In a 2019 MetLife report, one in three employees said that personal financial stress interfered with their job performance - and overall, employees flagged personal finance as the main source of stress in their lives. Every company should consider offering the One Stop Benefits Calculator to lower employee's stress levels. Employers reported a loss of $250 billion in 2019 due to employee stress. It's estimated that financial stress costs roughly 1,922 hours and $28,830 in lost weekly healthcare productivity in a company of 10,000 - that's 99,944 hours and $1,499,160 a year down the drain. Other studies show employers losing 11% to 14% of their overall annual payroll due to lost productivity and higher absenteeism. Not having an emergency fund is the top-cited worry for millennials and Gen Xers, while half of all employees across generations live paycheck to paycheck. Employees clearly see that their benefits are an answer to at least some of their problems: 37% of millennials said student loan repayment was the perk they most wanted from employers, while 30% of Gen Xers and 28% of baby boomers mostly wanted financial wellness benefits with access to financial counselors. Financial wellness is not a one-size-fits-all solution. While it's clear most employees share the desire for financial wellness benefits, there's no single product or service that addresses every individual's unique combination of financial stressors. Rather, the employer's goal should be to thoughtfully provide options, along with support, so participants can choose a frictionless path forward. A whopping 80% of employees want financial planning workshops or financial wellness tools from their employers, but only 20% of employers offer these programs. Providing education and advice may be a good place to start, but don't forget to take a hard look at products, services, and relationships with outside vendors. While most employees wish their companies offered student loan repayment benefits, yet only 4% of them do. All size businesses are affected, and this can be the number one reason employees are losing sleep, and that directly impacts your business.

Life insurance is a good asset versus an IRA according to Ed Scott a tax advisor, published in Feb 2016. Based on my three decades of experience I feel his statements still hold true. In addition, the expansion of the living benefits of chronic, critical and long-term care on new life insurance contracts offers additional protection to advance up to 90% of the face value of coverage using term or permanent life insurance as a result of an illness or accident that shortened your life expectancy. Ed Scott stated I do not sell life insurance. I am a tax advisor. And as a tax advisor, I can tell you that the single biggest benefit in the federal tax code is the income tax exemption for life insurance. Life Insurance should be a bedrock of any serious financial, retirement or estate plan, but it is not used nearly enough, even by those advisors who do sell life insurance. For planning purposes here, I refer only to permanent insurance, not term insurance. Obviously, life insurance provides an income tax-free death benefit and people understand that. But besides the death benefit, here are your five best points for encouraging more people to have life insurance to enhance their long-term financial security. 1. IRAs are bad assets; life insurance is a good asset Most people have their retirement savings in IRAs and 401(k)s. These are bad assets because they are tax-deferred. The tax will one day have to be paid, creating a growing debt on these retirement savings. The future tax will be paid when the money is needed most, in retirement, and at an unknown, but probably higher tax rate. This makes these traditional retirement accounts an uncertain and diminishing asset over time. Replacing these accounts over time with permanent life insurance turns these tax-deferred funds into tax-free savings. Clients should begin a program of systematic IRA withdrawals to decrease their IRA balances and plow those funds into permanent life insurance. This tax will have to be paid anyway beginning at age 70 1/2 and probably at a higher rate on a higher balance. So it's best to deal with this now to have more retirement funds available long-term. The increasing and uncertain tax debt is paid off by paying the tax now at known tax rates, which are at historic lows right now, while income tax-free savings are growing in the permanent insurance policy. 2. Life Insurance is an investment, not an expense People will say life insurance costs too much. Moving funds either from IRAs or from other accounts to permanent life insurance is not an expense; it's an investment in a better long-term asset. Yes, if the funds are withdrawn from an IRA, there will be a tax to pay, but that tax will have had to be paid at some point anyway, probably at higher tax rates in the future. Once the funds are in a permanent life insurance policy, they are simply located in a different and far better long-term asset than an IRA or 401(k). The funds in that new location, the life insurance policy, remove not only the tax risk but can also eliminate the stock market risk, depending on how the policy is set up. That's a big deal in retirement, and something you generally cannot do in a traditional IRA. If you were changing investments, you would not think of that as an expense, so the same applies here. 3. Life insurance has lifetime benefits People think of life insurance for the death benefit, but most people don't know about the powerful lifetime retirement and tax benefits. Funds in a permanent life insurance policy can double as a retirement savings account, but without the worry about what future tax rates will be. If these funds are needed in retirement, they are accessible, tax- and penalty-free. That is a big deal because if the funds were in an IRA, distributions would not only be taxable (in a traditional IRA), but that increased income could trigger other so-called "stealth taxes." These are hidden tax increases in the form of phased-out deductions, tax credits, exemptions, and other benefits as income increases. For example, an income increase from an IRA distribution could cause more Social Security benefits to be taxable or trigger the 3.8 percent additional tax on net investment income from capital gains, interest, and dividends. Accessing funds from a life insurance policy are tax-free (up to cost-basis, and after that if taken as policy loans against the tax-free death benefit) so they don't increase income. And in fact, the withdrawals keep taxable income and taxes lower in retirement. These are valuable lifetime benefits, in addition to the death benefit. 