver’s tax credit ($1-2,000) is $61,000 for married couples filing jointly. Tax credit means you could reduce your taxes by $2,000 dollar for dollar.
Use the legal IRS tax haven: http://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Tax-FREE-Financial-System/dp/1466367466

What does it cost to file a homeowner’s claim?
Insurers do not want to pay claims. If you file a small claim, not only do you have to pay the deductible first, you may get a big new premium bill next year. According to one study, your state may allow an increase of 30% or no increase at all. Premiums in 37 states increased by an average of 10 percent after filing a single claim. "There's a significant statistical correlation between making a claim and the likelihood of making an additional claim in the future,” insurers say. They need to offset the increased risk. Texas prohibits insurers from increasing premiums for first-time claims. But according to Amy Bach, executive director of the California-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, this rationale doesn't hold water. "(There's a general feeling that) it's completely unfair that an insurance company is free to raise your rates because you had the gall to actually use your insurance," Bach says.
Make the claim decision the right way: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870

Is keyless entry (phone) to your home right for you?
Does it make sense to you that people would want an electronic gadget guarding their home? Yet you can try it for $250 and the price of the phone. One device tested did not work. The testers did not ask the local burglar to give it a try so you don’t know if hackers could take your home like they do your ID, bank or computer.
Please give me a break from the gadgets.
Airbags that might KILL you? http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26778551/is-your-car-affected-by-air-bag-recall

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.

What business marketing has done to the language—“anonymous” doesn’t mean anonymous now!
The Guardian revealed that Whisper, an app that promises to “anonymously share your thoughts and secrets”, is tracking its users including some who have asked not to be followed and storing their posts indefinitely while it trawls their messages to identify interesting stories to promote itself in the media.
“That’s exactly the kind of deceptive practice that the FTC should crack down on,” said Marc Rotenberg “It’s very important but there has to be more transparency and accountability. Companies that offer anonymity services should deliver them,” he said.

Check that debt collection scam before you pay their bill
Scammers use your public info to make a claim for past bills. Don’t trust what they say or write. Get proof. If they are legit, they must provide it by law. Scammers work by intimidation and harassment.

UBS is sticking with its recommendations that some clients buy risky Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds, despite hundreds of arbitration claims by investors, says an internal document. A UBS AG unit will pay $5.2 million in a settlement with Puerto Rico's financial institutions regulator over the firm's practices involving sales of Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds whose values later plunged.
Fines are not enough to keep clients safe.

REVEALED: Christie officials put pension cash into fund that backed donor’s companies
Charlie Baker running for MA Gov gives donation to Christie who has NJ teacher pension head give money to Baker’s management fund.
Isn’t that quid pro quo bribe?

Corporations spending BIG on TV to win elections/propositions
In many states, TV ads are defining the winners and losers at election time. Voters may not have the true facts but now have their point of view thanks to big money.

Is your business easy prey for these common scams?
Based on a study of claims experience, insurers identified the following four common crime schemes in business:
1.   Billing and Vendor Schemes - Employees set up false vendor accounts and bill a company for non-existent parts or services.
2.   Check Tampering Schemes - Employees use company checks to pay themselves or reissue the company’s old outstanding checks and alter the payee to themselves.
3.   Payroll Schemes - Employees manipulate the amount on their check, or create duplicates of their check to cash more than once.
4.   Expense Reimbursement Schemes - Employees submit additional expenses that never occurred or were not of a business nature and are then reimbursed for those bogus expenses.
Strengthen your process: http://www.insurancebroadcasting.com/news/Hanover-Insurance-2744441-1.html

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

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Friday, February 28, 2014

Wealthy evade taxation, Senate says

Wealthy escape taxation, Senate says: Lobbyists win!
Billions of dollars in U.S. taxes are going unpaid because Americans are exploiting Swiss bank accounts, and the U.S. government has failed to aggressively pursue Switzerland's second-largest bank, a Senate investigation has found. Credit Suisse, has provided accounts in Switzerland for more than 22,000 U.S. clients totaling $10 billion to $12 billion, according to the report. The U.S. government has received only 238 names ofU.S. citizens with secret accounts at Credit Suisse, or just 1 percent of the estimated total, the investigation concluded. Pay your fair share
Now, IRS account lets you go tax-FREE at no cost too: http://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Tax-FREE-Financial-System/dp/1466367466/

