By: Amy Herrick | November 24, 2009
Scammers are once again attempting prey on the retired of our nation with a new name brand twist, they are posing as Medicare representatives whose real agenda is to steal personal information.
The caller ID shows the number of 866-234-2255. If you call the number you will hear a recording telling you that Medicare scammers are using this number and to report the activity to your local police department to warn the general public.
The scammers ask the person answering the phone for their Medicare information so they can send a new card. This will never happen, but the personal information could be used in ways to harm the unsuspecting retiree who parted with the information.
Never give out personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue for any reason until you have verified on your own the request is legitimate and something you asked for.
After all it is only money…YOURS!
Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
Neither Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. nor its registered representatives or employees provide tax or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult with your tax or legal counsel for advice.
Opinions expressed here are those of Amy Rose Herrick and not necessarily those of Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. or its affiliates.
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By: Amy Herrick | November 18, 2009
Often when we are looking into retirement we put on the rose colored glasses and sadly some Advisors do to.
We carefully set up a realistic current budget, perhaps choose pension payout options we will live with for the rest of our years, determine our Social Security benefits, secure health insurance or supplements, set up regular income streams we could count on, planned some long vacations, downsized… moved….changed our pace of daily life ….now we dream….we volunteer…we move to another phase of life. Sigh!
We determine our assets should last and they are “enough” whatever that is, or we adjusted our lifestyle to make it “enough” and all is well, now we can retire and relax and not worry about money anymore. Sigh! Maybe not.
You are wearing those rose colored glasses and forgot a big part of your risk and perhaps your Advisor did too. Take them off!
From the statistics I have seen 60% of you reading this are in for a rude awakening when new ongoing living expenses are a reality in your retirement. What new expenses? The Federal Office of Personnel Management findings in 2003 concluded a sobering 60% of the population will need some type of long term care. 60% of you reading this, over half will need to figure out how to pay for a huge ongoing new living expense you never even budgeted for or thought about in your income needs planning.
Another facet of this trend to ignore the issue in the planning industry I have witnessed firsthand is the omission of this very real long term care retirement income threat from the continuing education (CE) courses curriculum planners use to keep knowledge bases up to date. Licensed individuals with designations often have regular CE requirements to maintain their professional titles. They must take specific courses to requalify periodically. I was appalled that one of the CE courses I completed recently was wearing those rose colored glasses in all the retirement income planning examples in the course and not once was one dime of long term care expense occurring ever mentioned in the income planning examples as a possibility that would alter income streams. Not once! Every case study used was a rosy scenario when statistics tell me 60% of those case studies were in for a rude financial awakening and would be back for additional emergency financial planning help when it was too late!
If your Advisor has not factored in how to absorb or pay for a long term care need in your current and future expenses, you missed a lot and so did your Advisor. Maybe you jeopardized your retirement income security you thought you had by a glaring long term care threat common omission.
How would you financially keep your carefully crafted existing budget intact plus add the ongoing expense or perhaps someone coming into your home and helping you to avoid a nursing home even for only a few hours a day? You do the math.
The National average median hourly rate for a Home Health Aide (charged by a Medicare Certified agency) costs $46.22 an hour according to the Summary of 2009 Findings compiled by Genworth Financial, how will you pay for even 4 hours a day of help with bathing, dressing and transferring? For one year that is a tidy $67,481 more income you need than you planned for in your rosy scenario…after taxes.
If you prefer to try ands save a few dollars by using a non-certified individual who can do only personal and no medical care, then it will only be on average $18.50 an hour.
Sure the additional new medical deductions on your schedule “A” will help reduce the tax load on those dollars, but they will almost certainly not all be tax free. You still have to get the money from somewhere. Family members and spouses can only do so much each day.
Perhaps you needed a nursing home level of care. What if that necessary care cost you over $74,208+ a year for example according to the same Genworth report above for a private room at an average of $203.31 per day, how will you pay for it? That is just the room cost, medications and other needs will add to this figure.
Remember your healthy spouse still needs or wants to live in the paid off family home. Many month to month expenses do not go down because the number of people in a home has reduced.
Long term care is a reality and a major threat to otherwise comfortable retirements. If you or your Advisor chose not to include this very real income replacement issue into your retirement plan, you need to take of the rose colored glasses and look at the quality of your planning again.
From my view, no current or future retirement plan is complete without addressing the impact of any long term care needs no matter how young or old the client is.
After all it is only money…YOURS!
Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
Neither Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. nor its registered representatives or employees provide tax or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult with your tax or legal counsel for advice.
Opinions expressed here are those of Amy Rose Herrick and not necessarily those of Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. or its affiliates.
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By: Amy Herrick | October 29, 2009
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has been warning potential scam victims of a recent ploy to obtain their financial information under false pretenses over the internet.
An official looking email that is misleadingly indicating it came from FINRA promises potential victims up to $1.5M in compensation regardless of an individuals actual ARS investment.
The reality is that no such compensation exists. FINRA is not looking for you or to enrich you over the internet.
By releasing your personal information in these kinds of situations, you could be harmed financially later when the information is used to falsely incur debt or other financial transactions in your name. How? The information given could compromise your identity and financial records for a long time.
Never fall for these kinds of internet ploys that are always promise rich and reality poor.
Scammers often use high powered or easily recognizable brand names and copied or perhaps slightly altered logos to lure victims into the trap. Don’t fall for these illegal ploys that come in all shapes and sizes.
After all it is only money…YOURS!
Disclosure: Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
Neither Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. nor its registered representatives or employees provide tax or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult with your tax or legal counsel for advice.
Opinions expressed here are those of Amy Rose Herrick and not necessarily those of Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. or its affiliates.