4. More Control with Life Insurance IRAs are subject to annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) after age 70 1/2, whether the money is needed or not (Roth IRAs are exempt from lifetime RMDs). This causes forced distributions and additional taxes, though the client may not need or want to withdraw those funds. These forced withdrawals take control away, while withdrawing from the value in a life insurance policy can be done at any time, or not. Clients are in control of their retirement savings in a life insurance policy. 5. Powerful wealth creation through leverage Life insurance creates more long-term wealth than any other investment. And because this wealth is income tax-free, it is much more valuable than tax-deferred retirement savings that are at the mercy of future higher tax rates. It's the leverage that creates wealth. Life insurance is the only investment where one dollar can do the work of many, and the result is guaranteed and tax-free. With an IRA, for example, it would take many years to multiply that balance; and when it is withdrawn, it will be diminished by taxes. Taking the same funds that were in an IRA and investing them (after-the tax was paid on the IRA distribution) in a permanent life insurance policy, would produce many multiples of that original IRA balance, and it would be tax-free, not only for use during life but especially if there were an early death. Finding the money to pay for life insurance 1 Stop Benefits is uniquely able to secure life insurance coverage at just about any age. We have individual plans that guaranteed coverage up to $100,000 if you are actively at work or smaller amounts id not able to work regardless of health, weight, or occupation. Of course, it is to your advantage to purchase early or without a pre-existing condition. Leveraging your bad assets to pay for good assets should be your New Year's resolution. If you have money tied up in none performing stocks, under leverage property, are over 59 1/2, you have sources to pay premiums. Consider the need for cash in the future for long-term care especially if you do not have separate coverage or want to live out your life in your home.

Options to Save On Group Health Insurance As health premiums increase each year, employers are looking for solutions. Employees struggle to afford both their cost-sharing on premiums plus their out-of-pocket cost for care. The annual MOOP (maximum out-of-pocket) cost is rising to $8,150 per individual and $16,300 per family in 2020. Unfortunately, the savings rate for Americans is decreasing, and most have less than a $1,000 set aside for an emergency. Employer options to reduce costs include changing insurance companies, raising deductibles, reducing network access, or raising employees' contributions. Employers need solutions as the average family cost for health insurance exceeds $20,000 a year. When discussing solutions, consider the odds of use, the type of service used, and the availability to use tax-saving vehicles or to leverage the risk. Look for plan flexibility and offering employee choice, but always look for wide access to providers. Beware of tiered networks that do not offer nationwide coverage at a higher cost. Ask if prescription cards are necessary, and if a choice of prescription cards can be offered. Use common sense when designing your group plan. 20% of any group spends 80% of the health care expense. Consider spreading the risk on the entire group to pay the claims experienced by the few. This is a great option for groups that seek quality employee benefits and want to lower the maximum out-of-pocket cost for employees at no additional cost to the company. Watch Video https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/common-sense-health-plans-only-lowers-groups-overall-cost-chapin Transparency is needed in health care to reduce waste and to seek lower-cost services. I implore everyone to look at their health insurance member portal and check out the difference between billed charges and allowed charges. The night and day differences are staggering, especially for doctors, labs, and emergency room costs. Unfortunately, most people need to incur the cost before we see the difference in contracted charges. Consider using http://www.fairhealthconsumer.org or https://www.newchoicehealth.com/Directory for estimates. The average cost for each employee to have a prescription card is $150 a month and over $400 per month per family. Specialists, especially in the fields of dermatology and orthopedic medicine, maybe part of the problem as they direct people to the latest and greatest drugs advertised by big pharma. We can also be our worst enemy asking to be put on medications advertised on T.V. and magazines. I spent one weekend writing down the names of brand name medication advertised. Offer a choice to your employees on prescription options or no card at all. If the company shares in the cost, consider passing the savings on to the employees in an HRA to cover other expenses, including medical, dental, and vision expenses. Medicare Part D reported in 2017 that the top 250 medications dispensed equal 77.85 percent of total spending. Eighty-five of the top 250 medications cost over $10,000 per beneficiary. Most people under age 65 take fewer prescriptions then seniors. Eighty-nine percent of all medications dispensed are for generic drugs, and the average generic cost is $18 per fill. The ACA eliminates the need to show medical evidence to switch plans and benefits at open enrollment, or with a special enrollment event. The risk of needing one of these new types of medication overnight is slight. PPO/POS plans offer out-of-network coverage versus an EPO/HMO. Do not be fooled into thinking that having out-of-network benefits is better as most of these plan designs reimburse charges at a small percentage over the Medicare allowance. You will be billed for excess charges as no contractual agreement protects you. Closed network plans, using network facilities protect you from paying non-network providers - called surprise billing. Throughout my three decades in the healthcare industry, and after having raised three children as well as my own fair share of serious surgeries in closed network plans, I have not seen anyone stuck paying non-network providers such as an Anesthesiologist if they took reasonable steps to use the network. Sometimes it takes a little time for the insurance company to haggle on the final price, but the clients have not been held accountable. Call Craig Chapin 1 Stop Benefits, Inc. 1-800-662-3982 Sales@1StopBenefits.com