IRS lets you cut your tax by up to $1,000 per child
If you have a child under age 17, the Child Tax Credit may save you money at tax time. The non-refundable Child Tax Credit may help cut your federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child you claim on your tax return. Check if you qualify: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-8812,-Additional-Child-Tax-Credit

Real estate is popular alternate investment after stocks and bonds
77 percent of millionaire investors say they own real estate, and 35 percent say they own Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). This is a key finding of the Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Investor Pulse Poll. Additionally, after real estate and REITs, millionaire investors cite ownership of collectibles (34 percent), followed by precious metals (28 percent), private equity (27 percent), real assets (oil, gas, mining, 17 percent), private real estate funds (16 percent), hedge funds (16 percent), and venture capital (13 percent). Stock/bond funds have returned over 11% per year since 1976. REIT funds have returned over 10% since 1996: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Mutual-Funds-retirement/dp/1481114026/

What you need to know about ObamaCare for your 2013 tax prep.
For most people, the Affordable Care Act has no effect on their 2013 federal income tax return.
The individual shared responsibility provision and the premium tax credit do not affect your 2013 federal income tax return. Some tips for 2014:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions-for-Individuals-and-Families

How much subsidy do you qualify for?
With the March 31 deadline for getting health insurance fast approaching, people can now use a new website to help them find out if they qualify for financial assistance if they buy a health insurance plan on the healthcare.gov website.
The website -- www.HealthTaxCreditTool.org -- is based on research that shows two-thirds of uninsured adults eligible for government subsidies on the new health exchanges don't know the subsidies exist, and that more than 80 percent said they would likely obtain insurance if they had financial help.

House GOP to vote 50th time on ACA repeal
The House will vote again on repealing ObamaCare this session. It has voted 49 times to repeal, defund or roll back the 2010 health-care law since Republicans took control in 2011, according to a tally kept by Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy’s office.
The House will also vote to dismantle regulations on coal, gas and electric utilities despite the pollution caused by lack of regulation in the WV and NC catastrophes last month. Lobbyists are working overtime.

Mentally Ill in 11 Southern States Excluded from Care
“Dashed Hopes, Broken Promises, More Despair: How the Lack of State Participation in the Medicaid Expansion Will Punish Americans With Mental Illness," released by the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) — shows that 6.7 million uninsured people with a mental illness are currently eligible for coverage under the Medicaid Expansion that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. But the majority of these individuals with mental health conditions will be left out in the coverage cold due to their state's antagonism toward the Medicaid Expansion health insurance initiative.

Workers no longer trapped by insurance, start businesses, make jobs
Now that Karen Willmus can get health insurance through Obamacare, she plans to quit teaching 9th grade English at the end of the school year. The 51-year-old found policies on the Colorado state exchange for about $300 a month. That's less than what she's paying now for employer-sponsored coverage and less than half what she paid on the individual market in 2007. Like Willmus, millions of people could quit their jobs or cut back on their hours in coming years because of Obamacare. Many Americans may opt to work less to retain eligibility for Medicaid or subsidies. But for some, Obamacare is allowing them to become entrepreneurs or retire a few years early since they'll be able to find affordable individual coverage for the first time. Instead of eating bonbons on her couch, Willmus plans to start her own business with her teen daughter publishing materials for non-native English speakers and others looking to improve their literacy. She expects to work even more than she does now and hire two or three people. Maybe ObamaCare is not so bad after all.

Doctors Become Reluctant Employees: Many Forced Out of Private Practice
Many physicians see employment as a necessary "shelter from the storm" in today's healthcare environment. When asked to select the three reasons to pursue an employed opportunity, necessity ("it is the only financially viable option") was most frequently selected as the primary motivation for choosing employment over primary practice, and the second most common answer selected as one of several motives. Doctors are looking for a work and personal life balance when seeking employment. "Our experience tells us that this trend is in response to heavy workloads, financial pressure from decreasing insurance reimbursements and rising costs of practice ownership," one recruiter said.

