All posts by Debbie Sears

Breakfast, Business & More

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I’m so excited to be working with Suzanne Hull of Contemporary Business Solutions to bring you Breakfast, Business & More!!!

Breakfast, Business & More is Des Moines’ premier morning networking event which allows busy professionals the chance to network and to exchange opportunities.

We host quarterly networking events without the membership fees. We’ll provide each of you with a registrant list including name, business name and email address which makes follow-up easy! Your time is extremely valuable; that’s why you can expect our events to keep to the following schedule:

  • 8:00am – 8:15am: Register, grab breakfast and COFFEE!
  • 8:15am – 8:45am: Each individual introduces themselves to the large group with their name and the name of their business.
    8:45am – 9am: Open Networking

Click here to Register!

Can You Afford to Gamble – Can You Afford to Retirement – Safe Income Options Are Essential

Income Protection, life insurance
An important part of my responsibilities as an insurance professional is educating the public on the value of annuities and the ways they can contribute to a financially secure retirement.
First of all, there are several types of annuities. The particular annuities that I market, offer guarantee of principal, tax-deferral, handsome compounding due to the tax-deferral, easy access and a guaranteed income for life if one chooses. I do not represent the types of annuities that can lead to unprotected principal, taxes or fees.  We prefer safety – the old adage a “bird in hand is worth two in the bush”.  Our ability to recuperate a loss plus what the potential earnings could have been(often referred to as lost opportunity) is just not going to happen – particularly in retirement years.
In today’s world there is the need for guaranteed income in retirement.  Fewer companies are offering pension plans and with increasing life expectancy, retirees face a growing gap between income they can count on and expenses they expect to face after they stop working. Business owners that are used to the “expense account” that was a part of their culture, now have expenses and lifestyles that require after tax dollars.  The inflation on goods and services also continue to grow.  What seems like a large safe amount of cash today soon depletes as inflation continues.
Annuities can offer predictability, no direct downside market risk, and the potential for guaranteed income — attractive benefits to clients searching for ways to leverage assets and build a more stable and quality future.
We are an independent insurance agency started 40 years ago, here in Des Moines.  We are very particular about the companies that we choose to represent.  EMC National Life Company is over 100 years old – local –  here in Des Moines, IA.  They are quality through and through.

 

National Mental Health Awareness Month

Health Insurance

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As part of the ACA guidelines, mental health is a mandated covered item. We have a serious responsibility as family members, neighbors, work associates, to make a verbal awareness if somebody that we feel is “at risk”. Very seldom does a day go by that we don’t hear something that has to do with mental health, whether it be our veterans with PTSD or our children with ADHD. If you broke your arm and ignored it, you would be wrong. If you had chest pains, and I did not get you help, I would be wrong. My question is, if we know somebody that we feel is not “chemically balanced”, then let’s be compassionate and get them the care they need.

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

Blue Zones, Health Insurance

Jon Schultz, owner of Optimum Performance Physical Therapy, has an amazing resume and performance track record with his many patients. I encourage you to read about Jon and his physical therapy business. He is quite an advocate of educating you on your issues and what you can do to remedy that. Jon has treated many different types of injuries, birth defects, children, veterans, etc. And I just cannot stress enough how important it is to follow his blog posts and take good care of your self. The insurance that we represent at Sears Insurance will take care of Optimum Performance Physical Therapy’s charges. I feel to keep ourselves toned, and fit, will better prepare us for any illnesses or injuries that may lie ahead of us. Please give Sears Insurance and Optimum Performance a Like on Facebook!

My Business is Built on Referrals

Health Insurance

My business is built on referrals. I want to earn your trust, your friendship and your business, so if you know anybody that could use my services, please contact me.

What makes a good” agent? I would say, be a good listener. Identify your needs. Identify your budget and find something of quality that meets your needs as well as your budget. At Sears Insurance, I have been quite particular and very selective as to what insurance companies I contract with. There is always an incentive, but nothing is greater than my friendships, my Clients and the business they bring me.

We offer the best quality followed up by the time investment in you to make sure that your needs are met and your budget is respected. Here are a few things that you may not know. The Department of Insurance sets the premium rates. These rates are based on your age, your residential zip code, smoking or non-smoking. So, you cannot get a better deal by “shopping around”. Most of the websites that promise to show you rates are actually lead generating companies. They capture your information and someone calls you to follow-up. You now have somebody on your phone in your inbox, in your mailbox and if you’re lucky, no one shows up at your door. I can get all of those rates for you.

