Don’t Stress Yourself Out
[et_pb_section admin_label="Section" fullwidth="on" specialty="off"][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label="Fullwidth Header" title="Don't Stress Yourself Out" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" header_fullscreen="off" header_scroll_down="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" content_orientation="center" image_orientation="center" custom_button_one="off" button_one_letter_spacing="0" button_one_use_icon="default" button_one_icon_placement="right" button_one_on_hover="on" button_one_letter_spacing_hover="0" custom_button_two="off" button_two_letter_spacing="0" button_two_use_icon="default" button_two_icon_placement="right" button_two_on_hover="on" button_two_letter_spacing_hover="0" subhead="Dec 2016"] [/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] By David S. Edge [spacer height="20px"] We all have those tendencies to over indulge during the holidays. Like those tempting fun foods that we sometimes only see once a year. That special recipe that Mom only made for Thanks- giving, or that Christmas dessert that’s just plain yummy! We can’t help it! We only get it once a year!!! And what about the extra special eggnog that’s only for the adults at the family gathering? Maybe just one extra glass, or two??? [spacer height="20px"] Over indulging during the holidays is not always about food or drink, as there are other considerations as well. Don’t stress out your body! Trying to do too much in too little time can cause unnecessary stress. Pace yourself and know when to take a break. [spacer height="20px"] Be careful about marathon events! Don’t try to wrap all the presents at one time, or play a 9- hour game of Monopoly with the grand kids! [/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/HealthTip_December2016.png" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" sticky="off" align="left" max_width="250px" force_fullwidth="off" always_center_on_mobile="on" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]A Pet Trust?
[et_pb_section fullwidth="on" specialty="off" admin_label="Section"][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label="Fullwidth Header" title="A Pet Trust?" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" header_fullscreen="off" header_scroll_down="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" logo_image_url="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/pawprint.png" content_orientation="center" image_orientation="center" custom_button_one="off" button_one_letter_spacing="0" button_one_use_icon="default" button_one_icon_placement="right" button_one_on_hover="on" button_one_letter_spacing_hover="0" custom_button_two="off" button_two_letter_spacing="0" button_two_use_icon="default" button_two_icon_placement="right" button_two_on_hover="on" button_two_letter_spacing_hover="0"] [/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fullwidth="off" specialty="off" admin_label="Section"][et_pb_row admin_label="Row"][et_pb_column type="1_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]
By David Edge
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Sometimes we have a furry friend that we want taken care of if something happens to us. Many of these pets have become close family members and we want their welfare cared for, after we’re gone.You can have a Pet Trust just as a stand-alone, or incorporate the Pet Trust as part of your overall Trust. There is a short list of considerations:
- 1) First of all, who do you want to select to look after your pet? This should be someone who is already familiar with your pet and your pet knows and trusts. This will help with the transition when and if your pet needs a new caregiver.
- 2) Keep in mind that the trustee of your Trust does not have to be the designated person to take care of your pet. You can have a trustee and a custodian for the pet.
- 3) You can have your pet in a current Trust or named in your Trust after you pass.
- 4) As long as your Trust is in order, you need not file with any court. The court will only get involved if someone of interest requests the Court intervention.
- 5) You will be the sole person to decide how much money to set aside for the care of your pet. No minimum or maximum is required.
- 6) Yes, you can name a charity to look after your pet if need be. An organization such as your local Humane Society chapter or some other charity can look after the pet. This is a consideration if you think there will be a conflict of interest with the trustee, in that they might skimp on the care in order to keep more money for the Trust beneficiaries.
- 7) You will want to be specific about the budgeting of the care of your pet. Things such as food, veterinary care, a safe environment, and even pain management or a Do Not Resuscitate (DOR) for your pet.
Costs for providing a Trust for your pet can vary and/or be included in your original Trust expense. Call Trudy to make your appointment TODAY at 602-281-3898! Some things are too important to put off.
Understanding Faith Based Alternatives to Healthcare
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Understanding
Faith Based Alternatives For Healthcare
Researched Provided By David P. Schaeffer, CSA
Click to download or share this as a PDF.
So here we are...
Most counties in the United States are with less than three insurance companies’ choices. Those Americans that need insurance most, are forced to get a plan without their doctors at costs they cannot possibly afford.
Perhaps we need to look at alternatives! Desperate times call for desperate measures. We cannot endorse any of the faith based ministries enclosed in this guide. But I see no other option for many folks under the age of 65 that need to buy individual health insurance.
