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The Value of Covering a Stay-at-Home Spouse with Life Insurance My client was an engineer, on his way to partner, at his firm. Talking with his wife about insurance, he did not see the value of covering his wife, who was a stay-at-home mother. “Why do I need that?” he asked. “She doesn’t make any money staying at home.” If you Google it, the average stay-at-home parent is worth about $110,000 a year, depending on what article you read. In our practice, we talk about buying insurance on a stay-at-home parent to protect the other parent’s career. If something happens to him or her, I always ask, “Do you want to have a choice to work or stay home?” Life insurance gives you a choice.

Should you Annuitize your Retirement Savings If you’re retiring soon and own an annuity, you may be considering converting your retirement investment into a series of periodic payments. Or you may consider finding out more about the options you have to annuitize your 401(k). Annuitization converts your retirement savings into a guaranteed stream of payments for a fixed period or the rest of your life. In most cases, the funds that are being annuitized are invested, whether that's in bonds or stocks. Then the money is used to make a series of periodic payments to you. But the contract must be annuitized to receive this benefit. When someone is ready to begin receiving their annuity payments, the annuity carrier converts the accumulation units laid out in the contract into annuity units and details the amount to be paid monthly.

As Americans, we have the liberty to act, speak, think, and worship freely. This precious liberty was fought for, and it has been upheld for more than two centuries, at great cost. As we enjoy the holiday, it is worth remembering that we live in a nation like no other, born from a brave and courageous vision and sustained by those who believe in the American dream.

The Five Main Obligations for Financial Professionals Best Interest – Financial professionals must act in the best interest of the consumer under the circumstances known at the time the recommendation is made, without placing the financial professional’s or the insurer’s financial interest ahead of the consumer’s interest

Happy Memorial Day Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Reverse Mortgages A reverse mortgage is a means of turning the value of home ownership into cash. All or part of the equity in the home can be converted into cash without having to sell the home or taking on additional monthly bills, as would be the case with taking on a second mortgage. To be eligible for most reverse mortgages, homeowners must be 62 years of age or older.