3 Mark Financial, Inc.

February 20, 2019

Putting the BENEFIT back in Defined Benefit Plans!

Join this American National webinar to learn how a defined benefit pension plan can lead to large tax deductions for your clients and help you grow your business. 

Webinar Later Today at 12:00 pm central

Join Jeff Wright, CFP, CLU, ChFC Regional Vice President Symetra as he introduces the new Symetra Protection IUL

Webinar March 6 at 3:00 pm Central

Now is the Time to Make a Gift

With exemptions at an all-time high and certainty that there will be no “clawback,” gifting is a straightforward way to fund trusts and help clients achieve their legacy planning goals. Use these resources to get started: Estate Equalization, Lifetime Gifting Client Snapshot, What a Trustee Should Know, Clawback blog, Estate Tax Calculator. 

 JHAM Radio: The Annual All-Attorney JHAM Show

Listen as our Advanced Markets Attorneys provide insight on their predictions for trends, developments, and planning opportunities for the new year. This show is one of our most popular JHAM programs and is not to be missed! 

Clients No Longer Need to Wait For Their Lab Results

We have partnered with our lab provider to give applicants a secure and interactive way to view their lab results. Now, the paramedical examiner will provide the applicant with a brochure and instructions to access their lab results via online portal. Applicants can receive results online within seven to 14 days and will be available for one year. Legal & General America will no longer mail the lab results to the applicants.  Read more.

 Insure Your Love Campaign Materials

Life Insurance is love insurance, which makes February and Valentine's Day a perfect time to remind clients and prospects of their need for life insurance. The "Insure Your Love' campaign is designed to be evergreen, which means it can be used anytime throughout the year to promote life insurance with current or prospective clients.  Read more.

The GRO Rider - An Additional Layer of Protection on Our IULs

Our IULs are unique. They are the only IULs in the industry that include a Guaranteed Refund Option rider at no additional cost. Learn why this feature is so important.  Read more.

Interactive Tool for Your Clients #InsureYourLove

Week 2 of February’s #InsureYourLove campaign includes a powerful interactive tool — Global Atlantic's Simply Speaking Life Insurance. This compelling tool clearly illustrates the many ways life insurance offers financial protection.  Learn more.

Getting to The Finish Line Faster

Last week we talked about how much information there is out there, and how customers are using that material to make their decisions more often than not. However, what people put into action because of something they read, and what they really should be doing, are often where professionals like yourself could come in. The average 50 year old American makes around $50,0001, this same average 50 year old American typically has $117,0002 saved for retirement. In reality, it is suggested that a 50 year old American should have six to seven times their salary saved by the time they reach 503,4. Now, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that those numbers don't quite add up. This is where many people come to you for help in sorting out their finances so that they can actually get to those ideal numbers. Below are some articles to discuss with your clients on this exact subject.  Learn more.

When Choosing the Right Carrier, What Really Matters?

What matters most when selecting the best carrier for you and your clients: product design, technology, strength and commitment, or service and support? At Columbus Life, it all matters. 

 Illustration Insight: Max Funding an IUL for a Juvenile

Have you ever had questions about how to max fund an Indexed Explorer Plus® IUL juvenile policy when running an illustration? If so, our new Illustration Insights guide can help you complete the process.  Download the guide. 

Webinar: Deferred Comp - SERP PLN

If you have business owner clients looking for ways to recruit and retain a small number of key employees, a Deferred Compensation – SERP may be a good fit. Learn about the benefits of these selective executive retirement plans and the tools available to help you talk to your clients about them. Learn more and register for the Mar. 2 10:30 - 11:00 CST webinar.

The Last of Its Kind

Those born before January 2, 1954 are the last group of workers who are still eligible to take advantage of Social Security’s filing restricted for a spousal-only benefit strategy. If you’re wondering where that leaves the rest of your clients, let’s review the filing strategies that are still available today.  Learn more.

 Women May Be the Key to Growing Your Practice

Women’s need for financial services continues to grow. With more women graduating from college than men, women are closing the pay gap and becoming the wealthier sex. The 2016 Allianz Women, Money, and Power® Study showed that more than one-third of women report being the sole or primary household breadwinner and half responded that they made the long-term financial decisions in their households. Even for those who aren’t the primary wage-earner, women often influence spending and saving decisions in their home. Yet according to the study, only 30% of women are working with a financial professional. This indicates a need and an opportunity.  Find out more

Grow Your Business - Market Opportunity

Your clients need life insurance coverage. Almost half of American households have no life insurance coverage1, and over 60 million households that do have coverage feel they are underinsured. Sales potential for the underinsured life insurance market is $12 trillion dollars and GROWING; over $340 billion per year. View more compelling statistics. Client profile worksheet. 

