Thursday, 26 July 2012

Tax & Insurance Advantages

Tax Advantage

According to the Internal Revenue Code Section 213, the costs of long-term care, including nursing home care, are deductible as medical expenses to the extent they, along with other medical expenses, exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
Criteria for deducting qualified long term care expenditures are as follows:
The resident must be unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another individual, at least two activities of daily living for a period of at least 90 days due to loss of functional capacity, or the resident requires substantial supervision to protect their health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment. Activities of daily living include eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing, and continence.
Qualifying long-term care services include necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, curing, treating, mitigating, and rehabilitative services, and maintenance or personal care services required by a chronically ill individual.
The services are provided under a plan of care presented by a physician or a licensed health care practitioner.
Amounts paid to a nursing home are fully deductible as a medical expense if the principal reason that a person stays at the nursing home is for medical, as opposed to custodial care.
For Information Only
You should contact a professional Certified Public Accountant or personal tax advisor for the most accurate tax advice. They can help you determine the proper tax treatment of payments and potential tax deductions based upon your specific situation.

Insurance Advantage

Most long term care insurance policies will help pay for expenses at a skilled nursing facility. We have licensed staff on duty to provide the assistance with daily activities that these types of policies require. Check with your insurance agent to see if your plan covers skilled nursing care.

What are some CD bank rates?

Interest rates may vary between 1.2 percent to 0.25 percent. Some banks with great interest rates include Discover bank, which offers an interest rate of 1.2 percent with a minimum deposit of $2,500 and Sallie Mae, which offers 1.2 percent with no minimum balance. A bank may offer a lower interest rate such as 0.560 percent with a $10,000 minimum balance. Of course, it is in your best interest to shop around to get the highest rate for your buck. Consider if it is it really worth saving with your current bank, or if your money could work much harder for you in another bank.
Once your CD matures, or the time frame has elapsed, you can either choose to reinvest your money or withdraw it. Keep in mind there is usually a time frame (normally 14 days) to withdraw before it gets automatically reinvested into another CD. Though you cannot withdraw money from your CD, you can withdraw the interest that it accrues. If possible, it is wise to reinvest that money into your CD.

Life Insurance and its Advantages

A contract in which the insurer agrees to pay, on payment of premium, a well defined sum of money to the beneficiary in case of death of the insured is known as Life insurance. Thus, it refers to the protective cover on the life of an individual.
The various terms related to a life insurance contract are defined as follows:
1. Insurer: Insurer refers to the party assuring to make the payment in case of death of the individual.
2. Insured: Insured refers to the person whose life is secured by the contract. In other words, his life forms the subject matter of the contract.
3. Premium: The premium refers to the stipulated amount paid by the insured to the insurer either in installments or in lump sum to cover his life.
4. Beneficiary; Beneficiary refers to the person entitled to receive payments from the insurer in the event of death of the insured.
In order to be considered a life policy, the insured event must be based upon the lives of the people named in the policy.
There are several advantages of having life insurance. Some of them are detailed below:
1. Liquidity:
In the event of death of the breadwinner, the family is posed with a cash crunch. In that situation, life insurance provides cash.
2. Security:
The basic benefit of life insurance policy is the sense of well-being and security. During his life, the breadwinner is assured by taking a life insurance that his family will be secure. After his death, a life insurance policy can cushion the blow and make the financial and personal adjustments to the new financial arrangement much easier.
3. Maintenance of living standard:
The life insurance policy has an added advantage of maintaining the living standard of the family even after the death of the earning person.
4. Regular flow of income:
Life insurance policy makes a provision of providing regular income to the living spouse.
5. Providing funds for education of children:
In the case of death of the breadwinner, the continuation of education of children becomes really difficult for the living parent.  This policy provides allocation of funds for the education of children, thus providing a helping hand.
6. Source of income in the old age:
Some insurance policies provide for age old benefits in which a certain amount is regularly paid after a certain age. Thus, it provides income when ability to earn is lost.
7. Loans and Credibility
When a life insurance policy is taken, financial credibility is enhanced. Loans can be taken against these policies.
8. Payment of debts
A life insurance policy is a great source in order to clear the debts left over from the deceased. The existence of a life insurance policy gives peace of mind that a solid income will be quickly available to deal with several debts.
Thus, it is correct to say that life insurance is a friend in need. It supports the family financially and mentally when it is needed the most.

Storage

Storage

RFYC STUARTRFYC's Stuart and LaBelle locations are both strategically located inland from the coast and feature state-of-the-art storage buildings constructed to withstand 140 mph sustained hurricane-force winds. Other storage solutions include freshwater dockage with concrete wall broadside tie and outside land storage on concrete pads with airline-grade tieRFYC LaBelle down cleats to ensure your boat's safety and protection from a storm.  This combination of options provides boaters with the state's best protected storage and peace-of-mind during the hurricane season.

