Investment Planning
Rene S. Randel, MBA, CPA, CFP®can suggest a wide-range
of investment options for our clients. Rene offers traditional
investments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and annuities,
as well as alternative investments, including Unit Investment Trusts (UITs)
and Structured Products. Structured Products have been around for over
twenty years, but they have only recently increased in popularity.
They include such investment-types as Principle Protection, Enhanced Yield,
Access and Leverage. For a brief video describing Structured Products click
here; for a video describing principle-protected Structured Products, click here.
Rene can also handle your retirement account rollovers, set-up various
employer-sponsored plans, such as 401(k)s, SEPIRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Defined Benefit Plans
Rene S. Randel, MBA, CPA, CFP®
believes retirement planning for you starts with planning for your
children’s education. Too many parents find themselves at or near
retirement age with huge college expenses forcing them to work longer
than they had wished. Today, there are numerous ways to fund college
or private high school with tax-free growth. Rene recommends either the
Education Savings Account (ESA) or the 529 plan. For business owners,
employing your children while they are in college can be a real win-win-win
situation. For the business owner/parent, the wages paid to the child are
tax-deductible, for the child/student, he is usually in a low tax bracket
while in college, often resulting in no tax owed on the wages received.
In addition, the student may also then be able to take advantage of the
education credits that the parents could not have because their income is too high.
One of the most powerful tools in estate planning is the Irrevocable Life
Insurance Trust (ILIT). Properly structured, insurance held inside of an
ILIT provides tax-free growth over the owners’ lifetime. And, unlike life
insurance held outside of an ILIT, the proceeds are estate tax free.
Life insurance proceeds are free from income taxes when they
are paid to one's survivors. However, the death benefits on
policies are included in one's taxable estate. This is often
overlooked when people estimate the size of their estate, since
life insurance is not always counted as an asset at face value.
The idea of an irrevocable life insurance trust is to remove the
policy proceeds from one's taxable estate. An irrevocable life
insurance trust avoids estate taxes because it is a separate
legal entity in which the individual retains no interest. In
order to obtain this benefit, however, one must forfeit all
control and ownership rights to the life insurance policies
held in such a trust, which is why the trust is "irrevocable."
To find out more about whether or not a life insurance trust
might be appropriate for your situation, call us at 805.389.3330
or click here to schedule a consultation.
Adequate insurance planning is an important, yet often overlooked,
component of a financial plan. At Rene S. Randel, MBA, CPA, CFP®,
our comprehensive approach includes an analysis of your life insurance
needs based on your individual situation. Whether Rene recommends term
insurance or permanent insurance will depend upon what you are trying to
accomplish with the policy. Life insurance planning is an integral part
of any financial plan. Let us show you the various options available.
Through a detailed analysis of your financial situation, Rene can determine
the adequacy of your current coverage and make recommendations to coordinate
your life insurance policies with your retirement plan and estate plan,
striving to provide the best financial support for surviving family members.
To learn more about our insurance planning programs, call us
at 805.389.3330 or click here to schedule a consultation.
Unlike term insurance, permanent life insurance policies do not
expire. The first permanent insurance policies were Whole Life
and Universal Life. In recent years, a far superior permanent
life insurance plan was developed, the variable universal life
(VUL) insurance policy.
Variable life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides
lifelong protection. The difference between variable life insurance and other types
of insurance is that variable life allows you to make choices about where the premium
is invested. You can select from a variety of investment options within the insurance
company’s portfolio. Rene S. Randel, MBA, CPA, CFP® will help you decide
if a variable policy is right for you.
Call us at 805.389.3330 or click here to
schedule a consultation to find out more about Variable Life Insurance.
With health care costs rising and longer life expectancies, funding
long-term care needs is an increasing concern for millions of people.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about
9 million Americans, now 65 or older, will require long-term care.
HHS expects that number to rise by 25 percent -- to 12 million -- by 2020.
The average annual cost of nursing home care is $74,806, according to
Genworth Financial's 2007 Cost of Care Survey, but that figure can
fluctuate depending on the level of care required, and the state in
which the care is provided. Rene S. Randel, MBA, CPA, CFP® wants
you to understand how the cost of long term care could affect your
financial future, and he wants to help you plan for the possibility
of this expense.
In addition, there are tax benefits associated with purchasing
long-term care (LTC). A self-employed person can deduct the cost
of the premiums. For corporations, the tax benefits are even greater.
A corporation can deduct the cost of the insurance and pick and choose
whom to cover. The corporation does not have to cover all employees.
Also, “return of premium” plans can provide a nice tax-free golden
parachute for key executives.
Call us at 805.389.3330 or click here to
schedule a consultation to find out more about Long Term Care Insurance.
Life spans in the United States have been increasing for over a hundred years.
It is now common for people who reach retirement age to live 20 years or more
in retirement -- most of those years in good health. It’s good to live a long
and full life, but you want to be sure that your income lasts as long as you do,
and its purchasing power is as strong as you are. How can you manage the risk of
“outliving your assets?"
Annuities are a unique financial product that, along with Social
Security, employer pensions, your 401(k) plan, IRA and other assets,
can enhance your retirement security. Call our office at 805.389.3330
or click here to discuss Annuities and to find out how they fit into
your comprehensive retirement strategy.
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