What is a faith based health ministry?
According to Wikipedia:
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_sharing_ministry)
“A health care sharing ministry is an organization that facilitates sharing of health care costs between individual members who have common ethical or religious beliefs in the United States. A health care sharing ministry does not use actuaries, does not accept risk or make guarantees, and does not purchase reinsurance polices on behalf of its members. Members of health care sharing ministries are exempt from the individual responsibility requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare. This means members of health care sharing ministries are not required to have insurance as outlined in the individual mandate.
According to www.healthcaresharing.org, an alliance of the two largest ministries in the US, over 400,000 Americans participate in health care sharing in 2015, sharing more than $340 million in medical bills annually. A January 2015 op-ed in the New York Times stated that the four main healthcare ministries in the US have a total combined membership of about 340,000, saying that membership has grown recently because of their exemption to the insurance mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
The monthly cost of membership in a health care sharing ministry is generally lower than the cost of insurance rates.
Some of the larger health care sharing ministries are: (Links and phone numbers included later in article)
- Christian Healthcare Ministries
- Medi-Share, a program of Christian Care Ministry Samaritan Ministries
- Liberty HealthShare, Gospel Light Mennonite Church Medical Aid Plan, Inc
- MCS Medical Cost Sharing
- Altrua HealthShare
Most ministries are oriented toward practicing Christians, with restrictions like abstaining from sex outside of marriage, excessive drinking, tobacco, and illegal drugs. They usually require members to make a statement of belief as well. For instance Samaritan Ministries requires a statement of Christian faith including belief in the triune God and divinity of Jesus; Liberty HealthShare is more inclusive, accepting members with a wide variety of religious and ethical beliefs. All such ministries require that members subscribe to the ethical principles of individually responsibility for health, and helping others in need.
Tax penalties under the Affordable Care Act
In order for members to be exempt from the tax penalties outlined in the Affordable Care Act, ministries must meet the following qualifications:
- Must be a 501(c)(3) organization
- Members must share common ethical or religious beliefs
- Must not discriminate membership based on state of residence or employment
- Members cannot lose membership due to development of a medical condition
- Must have existed and been in practice continually since December 31, 1999
- Must be subject to an annual audit by an independent CPA which must be publicly availableupon requestFour ministries that meet these qualifications are: Christian Healthcare Ministries, Liberty HealthShare, Samaritan Ministries, and Medi-Share. MCS Medical Cost Sharing, founded after 1999, does not meet the qualifications, but offers to pay the tax penalties incurred by members. Altrua HealthShare, though founded in March 2000 three months after the December 1999 cutoff, has been approved as a health sharing ministry that qualifies members for the penalty exemption.Though federal health care law requires U.S. citizens to have health insurance or a health cost sharing ministry like CHM, you may be interested to know that CHM doesn’t have an open enrollment period. You, your spouse, or your dependent children can enroll in CHM anytime during the year Health care sharing satisfies the Federal health care law’s (Affordable Care Act) requirement that individuals purchase insurance or pay a penalty-tax. If people join in the middle of a year however, they may be required to pay a prorated tax-penalty for the months that they and members of their household were not participating in a health care sharing ministry or uninsured. From the Wall Street Journal: “The ministries operate outside the insurance system and aren’t regulated by states, provide a health- care cost-sharing arrangement among people with similarly held beliefs. Their membership growth has been spurred by an Affordable Care Act provision allowing participants in eligible ministries to avoid fines for not buying insurance. Ministry officials say they aren’t offering insurance, don’t guarantee claims will be paid, and don’t need to be regulated. The nonprofits are well managed, according to ministry officials, with third-party audits and a sterling history of sharing members’ claims.”
From our Google search:
www.chministries.org
Christian Healthcare Ministries 127 Hazelwood Ave. Barberton, OH 44203-1316
800-791-6225
www.mychristiancare.org/medi-share
Medi-Share
P.O. Box 120099 Melbourne, FL 32912
(800) 772-5623
www.samaritanministries.org
Samaritan Ministries 6000 N. Forest Park Drive Peoria, IL 61614
(877) 764-2426
www.altruahealthshare.org
Altrua HealthShare
PO Box 90849
Austin, TX 78709-0849
888-244-3839
www.libertyhealthshare.org
Gospel Light Mennonite Church Medical Aid Plan, Inc Mailing Address:
4845 Fulton Dr. NW
Canton, Ohio 44718
(855) 585-4237
www.medicalcostsharing.com
Medical Cost Sharing, Inc. 518 Felix Street
Saint Joseph, Missouri 64501
866-826-5316
The information contained in this booklet is not written or intended as tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek advice from your own tax or legal counsel. The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.