 2019 Standout Product

The industry has taken notice.1 Have you? Think: potential for increased cash value, extended death benefit guarantees, higher cap & max illustrated rates, and higher target premium… Our recent protection-focused IUL updates are worth a look. Value+ Protector.

 Show Some Love for GUL

The living benefits sale has never been easier to pitch. Pick one of 12+ sales ideas offered (10-10-10, 5 Ways to Access Cash, etc.) and get your GUL-groove back on today! Secure Lifetime GUL 3. 

 Now Live: Connext Marketing Resources

Connext is our new producer website that will replace eStation in 2019 and provides our distribution partners and producers with a simpler, faster and more transparent experience for doing business with us. Our newest feature debut is the Marketing section of Connext, which offers easy access to training, sales tools and prospecting resources designed by our award-winning marketing team.  Read more.

2019 Tax Planning Quick Reference Guide

Click here to download the Nationwide guide.

3 Ways to Use Life Insurance as an Asset

Join this 30‐minute live webinar on how to position life insurance as an asset to transfer money to beneficiaries at death, regardless of how other assets perform.  Register for webinar.

 IRS Challenges Split-Dollar Arrangements

Intergenerational Split-Dollar has generated attention as a possible way for high net worth clients to reduce taxes. A recent settlement in the Cahill case illustrates how these sizeable discounts may not be attainable.  Read the analysis.

 Life With inSight Podcast Series

Recognized by AVA Digital Awards with a Gold Award, check out these 4 recent editions of Axa’s Life with Insight podcast series. 2018 year in review. How election results may affect the economy. Rewiring your retirement. Put tax relief to work for pass-through business owners. 

 A Simplified Application Process for Groups of Key Employees

AXA’s Guaranteed Issue Program streamlines the life insurance application process for groups of highly compensated key executives. And policies can include our Long-Term Care Services Rider (LTCSR).

A LOT of Updates in the Latest Lincoln Leader 

The latest Lincoln Leader has updates on WealthAccumulate IUL, Wealth Preserve IUL, MoneyGuard II, LifeElements level term, as well as a variety of updates on various new business initatives. Click the links below and see all the great news coming out of Lincoln.  Product initiatives. New business initiatives. 

 Webinar: Learn About LIncoln’s Newest Offering

Join Becky Christie for a special training session. We’ve set up two dates to make it easier for you to attend. These sessions are a great resource for you to:

• Learn more about our new accumulation indexed UL, designed to be industry leading, with choice and flexibility. You’ll find highly competitive account features, distributions and targets with an IUL that’s ideal to consider for supplementing retirement income or protecting a business. See an illustration of Lincoln WealthAccumulate IUL in Lincoln DesignIt℠and Winflex.
• Get helpful tips when using Winflex with our IUL products

Learn more and register for one of the two sessions on Feb 21 and 26 at 9:00 - 9:30 EST.

 Build an Income Plan for Pre Age 59.5 Clients

Do you have any clients younger than 59½ who have inherited money, sold a successful business or are prepared to retire early? While they may be interested in taking income before the traditional retirement age, you would be wise to caution them on early income distribution tax penalties. Now you can help them avoid pre-59½ penalties with i4LIFE® Indexed Advantage — available only with Lincoln fixed indexed annuities.  Case study.

Check Out This Sales Idea to Help Your Clients

Learn how our new guaranteed universal life (GUL) insurance product provides death benefit protection for the broad market with the flexibility of Return of Premium at no additional cost, and Added Consumer Protection to ensure guarantees will last for the long haul.  Case study.

 Protection for 5 Risks

Are your clients prepared for the five financial risks in life? See how life insurance can help.

 Boom, Bust, Trust

Markets go up and markets go down, but the choice of life insurance carrier can last a lifetime. See how Pacific Life has honored its policyowners in times of both boom and bust. Share story.

 Policy Review

Do you know the biggest opportunity for new sales may be your existing clients? Send this flyer to your clients to help them see the need and initiate the conversation. Learn more.

Hybrid or linked-benefit products are a fresh approach to retirement and estate planning. These products, cover opposing risk groups by combining long-term care coverage with life insurance or an annuity.

LTC News You Can Use - February 2019

We want to help your business grow and make the new year even more successful.  Here are a couple positives to begin the year:

•  We maintain our position as the leader in traditional LTCI industry.
• The LTC13 (current) product block continues to perform as expected, and we again expect no changes in 2019.  We want to earn your promotion and business.

Long-Term Care Tax Advantages for Business Owners

Download the guide.

