Protecting Your Future, Today        
Your Life Link
 

2nd Quarter 2008


Greg Hoernschemeyer

Greg Hoernschemeyer, CLU
Vice President
Registered Representative
 
 
Greetings!
Thank you for your continued business. If you know of anyone that could benefit from my services, please feel free to forward this newsletter on to them.
 
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If you would like more information about these
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HORAN
please contact
Greg Hoernschemeyer at
(513) 745-0707.
 
 
You may also visit us on our website at www.horanassoc.com.
 
 
Five Tax-Time Insurance Savings

For many people, the first thought that comes to mind when they think of insurance is costly premiums. But as April 15 approaches, remember that some insurance products come with tax advantages that can save you money.

Consider these five insurance tax reminders by the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). Some of the benefits include using various types of insurance to pay your estate taxes, helping you accumulate money on a tax-free or tax-deferred basis and even lowering your taxable income.
  1. Life insurance death-benefit proceeds are generally income-tax free.
  2. The premiums you pay for long-term-care insurance may be tax deductible.
  3. Cash values that accumulate in permanent life insurance policies are income tax-free or deferred.
  4. Funds accumulated in a deferred annuity are tax-deferred until you withdraw them.
  5. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) can help minimize estate taxes.
See full story, located at MarketWatch. (free registration may be required)

Stretching Out Long-Term-Care Insurance

When it comes to long-term-care insurance, "long and thin" might be better than "short and fat."

Conventional wisdom holds that buyers of long-term-care insurance -- assuming they can't afford lifetime coverage -- should look for a policy with a hefty daily benefit that covers about three or four years of care.

But the conventional wisdom could be faulty.

The biggest risk with long-term care is not that you will need such care, but that you may need lots of it. Many people could pay for two or three years of care using retirement savings, home equity and Social Security.  But how many of us could pay for six years? Or 10?

Thus, rather than a "short and fat" policy with a big daily benefit for a few years, Mr. Farrell recommends looking at "long and thin" policies with a smaller daily benefit that covers an extended period of time.

The bottom line: Five, seven or 10 years of care could effectively bankrupt a family. That's the biggest threat, and that's what you need to prepare for.
 
See full story, located at The Wall Street Journal.

Disability Cases Last Longer as Backlog Rises

Steadily lengthening delays in the resolution of Social Security disability claims have left hundreds of thousands of people in a kind of purgatory, now waiting as long as three years for a decision.
 
Two-thirds of those who appeal an initial rejection eventually win their cases.  But in the meantime, more and more people have lost their homes, declared bankruptcy or even died while awaiting an appeals hearing, say lawyers representing claimants and officials of the Social Security Administration, which administers disability benefits for those judged unable to work or who face terminal illness.
 
Of the roughly 2.5 million disability applicants each year now, about two-thirds are turned down initially by state agencies, which make decisions with federal oversight based on paper records but no face-to-face interview. Most of those who are refused give up at that point or after a failed request for local reconsideration.

But of the more than 575,000 who go on to file appeals - putting them in the vast line for a hearing before a special federal judge - two-thirds eventually win a reversal.

If approved, those who have paid into Social Security receive income comparable to retirement benefits, averaging more than $1,000 a month and potentially more. The poor, and severely disabled children, receive Supplemental Security Income checks that will be $637 a month in 2008.
 
See full story, located at The New York Times. (free registration may be required) 
 
 
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
 
Do you have a question you would like addressed in our next issue?
Please email Kristin Solomon at kristins@horansecur.com or call (513) 745-0707
 
 
Striving to educate our clients in the ever-changing face of the
insurance & financial industry.
 
 
Horan Securities, Inc., doing business since 1996.
 

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This eNewsletter is a digest of information published by a variety of web-based sources and is published as a service to our users. Horan Associates, Inc | Horan Securities, Inc. is not the author of the material unless specifically noted. We review each article to ensure that it is related to the interests of our subscribers. Horan Associates, Inc | Horan Securities, Inc. does not endorse the individual authors of these articles, although Horan Associates, Inc | Horan Securities, Inc. has reviewed these articles, for accuracy and completeness and your independent review for personal relevance should be undertaken. Reliance on this material should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. All articles are copyrighted to their publishers. This publication is intended for general information only and not as legal advice. You should discuss specific details with your advisor.

 

 

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