American Retirement Advisors assumes no responsibility for statements made in this publication including, but not limited to, typographical errors or omissions, or statements regarding legal, tax, securities, and financial matters. Qualified legal, tax, securities, and financial advisors should always be consulted before acting on any information concerning these fields.
For information about retirement planning ...
Contact David P. Schaeffer 602-281-3898 David@AmericanRetire.com
David P. Schaeffer is a Certified Long Term Care Planning Consultant. He holds the professional designation of CLTC®.
Good news for Medicare in Maricopa County!
[et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="Row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]Good news for Medicare in Maricopa County!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="1_3"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] By David P. Schaeffer [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="2_3"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Feature-The-American-Retirement-Advisor.png" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" sticky="off" align="left" force_fullwidth="off" always_center_on_mobile="on" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="Row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" text_line_height="1.8em" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] Good news for folks in Maricopa County on Medicare Advantage Plans and Part D Prescription Drug Plans. If you are on one of these programs, check your mail for the “Annual Notice of Change” (ANOC) that mails out on the last day of September. You can’t miss it, it is the size of a phone book. It contains the benefits from 2016 and the changes in 2017. It is a line-by-line comparison of each benefit covered by the plan. Next year’s Medicare Advantage Plans look very similar to this year in terms of benefits and co-pays. We don’t have any carriers leaving the market as in years past. One carrier is still under a sanction, but folks on the plan can keep it if they are happy. The networks appear to be very similar and the formularies are looking good as well. I’m excited for our clients because they will be able to stay put! Every once in a while we all catch a break, this may just be our year for folks covered by Medicare Advantage Plans. Next year’s Part D Prescription Drug Plans are pretty nice as well. Most plans are very similar in construction. According to Medicare, the cost of plans, on average, are only moving up $1.44. Only one major plan is getting crazy expensive. A new plan is coming to market, associated with Walgreens as its preferred pharmacy. As always, we strongly recommend researching all plans available in your zip code and not relying on your perceived value of any brand or company. The initial coverage for all plans has increased from $3310 (2016) to $3700 (2017), so a bit more coverage on all plans. For plans that have a deductible, the maximum deductible has moved up from $360 (2016) to $400 (2017). Many plans still have no deductible for tier one generics and some even have coverage in the coverage gap (donut hole). Medicare Part B premiums are required to be announced no later than October 31st each year. It has been our experience that in a presidential election year, the announcement is delayed until after the election. The government accounting office last year, stated most folks would pay the same rate in 2017, but time will tell! Whether you have an “All-in-One plan” called Medicare Advantage or Medicare with a Medicare Supplement and a Part D Prescription Drug Plan, each year we strongly encourage folks to do their research using www.Medicare.gov. If you are a current client, we can do it for you. Begin the process by visiting www.123EasyAEP.com. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]Frustration! Ever have one of those days?
Why am I Me:
Frustration. Ever have one of those days?
By David Edge
You know ....the ones when just absolutely nothing seems to go your way? Getting dressed, you find a button is missing or the zipper is broken? You burn breakfast and then think just skip it because you’re already upset. Get behind a traffic jam and it takes twice as long to get to work. At your desk there’s a new pile of work someone just unceremoniously dumped on you that you weren’t expecting. Your computer has a virus and won’t work. And...it’s only 8:00 AM. Things will get better you say to yourself....but they don’t.
Frustration is growing and you are getting totally discombobulated (this is a state of confusion and annoyance for those of you from Yorba Linda).Point is, you know you’ve got to get yourself back on track for the rest of your day and you desperately need a “do over.” You shut the door to your office, hang a “do not disturb” sign on your doorknob, sit down and think, ...... O.K. it’s time to regroup.You count to ten, take a deep breath, and go get a cup of coffee. Just that one little thing can give you a break and then... there you have it, a fresh start. Great! Now you can get back on track!
But,.... What do you do when you find your entire week, month or year headed in the wrong direction? You know retirement is coming but just can’t seem to find the time for research. There are all kinds of things you know you need to take care of.
When planning and reviewing all the aspects of issues for retirement, it can seem overwhelming. Healthcare plans, doctors, how to cover my drugs. What are we going to do if one of us gets sick? We need to get our Powers of Attorney completed along with a Will or a Trust, and what about a D.O.R.? What about long-term care issues?