Why should a person use me as their agent? I present you with all of your options. And then by process of elimination, I try to pare these choices down to what suits your needs. By doing so, we can also put you in a very quality product that’s budget friendly. If your schedule is tight, if it’s not convenient for us to meet, we can actually do this over the phone. I have Clients in many places afar that I have not had the privilege of meeting. In the world we live in today, these types of transactions can be very safely done over the phone and the Internet. I do have what I consider, a very nice office. We can meet at my office, at your business, at your home, whatever best suits your needs. For my over-65 Clients, respecting my elders has been drilled into me. I will always come to you. For my business Clients, the business required to build a quote, may be easier sought at your office than in mind. For those in the middle, call me! We’ll make it work.

EMC Jumps to No. 4 in 40 Best Companies for Leaders List

life insurance

I am so incredibly proud to share with you a news release regarding one of the insurance company’s that we have represented for over 25 years. EMC National Life Insurance Company is one of the carriers that we use to protect retirement funds and life insurance for many of our individual clients and companies that we insure. In addition to this news release, Bruce Kelley, President and CEO of EMC Insurance Companies, will be featured at the round table with David Maxwell, outgoing president of Drake University, on May 20th, at the Ruan Center.

In closing, the tax deferred fixed annuities that EMC National Life Company sells are guaranteed. Principal guaranteed, minimum rates of return and tax deferred. I am thrilled to say without any hesitation that a Client has never lost a single dime of their investments through EMCNL and this product.

There’s a wide variety of life insurance products to suit your needs. I can hand carry not only your original application and contracts back and forth to you, but I also handle claims in the same manner. Your funds are local and they are available within hours of your request.

Using Life Insurance To Make Charitable Donations

life insurance

We have all seen GoFund me accounts. We have seen non-profit organizations, health organizations, religious organizations, etc. that depend on all of us to do our fair share. In addition to our time, expertise, thoughts, referrals and anything else that we may be able to contribute, they also need our dollars.

There are several ways that you can contribute to one or more charities of your choice on a regular, ongoing basis (they’re in need of this for monthly cash flow and operating expenses and/or consider these favorite charities as part of our final wishes). For instance, if I place money into a tax deferred fixed interest annuity at the end of each year, I could, if I chose to, donate some or all of my growth to the charities of my choice. These types of contracts ask for a beneficiary. The beneficiary can be a charitable organization – it’s your choice.

Another tool that is used is life insurance. The life insurance would be paid out as a death benefit at the end of your life and could be a nice sum of money for you to give to your favorite charity at the end of your life. Sometimes the budget only goes so far when you’re paying mortgages, etc. And our good intentions can still be fulfilled if we do some strategic planning.

These two thoughts allow you to keep the funds in your ownership during your lifetime (if this is your choice) and be able to divert donations as you see fit in the directions that please you the most. Please call me for details. There are many ways that we can use these tools in our lifetime to fulfill many of our intentions.

Individual Retirement Arrangements

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Tax time is right in our face. If you have not already contributed to an IRA, it’s not too late. The general limit for 2014 “the most than can be contributed to your traditional IRA” is $5,500 for an individual OR $6,500 if you are 50 years of age or older. Please refer to this tip published by the IRS because it’s the easiest, most comprehensive, most credible quick cheat sheet that I can provide.

So you create an IRA, whether it be Traditional or Roth. You can do that at a bank or through an insurance contract as an example. The tax deferred fixed rate annuities that I discussed in my newsletter and previous blog is an ideal home for these types of funds. It’s a safe haven. You can’t lose your principle, you have a guaranteed rate of return that compounds for you very nicely due to the tax deferral. Here’s a flyer worth viewing.

You can make a contribution to your IRA by having your income tax refund (or a portion of your refund), if any, paid directly to your traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA. For details, see the instructions for your income tax return or Form 8888, Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases).

Contributions can be made to your traditional IRA for each year that you receive compensation and have not reached age 70½. For any year in which you do not work, contributions cannot be made to your IRA unless you receive alimony, nontaxable combat pay, military differential pay, or file a joint return with a spouse who has compensation. See Who Can Open a Traditional IRA , earlier. Even if contributions cannot be made for the current year, the amounts contributed for years in which you did qualify can remain in your IRA. Contributions can resume for any years that you qualify.

Contributions must be made by due date.   Contributions can be made to your traditional IRA for a year at any time during the year or by the due date for filing your return for that year, not including extensions. For most people, this means that contributions for 2014 must be made by April 15, 2015, and contributions for 2015 must be made by April 15, 2016.