Investors moved all their equity money to Vanguard in 2013
As of November, all but $1 billion of the $41 billion investors added the US equities in 2013 went to Vanguard. Money managers and their owners are really worried about the indexing trend. The answer is simple: costs count. If you pay 2% a year for your 401k, mutual funds or IRA/pension contributions, the managers and owners can take up to 63% of your nest egg over time. It’s compounding. $3,000 a year grows to $1 million in 34 years. http://www.amazon.com/Maximize-Social-Security-Benefits-Retirement/dp/1495439224/


Why WhatsApp is worth $19 B? Why not voice mail or email?
The average adult Facebook user has more than 300 Facebook “friends.” It’s an ego thing? “I fear all communication in the digital age is being reduced to shouting in a crowded theater,” Actually, the average adult has far fewer friends — perhaps just a couple in many cases, researchers say — whom they talk to regularly in their real-world social network. “The address book is a simple, reusable list for any application, and simplicity always wins.” The popularity of private-messaging applications like WhatsApp, which has more than 450 million users, suggests that despite all the technological advances in recent decades, people still crave to communicate in small groups and often just with one other person at a time. WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. It uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, so there is no cost to message. It is a Yahoo email account for your phone.
What is old is new again and worth $19 Billion??? to Zuckerberg.

TN outlaws claims for sinkholes—lobbyists win
Despite some bipartisan objections, the Tennessee House of Representatives has narrowly approved legislation that intended to reduce or prevent homeowner claims against insurance companies from damages caused by sinkholes. Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, who said the measure allows insurance companies to cancel policies “in mid-term on anyone” if they feel a claim may develop. “This is one of the most blatant bills I’ve seen to benefit one particular industry at the expense of the consumer,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Nashville. “Today’s it’s sinkholes. The next day it’s going to be earthquakes and the day after, it’s going to be hail,” Travis said.

Tesla, Lexus triumph in Consumer Reports' annual rankings
Among the other nine top picks, Honda and Subaru claimed two apiece, with Toyota, Audi, Ram, BMW and Hyundai taking the rest. Among Detroit brands, Buick and GMC posted the highest scores, with General Motors as a whole generally performing better than Ford or Chrysler, whose Jeep brand scored lowest among those ranked. http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/tesla--lexus-triumph-in-consumer-reports--annual-rankings-174524556.html

"It's not possible, I'm a nun," she told doctors, according to the Italian press.
A nun who was rushed to hospital complaining of acute stomach pains has given birth to a baby boy – and named him Francesco after the Pope. The 31-year-old nun began to feel severe abdominal cramps on Wednesday and gave birth just a few hours later.
This is why ObamaCare requires all employers to offer birth control to employees!



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.

DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for F35 plane failures.
Cheney cut 25% of DoD budget starting in 1990 as peace dividend.

IRS warns of scams this year
Characteristics of these scams can include:
•    Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
•    Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
•    Scammers “spoof” or imitate the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
•    Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
•    Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
After threatening victims with jail time or a driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim. Read more:
http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/IRS-Warns-Dirty-Dozen-Tax-Scams-2014-69650-1.html

British spies caught collecting our ‘sexually explicit’ pictures—YOUR private pictures
A British intelligence agency collected video webcam images — many of them sexually explicit — from millions of Yahoo users, regardless of whether they were suspected of illegal activity, according to accounts of documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden.
It is unclear how much of the data was shared with American officials at the National Security Agency, though the British ran queries of the data using a search tool provided by the N.S.A. calledXKeyscore, according to a report on Thursday by The Guardian.
The documents show that in one six-month period in 2008, the agency collected webcam imagery – substantial quantities of which were sexually explicit – from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts globally. Certainly a Key Score for the boys!

