Planning for the Individual

Universal Life
A Universal life insurance policy is designed to provide lifetime insurance protection.

This type of insurance policy is one type of permanent life insurance. With a permanent policy, the insurance is designed to last as long as you pay the premiums. Whole life insurance guarantees this lifetime protection. Universal life does not have these guarantees but there are now universal life policies where you can add a feature that guarantees that the insurance will last the rest of your life.

Universal life insurance assumes an interest rate and the cost of insurance and comes up with a projected premium. If the insurance companies' projections on their universal life policy do not come through, then you may have to come up with higher premiums later, have lower than expected cash values or even lose the policy – but riders are available to guarantee both the premiums you pay (will never increase) and the death benefit.

Whole Life
Whole life is a type of permanent life insurance. It’s called permanent because a whole life policy provides life-long protection and is guaranteed to do so by the insurance company. With whole life, you pay a fixed premium for life, instead of the increasing premiums found on renewable term life insurance policies.

Whole life also has a cash component. This cash value can grow and interest is credited to the cash value. Interest growth in these policies is tax-deferred. You don’t pay taxes on the growth. If you die, your beneficiary also does not pay income taxes on the benefit received. If you cash in the policy and you receive back more than you put in, you pay income taxes only on the amount above what you put in.

There are differences among these policies. Some of these policies are from mutual life insurance companies, which means that the insurance company is owned by the policyholders. Mutual company policies can pay dividends to the policyholders that can both enhance cash values and increase the insurance amount. Your Post Benefits representative can show you comparative quotes from different highly rated insurance companies.

Term Insurance
Term is simple. You pay a premium for a period of time (the term) from one to thirty years and if you die during that time the insurance is paid to the person or persons you designate to receive it - called the beneficiary(ies).

Term life insurance usually has the lowest premium in the early years, making it the most affordable life insurance - initially. Term does not build cash value.

If you are still living at the end of the term, your insurance policy is over unless you can renew the policy. When you renew (assuming your policy has that feature) it will renew at a higher price reflecting your now older age. Term insurance has no buildup of cash as with whole life insurance. Some term life insurance policies do offer a return of premium

When should you buy it?
Because medical insurance is one of the most important benefits to your employees, and a significant expense to your business, it is worth taking the time to ensure that the medical insurance consistently meets your needs. Many companies make it a point to reevaluate their health care plans on an annual basis. This is an especially valuable practice, considering the changes that can happen each year-premiums can increase, your employee base can change considerably, and state and federal rules can impact costs and coverage in unpredictable ways.

Why Post Benefits LLC?
Post Benefits is uniquely qualified to help you and your business satisfy your insurance needs.  We search the marketplace for best-in-class providers to bring you tailored solutions for your business protection plan.  We pride ourselves in providing outstanding personalized service.  For more information please contact us at (201)252-3060.

What Is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is the process of arranging assets in a manner that helps to meet lifetime financial objectives, and simultaneously helps provide for survivors' needs and the disposition of property at death. A carefully implemented estate plan can help to—
• create and conserve assets during life
• minimize death taxes and estate settlement costs
• assure that cash is available to pay unavoidable death taxes and costs
• provide an orderly distribution of assets that meets the estate owner's objectives and intentions
• provide peace of mind and family harmony.

Why Is Estate Planning Important?
Depending on the size of your estate, your heirs may end up with a federal estate tax bill. In 2008, the amount that you may leave to heirs free of federal estate tax is $2 million (this amount will increase to $3.5 million in 2009, at which time the amount may revert to pre-2001 levels or our federal estate tax laws may be revisited). Certain techniques allow you to either reduce your estate or transfer assets to heirs or charitable organizations, thereby minimizing the amount of federal estate tax due your heirs.

An Estate Planning Solution and Estate Planning Tool
Survivorship Life Insurance, also known as Joint and Survivor Insurance or second to die life insurance, are insurance policies that insure the lives of two people, typically a husband and a wife.

The death benefit is not paid to the beneficiary until the death of the second insured. These survivorship life insurance policies are generally available as either whole or universal life policies, and second to die life insurance often provides more affordable life insurance than two separate policies.

The reason a survivorship life insurance policy doesn't pay until the second person dies is that it is designed to pay or assist paying for estate taxes. Estate taxes can be delayed until both spouses die thus the design of these special insurance policies.

Joint Survivorship life insurance policies are effective tools often used by wealthy individuals in estate planning. By removing the proceeds of a life insurance policy through the use of gifting and placing policies in third party ownership such as a trust or in the name of children, a joint and survivor policy can be used to pay for estate taxes. Careful planning by your tax and legal counsel, coupled with a properly structured second to die life insurance policy, can help you preserve your net worth for your heirs.

What is it?
At its most basic, Long Term Care Insurance protects families, lifestyles and assets from high cost associated with a long-term care. Increased life expectancies, changing households, the economy and the continued strain on Social Security have increased the focus on, and the concern about, long-term care issues. LTC policies provide coordinated services and money for the expenses derived from home health care, adult day care, respite care, assisted living facility care or nursing home care.

When should you buy it?
Many people don't think about long-term care until they get into their 70s and 80s and their health begins to fail. At these ages, you may be too high a risk for an insurer to cover you; or if you do qualify, the premiums can be astronomical. In fact, some long-term care policies have restrictions on age and health status. The best time to buy long-term care insurance may be middle-age. It's the time when you have the highest likelihood of being eligible for a policy and, just as important, when premiums costs might be lower.

Why Post Benefits LLC?
Post Benefits is uniquely qualified to help you and your business satisfy your insurance needs. We search the marketplace for best-in-class providers to bring you tailored solutions for your business protection plan. We pride ourselves in providing outstanding personalized service. For more information please contact us at (201)252-3060.

What is it?
Individual disability insurance is truly a basic concept. It is an insurance product designed to replace anywhere from 45-60% of your gross income on a tax-free basis should a sickness or illness prevent you from earning an income in your occupation. Every disability insurance policy from every insurance company is very different, this is not a product to simply shop for the most competitive rate..

When should you buy it?
Many people don't think about long-term disability until they get into their 40s and 50s and quite often the cost is prohibitive. In fact, some disability policies have restrictions on age and health status. The best time to disability insurance may be in your early to mid 30s. It's the time when you have the highest likelihood of being eligible for a policy and, just as important, when premiums costs might be lower. Individually owned disability insurance can be purchased with a premium and benefit guarantee meaning the carrier will never be permitted to raise your premiums or change your benefits.

Why Post Benefits LLC?
Post Benefits is uniquely qualified to help you and your business satisfy your insurance needs. We search the marketplace for best-in-class providers to bring you tailored solutions for your business protection plan. We pride ourselves in providing outstanding personalized service. For more information please contact us at (201)252-3060.