Age 70½ rule.   Contributions cannot be made to your traditional IRA for the year in which you reach age 70½ or for any later year.

You attain age 70½ on the date that is 6 calendar months after the 70th anniversary of your birth. If you were born on or before June 30, 1944, you cannot contribute for 2014 or any later year.

Designating year for which contribution is made.   If an amount is contributed to your traditional IRA between January 1 and April 15, you should tell the sponsor which year (the current year or the previous year) the contribution is for. If you do not tell the sponsor which year it is for, the sponsor can assume, and report to the IRS, that the contribution is for the current year (the year the sponsor received it).

Filing before a contribution is made.    You can file your return claiming a traditional IRA contribution before the contribution is actually made. Generally, the contribution must be made by the due date of your return, not including extensions.

Contributions not required.   You do not have to contribute to your traditional IRA for every tax year, even if you can.

How Much Can You Deduct?

Generally, you can deduct the lesser of:

  • The contributions to your traditional IRA for the year, or

  • The general limit (or the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA limit, if applicable) explained earlier under How Much Can Be Contributed .

However, if you or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan, you may not be able to deduct this amount. See Limit if Covered by Employer Plan , later.

From: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a/ch01.html#en_US_2014_publink1000230390

Life Insurance

Estate planning, Income Protection, life insurance, Low Premium, Tax Deferal

When people think of life insurance, they think of what does it cost for a funeral.

What I think when I hear the word life insurance is – what are my needs, what are my wants, because there are multiple kinds of life insurances used for multiple purposes. For example, term life could be used for covering a specific obligation for a specific period of time – think of a 30 year mortgage, think of “I would always want my children to maintain their lifestyle and education”. Term insurance is typically inexpensive as compared to your other choices.

Business succession planning could also be a place where this is utilized. For instance, I buy “Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor”, and our contract calls for payment in full by the end of the 5th year. To insure Joe that he would receive that payment, life insurance on myself, with Joe as the beneficiary, would be something that Joe should make a part of the transaction.

A more permanent life insurance option would be whole life. Whole life generally costs more, underwriting can be different – ages of issue and death benefits can vary, but this product is typically used to provide a guaranteed death benefit in exchanged for guaranteed premium payments. Premiums pay for the cost of insurance protection and create cash value on a tax deferred basis.

In the environment we are in today, generation two may have quite an unexpected expense to receive their parent’s hard-earned assets. As an example, life insurance can be used in this case to provide immediate cash so that the assets can be maintained (property taxes, insurance, utilities, upkeep, etc.) until such time that asset can either be transferred into a beneficiary’s name, or sold at fair market price rather than a “fire sale” for less than value to meet the financial needs.

We are an independent agency. We quote different carriers so we can “do your shopping for you”. We carry nothing but the best of the best and always try to meet your budget.

If your mother or father happens to have an asset to debt ratio of near nothing or zero, they have funds invested either in bank products or “in the market”. Bank products are extremely low rates of return, subject to taxation and probate. Market funds, on the other hand, are 100% speculation. And include fees, and taxation on any possible gains. So, the happy medium for safe, nest egg money is tax-deferred fixed annuities.

Visit lifehappens.org to calculate your life insurance needs.

There are many milestones in life, are you reaching any of them? Have you considered  your changing need for life insurance?

Safe Haven for Nest Egg Money

Income Protection, Options

In light of our markets being very volatile and our taxes increasing, I’ve had many Clients ask me “do you know of a safe haven for some nest egg money? – money that I hope I don’t need tomorrow, but on the other hand, I don’t want to take the chance of losing principal in the market.

So, our choices become, bank products at one end, being our most liquid and our most conservative products, and at the opposite end, we have the market (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, capital REITs, etc.). So, where’s the happy medium.

We have tax deferred, fixed annuities that are offering fantastic rates of return tax-deferred. If this is the fulcrum in the teeter-toter, it’s a good mid-way point. Here’s what I like about these products: you’ve heard a lot of dirt and read a lot of articles lately about annuities. They are of a particular nature. The ones I’m referring to are not those types of annuities. The annuity I’m referring to offers you a guarantee of your principal, your interest accrues tax deferred and thus accrues very nicely. You have no broker fees and you do have access. These are being offered for both tax qualified (Roth IRAs and IRAs) and non-qualified funds. These can also be used to provide a guaranteed income for life or for a specified period. My company of choice is EMC National Life Company.

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