Just thinking about everything we need to do to prepare for retirement can discombobulate anyone.When folks talk and complain to me about all the stuff they need to get done on their laundry list for a hassle-free retirement, I always tell them the same thing. “How do you eat an elephant”? Answer? “One bite at a time.”
Do you need a fresh start? One of the best things you can do is have somebody else do it for you. Oh, but wait, that will cost too much money? Hummmmmm...... maybe not. At American Retirement Advisors we’re here to help!
Success Story of the Month: Grown Kids!!! Ahhh!!
Success Story of the Month: Grown Kids!!! Ahhh!!
By David S. Edge
Unfortunately this is a tale of woe we hear many times from many clients who have grown kids who are not quite as successful as they wish they were. Fortunately, there are answers for these grown kid challenges! We meet dozens of parents who are attempting to retire but there seems to be a small anchor around their neck. A grown child living at home. We have a couple of scenarios:
Beth and Bill had worked hard, saved money, and put their son through college. They were happy and loved their son who was a musician. While he seemed to be busy enough with musical work, there never seemed to be enough profit after expenses from his gigs for him to pay his monthly bills. It got so bad, that he even had to move back into his parent’s home and live in his old room that he hadn’t lived in since high school. While they loved their son, they knew that unless something changed he was always going to need financial assistance. What would he do when they were gone? They didn’t just want him to inherit all of their assets with no restrictions. They loved their son, but they knew he wasn’t good with managing his money. What is the answer? After checking with American Retirement Advisors they found they had definite answers! There are financial products that can be controlled from beyond the grave. After meeting and researching which ones were applicable for them.... problem solved! Not only did they have answers for themselves, they had FINANCIAL STABILITY answers for their son.
Another case was the fact that a couple had a grown disabled child and was concerned about her welfare after they were gone. After meeting with our team they found the answer was a TRUST that protected and financed her care after they were gone.
The third example was a husband and wife with several adult children that they were constantly bailing out from bad financial situations. Now they are trying to get their retirement together but can’t seem to get any money into the retirement accounts! The solution was simple. STOP giving the grown kids money. The Bank of Mom & Dad is closed! Our planning advisor instructed them to have the kids call her when they wanted money and she would tell them “no.” If the parents could not say no, we would. Our kids, as much as we love them, will always seek the easy answer for an issue, and if the easy answer is just a phone call to parents, that’s what they will do. Parents must break this habit! Sometimes they just need help setting the future expectation that they are not the answer with unlimited funds. At some point Mom and Dad need to focus on Mom and Dad’s retirement.
Good idea. Poor execution.
Goo
d idea. Poor execution.
By David P. Schaeffer
The Affordable Care Act is still a hotbed of controversy. My point of view is not political, it’s practical. We have hundreds of clients that are under the age of 65 and covered on individual health insurance plans. It should really be called "The Available Care Act." I think we all agree that every American has a right to purchase healthcare without question of pre-existing conditions. The late Senator Kennedy pushed for this right for most of his career. Our current president made it his purpose to get it passed into law. Here we are six years later...
The good: Everyone is approved for health insurance coverage. Everyone, of the same age, pays the same rate regardless of health. Every plan limits your maximum annual liability to $6850 or less on some plans(in 2016).
The bad: For married folks with incomes above $60,000, most plans have a $5,000-$6,000 deductible. The plans are mostly network based with brand new networks. It’s hard to find your current doctors on any plan. Many folks, that qualify for a subsidy or not, still can’t afford coverage or the deductible.
The ugly: Insurance companies were promised, by the federal government, to be reimbursed if they lost money in the first 3 years. The government reneged and did not pay as promised. One local carrier lost in excess of $91,000,000 in 2015. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of money for a relatively small insurance company to absorb in one year. In 2014, that same company lost $92,000,000 on policy holders covered under the Affordable Care Act plans. 2017 will be interesting. We are getting requests daily for solutions. Many underage 65 individual plans will not be available in 2017. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and United Healthcare are not offering any plans in Maricopa County. Aetna has stated it will not offer plans via Healthcare.gov (on exchange) but will offer off-exchange plans. No word as of 8/16/16 as to Cigna, HealthNet, Healthchoice, Humana or Phoenix Health.
Stay tuned for updates as they become available and are verified.The World Is Full of Uncertainties
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