Introducing the Nationwide YourLife CareMatters® Quick Quote Tool

The Nationwide YourLife CareMatters® Quick Quote Tool provides several exciting new enhancements to the old CareMatters® Benefit Estimator Tool. With a few simple inputs you can provide a more comprehensive assessment of the kind of long-term care benefits your clients may qualify for. Learn more.

Keep the Ball Rolling with 2019 Social Security and Medicare Guide 

Keep rolling in the New Year with our 2019 Social Security and Medicare Guide. Get inflation-adjusted Social Security numbers for 2019, including those for Medicare Part B and Part D. It’s a great companion piece to last month’s 2019 Tax Summary.

 Fund Future LTC Needs with Tax-Advantaged Dollars

Your clients can't predict when a health crisis might strike and derail their carefully crafted retirement plans and investment portfolios. You can't either. But you can talk to them about SecureCare Universal Life, a linked-benefit product that provides a cash benefit they can use however they want and helps shield their other assets from the impact of Long-Term Care (LTC) expenses.  Learn more. 

Lincoln MoneyGuard II Pricing Update

Effective February 11, 2019, Lincoln is implementing pricing improvements to enhance competitive positioning in core market segments for Lincoln MoneyGuard II. This is a change to rates only for our current offering of Lincoln MoneyGuard II (2017). There are no changes to the product structure, contract language, compensation, or types of benefits provided. Read more. View updated materials.

Shift the Paradigm! Take your Clients tax season from Dreadful to Delightful!

Go from tax-deferred to tax-free for LTC! How the Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides tax-free annuity dollars for care. 

 Care Solutions Suite and Concept Training

Get back to basics! Learn all about asset-based LTC solutions: how they work, how to set up sales, different funding options, product features, benefits and more. Webinars are every other Friday, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET.  Register now.

 Care Solutions Live Deep Dives

Go in depth on topics related to our asset-based LTC solutions. Live Deep Dives are every other Friday, 11-11:30 a.m. ET. Review the topics and register for webinars.

ASSET TRANSFER TIPS 

For all annuity carriers

Transferring assets, or exchanging money via section 1035 of the tax code, may have tax consequences. Any questions regarding taxation should be referred to a qualified tax professional.

Call the Financial Institution/Insurance Company to see what they require to transfer the money e. g. some financial institutions, like Fidelity, require a call from the client to release money, others like Northwestern Mutual require their own surrender form to accompany the 1035/transfer form from the company receiving the money.

Attach a copy of a current policy/ account statement for the funds being transferred to the 1035/transfer document.

Complete the 1035/transfer form carefully and completely. Be sure all necessary signatures are obtained.

Send original transfer forms with the application to 3 Mark for processing.

Annuity Fact Finder 

Click here for a great Annuity Fact Finder

Great news, your clients no longer need to wait for their lab results!

We have partnered with our lab provider to give applicants a secure and interactive way to view their lab results.
Now, the paramedical examiner will provide the applicant with a brochure and instructions to access their lab results via online portal. Applicants can receive results online within seven to 14 days and will be available for one year. Legal & General America will no longer mail the lab results to the applicants.

Introducing LifeInsight - Pru’s Innovative New Tool for Managing Life Insurance Policies

LifeInsight is an easy, interactive policy management tool that pulls essential information into one place and simplifies monitoring policy goals, assumptions, and performance. Our hope is that this tool will quickly become a differentiator for our producers and partners in how they sell and support Variable Life policies.  Read more.

 Take the “Try 5 Challenge” with PruFast Track

Are paper applications slowing your business down? If so, we’re asking you to e-submit your next 5 applications to experience the ease and convenience of PruFast Track! It’s easier. It’s faster. Trust PruFast Track and evolve with Prudential.  Read more.

Webinar: What do Marijuana, Chronic Pain and Diabetes Have in Common?

Join us as we discuss the most common underwriting impairments of today – diabetes, coronary artery disease, chronic pain, and marijuana. We will bring in the “art” of underwriting as we discuss each condition.  Register the webinar Thursday Feb. 21 1:00 - 2:00 CST

Put an Innovative Online Part B Process to Work For Your Clients

Principal Life Online is a big change in the way we do business. And now we’re kicking off one of its most exciting features: Your clients will be able to complete Part B of their applications for all products and face amounts online! Flyer. Demo video. eDelivery demo video.  Now approved in NY.

Underwriting in Review: Affordability Guidelines

One aspect of our life insurance underwriting process includes applicants going through affordability review. Our short Brainshark helps explain why we use these guidelines, who they apply to, and how the guidelines are calculated. It also includes helpful tips on how to expedite the application by including: a cover letter, and an illustration. View the Brainshark today.