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By: Amy Herrick | October 26, 2009
People change jobs many times over a working career. Lost pensions could be a financially important forgotten result of these career changes. Women marry and change their names often more than once. Families move, death and divorces occur. As the years pass, when former employees or the spouses don’t leave a forwarding address, it becomes harder to find them and remind them of these waiting lost pension benefits, if not impossible.
The Pension Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reported it is holding $133 million in unclaimed pension benefits for 32,000 individuals. Most of these workers are unaware they ever earned the benefits in the first place, or they simply forgot about them.
One daunting task entrusted to this federal corporation is finding these 32,000 retirees to receive those lost pensions.
Individuals have balances here of as little as $1 to a whopping $611,028. On average, $4,950 is paid per claim.
A second source to check is the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits (NRURB). Abandoned 401(k) type accounts here usually range in the more modest $600-$1,000 range.
A quick way to see if you have monies waiting would be to check the following websites. Keep your Social Security number handy (or those of your retiree aged parents and relatives) to see if any forgotten benefits are awaiting a claim.
https://www.pbgc.gov/MissingParticipant/missingParticipantSearch.jsp
http://www.pbgc.gov/workers-retirees/find-your-pension-plan/content/page676.html
https://www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com/doParticipantSearch.m
After all it is only money…YOURS!
Disclosure: Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
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By: Amy Herrick | October 24, 2009
The Idaho Department of Insurance along with other states are publicly warning investors not to fall for a scam that uses real looking Nationwide Insurance Company bogus checks to try to take your money.
The scam involves a check for $4,500 made out to individuals supposedly from Nationwide Insurance. The scammers want you to cash the check and send them only $3,750 of it to gain your “$150,000 prize”.
Nationwide Insurance Company is no part of this scam. They are just a new name brand vehicle the scammers are using to attempt to defraud the public.
Following the instructions they include with the check could cost you thousands.
If the bank gives you credit in your checking account for $4,500 for cashing the bad check, you owe the bank that $4,500 it gave you. You have a worthless check.
If you wired or transmitted the money and the scammer is long gone, you could be out that $3,750 too.
Scammers feed on greed and clever marketing or twisting the truth to gain access to your funds. They prosper by stealing from the public and moving on to new scams.
Anytime it sounds too good to be true, you don’t remember submitting an entry for it, or it looks unusual, don’t proceed! Remember: If you have to “pay” to gain access or information to claim your “prize”, it usually doesn’t exist.
After all it is only money…YOURS!
DISCLOSURE: Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
Neither Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. nor its registered representatives or employees provide tax or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult with your tax or legal counsel for advice.
Opinions expressed here are those of Amy Rose Herrick and not necessarily those of Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. or its affiliates.
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By: Amy Herrick | October 21, 2009
The ease of the payroll deductions is handy for you and certain levels of coverage are guarantee issue. If you have a group life, long term care or disability income policy you have two important questions to ask your employer: “Is this coverage I have portable?” and if yes, “How much would it cost today to be converted to an individual policy if I left the company for any reason?”.
You see it is essential to understand you don’t really own the group policy, your employer does. You are allowed to participate in it as long as your employer chooses to have it in force for your convenience.
What if they choose to close the plan or eliminate the benefit? It is not your decision.
What if they put in limits on the coverage available? Often higher wage earners or key employees are less protected than lower rank and file employee wages due to these policy limits.
You may or may not be eligible for other coverage on a 10 day notice at separation.
What if you CANNOT take this with you if you separate for any reason, a long term illness makes your position impossible going forward, a better job at another company comes along, your spouse is transferred to another city, you are laid off, you are terminated, the company closes, the company downsizes, you open your own consulting practice…there are many reasons for a separation from an employer. Employers refer to benefits as “golden handcuffs” to help keep valuable employees longer terms, guess who holds the keys?
A portable or convertible plan means you can convert from the group policy to an individual policy. This means you can take it with you for as long as the policy allows by paying premiums directly. This may or may not be less expensive than securing coverage directly, but conversion will buy you time to shop for alternatives and remain covered without interruption whether you end up keeping the coverage long term or not. This conversion privilege also protects your insurability without providing proof you are a good risk. Insurability is often taken for granted but it is really a priceless asset. Ask someone who cannot get an offer of coverage they want and need at any price.
Individual coverage also affords some degree of financial privacy. No one in the office is privy to your estate plans, ownership arrangements or coverage levels.
Not portable or ineligible for conversion to an individual plan means the coverage dies with your employers desire to terminate the plan or at your separation generally on the last day of the month. This may not be in your best interests.
Group life benefits are also included in your estate when it is valued for estate tax purposes. This is a looming issue in 2011+ if that will put you over the $1M threshold on assets. A group life or private life policy may need replaced or an ownership change to avoid an estate tax levy of 55% or more on what was tax free life insurance proceeds at your death.
What do you do now that you are not certain if a problem exists or not? It is time to consult with trained professionals and make changes where needed to protect your best interests.
Your group benefits may not be a bargain or a convenience after all if they fail to protect your financial future correctly or cost effectively. Too late is not the time to find out you made a big mistake by not asking two little questions and acting wisely on the answers given.
DISCLOSURE: Amy Rose Herrick, Investment Adviser Representative, Agent and Author
4536 SE 37th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-9141
785-379-0586
Economic Consulting services available in all 50 states.
Investment and Insurance Services are available only in the jurisdictions where licensed to do business.
Current licensing as of 9/20/2009 held in some form for: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin. Additional states will be added as needed.
Amy Rose Herrick, ChFC, Investment Adviser Representative is a Registered Representative of and offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser branch office 4536 SE 37th Street Topeka, KS 66605-9141 785-379-0586
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