Who owns your account now?
First Commonwealth Financial Advisors to Cantor Fitzgerald Wealth Partners


IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.746.2014
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Friday, October 4, 2013

Financial Death Insurance

Financial Death Insurance: Avoid death by a thousand cuts in pay 
#Debt is a knife that is killing us slowly. 
#Indenture to our bank kills the pleasures of life. 
#Break the chains and gain financial freedom.
     Let's admit it. Most of us are spendaholics. 70% of us live paycheck to paycheck. Most of us will NEVER pay off our loans. We will die by a thousand cuts to our paychecks.
How can we get free of the Master or the VISA?
      Freedom from our chains of lifelong payments requires immediate action: cutting credit cards and amputation of some of our costly toys and habits. Going cold turkey is the only way to save your life in rehab. 
      When you have financial freedom, you can buy new toys using the profits from your investments. You can be building wealth in 24 months.
Right now, you are making other people wealthy from your monthly payments. Stop it! 
http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Death-Insurance-Avoid-thousand/dp/1492803138

Need medical cover? https://www.healthcare.gov/
October 1, start your new year without fear of medical destruction. January 1 you can live knowing your family is covered for a catastrophic illness or accident. Your coverage is not capped, it can’t be cut if you get sick, you get free screenings, you don’t have to sit the emergency to get a flu shot and more. Here is the benefit list: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/timeline/index.html

Your current employer insurance plan may NOT have the same benefits.
Plans existing before the new law in 2010 were grandfathered and don’t have to have ObamaCare benefits:http://obamacarefacts.com/grandfathered-plans.php

Estimate your least plan cost with subsidy: http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

ObamaCare myths: 
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/sep/24/top-16-myths-about-health-care-law/

Best existing medical insurance plans CR reviews in your state: http://www.consumerreports.org/healthinsurance

Insurers are prepared for new business and competition—GOP wrong again
Based on the belief that most insurers were well-positioned and preparing for the expected impact of health care reform, A.M. Best Co. maintained its stable outlook for the majority of the health industry in January 2013. It appears that all the fuss over ObamaCare is just political BS. America’s insurers and drug firms are ready to serve more customers! GOP used to be in favor of everyone paying for healthcare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcSjLvWLcxE

MA has ObamaCare already thanks to GOP—what was learned?
Today, 97 percent of the state's 6.6 million people have it — the highest coverage rate of anywhere in America.http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/01/227887992/lessons-for-the-obamacare-rollout-courtesy-of-massachusetts

Living without a mortgage?
A novel way to beat the high cost of living—tiny home, on wheels—not a double wide. Small but cozy—cuts down on clutter. Built it yourself $24,000 or buy for $57,000: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Should you make a homeowner’s claim?
In some states, making a single homeowner's insurance claim raises the annual premium cost over 20%, according to a newhttp://www.insurancequotes.com/home/home-insurance-claim report. The state with the highest increase is Minnesota (+21.2%), followed by Connecticut (+20.6%) and Maryland (+19.3%). Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870/

Will debt reduce your sunny retirement years?
A much higher proportion of homeowners over 65 are carrying mortgage debt compared with past generations. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that 30 percent of all homeowners 70 and older have mortgages to pay off. In 2001, just 8 percent of owners 75 or older carried mortgage debt, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, published in 2010. Working longer may be the answer if employment is still possible. About 7.2 million Americans 65 and older were employed last year, a 67 percent increase from a decade ago, according to government data. The median 401(k) balance for households headed by people aged 55 to 64 who had retirement accounts at work was $120,000 in 2011, according to the Center for Retirement Research at BostonCollege.  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-26/former-executive-tom-palome-spends-his-retirement-flipping-burgers#r=nav-fs

Insurers misuse your credit?
State Farm has sent notices to nearly 700 customers whose accounts were handled by an after-hours call center employee who allegedly "misused" credit card information of at least 11 customers.