Insurance Advantages

River Forest Yachting Centers have been recognized by several of the large insurance companies and designated as pre-approved hurricane coded marine facilities. The insurance companies' engineers and safety inspectors have concluded that based on the inland locations, construction methods, and meticulous maintenance; RFYC facilities are superior to other options making it an excellent insurance risk.
insuranceRFYC offers inside storage to protect your boat not only from the sun and wind, but also from lightning which is a major cause of claims during the summer months. RFYC also offers outside land storage with tie down cleats and straps your boat down in the event of a wind storm to keep it safe and secure. RFYC has also developed a members only Hurricane Club to protect the boats of local customers who choose to stay in Florida and need a refuge from the storm.
As a result of storing with RFYC, qualified boat owners may receive up to a 20% credit off of their hull premium while maintaining full Florida coverage which we have been informed is a highly unusual credit, never before provided in the State of Florida. RFYC is happy to provide insurance referrals upon request.

Life Insurance: Advantages vs. Disadvantages

Life insurance refers to the protective cover on the life of the individual insured and provision of financial benefits in case of loss of life of that individual within a certain period. This policy is a mixed blessing.
So a comparison of benefits and disadvantages accrued is made in the following discussion.
Advantages
Some of the various benefits of insurance policy are listed below:
1. Mental peace
The most important benefit of life insurance is that it assures mental peace. When a person goes for life insurance, he and his family are relieved from worries of future. Thus, it ensures mental peace.
2. Financial Security
The policy of life insurance provides economical security to the family of the policy holder in case of death of the breadwinner. On occurrence of this unfortunate event, the family is forced with a cash crunch. But by availing a life insurance policy, this problem of cash crunch is solved by a lump sum amount paid by the insurer.
3. Loan in case of need
There are circumstances in life when the individual needs funds but is unable to get from various sources. The life insurance policy also provides a solution to this problem as loan can be taken against the policy and need not be repaid as the loan amount is deducted from the police value on maturity.
4. Cover for whole life
The life insurance policy provides coverage for the whole life of the policyholder. It also provides protection in cases of serious illness.
5. Tax-free source of savings
In addition it is a source of savings which is completely tax-free
6. Source of mitigating certain liabilities
The life insurance policy provides a great source to satisfy certain needs and liabilities like loans and mortgages.
7. Maintenance of living standard
The life insurance policy helps in maintaining the living standard of the family even after the death of the breadwinner by providing financial benefits to the family.
8. Enhanced coverage
The policy provides enhanced coverage by providing for medical benefits.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of life insurance are as follows:
1. Expensive
The life insurance can prove to be a costly affair, particularly when suffering from illness and regarded by insurers as High Risk due to some reasons like old age etc.
2. Irrelevant in case of no-family person
The life insurance policy is irrelevant for an individual who is not having any family or dependents
3. Increasing premiums
The premium payable increases with the increase in age. But the income gradually decreases which makes it difficult to strike a balance.
4. No benefit in case of long life
Some policies do not provide any cash benefit on the policy holder surviving the policy term. In that case, amount paid for premiums is wasted.
From the above discussion, it becomes clear that though life insurance is a mixed blessing, yet its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. But at the same time, it depends on the requirements of the individual.
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of insurance?

Advantages of Life Insurance
  • Risk Cover - Life today is full of uncertainties; in this scenario Life Insurance ensures that your loved ones continue to enjoy a good quality of life against any unforeseen event.
  • Planning for life stage needs - Life Insurance not only provides for financial support in the event of untimely death but also acts as a long term investment. You can meet your goals, be it your children's education, their marriage, building your dream home or planning a relaxed retired life, according to your life stage and risk appetite. Traditional life insurance policies i.e. traditional endowment plans, offer in-built guarantees and defined maturity benefits through variety of product options such as Money Back, Guaranteed Cash Values, Guaranteed Maturity Values.
  • Protection against rising health expenses - Life Insurers through riders or stand alone health insurance plans offer the benefits of protection against critical diseases and hospitalization expenses. This benefit has assumed critical importance given the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases and escalating medical costs.
  • Builds the habit of thrift - Life Insurance is a long-term contract where as policyholder, you have to pay a fixed amount at a defined periodicity. This builds the habit of long-term savings. Regular savings over a long period ensures that a decent corpus is built to meet financial needs at various life stages.
  • Safe and profitable long-term investment - Life Insurance is a highly regulated sector. IRDA, the regulatory body, through various rules and regulations ensures that the safety of the policyholder's money is the primary responsibility of all stakeholders. Life Insurance being a long-term savings instrument, also ensures that the life insurers focus on returns over a long-term and do not take risky investment decisions for short term gains.
  • Assured income through annuities - Life Insurance is one of the best instruments for retirement planning. The money saved during the earning life span is utilized to provide a steady source of income during the retired phase of life.
  • Protection plus savings over a long term - Since traditional policies are viewed both by the distributors as well as the customers as a long term commitment; these policies help the policyholders meet the dual need of protection and long term wealth creation efficiently.
  • Growth through dividends - Traditional policies offer an opportunity to participate in the economic growth without taking the investment risk. The investment income is distributed among the policyholders through annual announcement of dividends/bonus.
  • Facility of loans without affecting the policy benefits - Policyholders have the option of taking loan against the policy. This helps you meet your unplanned life stage needs without adversely affecting the benefits of the policy they have bought.
  • Tax Benefits-Insurance plans provide attractive tax-benefits for both at the time of entry and exit under most of the plans.
  • Mortgage Redemption- Insurance acts as an effective tool to cover mortgages and loans taken by the policyholders so that, in case of any unforeseen event, the burden of repayment does not fall on the bereaved family.