Is life insurance the best way to help your grandchild?
Many grandparents buy small $10,000 policies for their loved ones in the belief that this is the best gift for them. Consider what really happens. Most child policies are dropped. The hundreds of dollars spent are defaulted to the insurer FREE. Better to start a savings program for the child. Your gift to their Roth IRA can be worth $2.1 million by age 65. That is the miracle of compounding. And the child does not have to die to collect! http://www.amazon.com/Give-your-Grandchild-000-Lifetime/dp/1456433105

Have you been to Chicago lately?
Stay off the streets. Chicago now has highest murder rate. More than in Capone days, more than the Wild West days. They even shoot kids now! 
We need Wyatt Earp to ban guns in town like they did back then: 
After a decision by the Supreme Court affirming the right of individuals to own guns, then-Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sarcastically said, "Then why don't we do away with the court system and go back to the Old West, you have a gun and I have a gun and we'll settle it in the streets?" This is a common refrain heard in the gun debate. Gun control advocates fear -- and gun rights proponents sometimes hope -- the Second Amendment will transform our cities into modern-day versions of Dodge.
Yet this is all based on a widely shared misunderstanding of the Wild West. Frontier towns -- places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge -- actually had the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation.
In fact, many of those same cities have far less burdensome gun control today than they did back in the 1800s.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler/did-the-wild-west-have-mo_b_956035.html
Towns banned guns for one reason back in the 1800s—guns kill people! People can't always control their emotions. 

Did you inherit an annuity?
IRS ruled that you can transfer the annuity you inherit to another insurer so you can receive more. Rather than being bound by the terms of the decedent’s contract, beneficiaries may be able to exchange inherited contracts for newer, higher paying contracts, according to PLR 201330016. Such an annuity might have lower costs, come from a stronger company, offer better investment options, or have desirable features. A PLR only applies to the taxpayer who made the request, but it also shows how the IRS regards a certain issue. Thus, an exchange for a higher-paying annuity may be a realistic option for beneficiaries. See your optionshttp://www.amazon.com/Not-Buy-That-Annuity-Guaranteed/dp/1466494573

Only poor people are hurt by GOP shutdown
Government employees but not Congress or aides, Women Infant Children, Veterans, Small Business loans, tourism and business that serve them, Head Start, SS disability hearings, cancer cure program testing, food safety, flu shots, etc. Congress and their staffs will get paid. Military and weapons makers will get paid. Anyone they decide is 'essential' is paid but the rest of workers are NOT essential.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/01/the-nine-most-painful-consequences-of-a-government-shutdown/

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law—Two Americas?
If you and your neighbors elected a GOP government recently, you will likely NOT have health care available. Those that need it the most are denied the opportunity to buy coverage. America is NOT the land of opportunity GOP pretends. Only the rich can afford coverage in the 26 states ruled by GOP—60% of American working poor.
“How can somebody in poverty not be eligible for subsidies?” an unemployed health care worker in Virginia asked through tears. Before she lost her job and her house and had to move in with her brother in Virginia, she lived in Maryland, a state that is expanding Medicaid. “Would I go back there?” she asked. “It might involve me living in my car. I don’t know. I might consider it.” Will the poor have to move to get covered?
Two Americas: Banana Republic or Civil War?


SCAMS           “Deficits don’t matter” Republican godfather, Dick Cheney, 2002

Educated are more susceptible to scams than others
Recent survey found that more than 80 percent of respondents were approached with potentially fraudulent offers and that 40 percent of all respondents were unable to spot “classic red flags of fraud” — implicit warnings that they were in danger of being fleeced. The survey showed that the highest earners — those with household incomes of $100,000 or more — found the pitch more appealing than those with lower incomes. And those with more education were generally more credulous, too. The greater their education, the more likely they were to invest in potentially fraudulent schemes. They are overconfident and had the money. Scammers on work for people with money. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/your-money/the-bridges-are-new-but-business-scams-are-timeless.html?pagewanted=all

Tracking of Americans through friends’ network allowed
Government can now keep tabs on all your friends and networks without court order. You don’t even need to be in touch with foreigners. OKed by Supremes too:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/nsa-examines-social-networks-of-us-citizens.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Allstate reneges on promises
Allstate retiree Garnet Turner is suing the insurer to protect the life insurance benefit he claims he was promised. 

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

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