It's simple ... straight-forward ... takes about 20 minutes to explain and answer your questions ... One other point ... The same old, same old "call me two months before the renewal" doesn't work any more ... We need at least six months to get everyone working together.

Here's what's in it for you ...

• Lower health insurance costs
• Better control of future costs
• More productive employees
• Happier employees
• Healthier employees

Here's how we help you make it happen ...

We'll help you restructure your health insurance program so it puts the focus on the specific, evidence-based health care activities that have proven to control health outcomes and reduce medical trends, which will reduce your costs.

Want More Info? ... Russ Swallow ... 508-831-0805
(or send an e-mail to: russ@benefitslab.com)

Two Minutes on Section 105 Qualified Sick Pay Plans

Q:  When can money paid to a person be called Wages?
A:  Only when the person is an Employee.

Q:  When is a person considered to be an employee?
A:  When the person is currently performing services --- or --- when the person is receiving benefits under the terms of a Qualified Sick Pay Plan (under Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code).

Q:  What is a Qualified Sick Pay Plan?
A:  It is a simple agreement providing for a Firm to continue some portion of an Employee's wages during a disability.

Q:  What kind of Firms may adopt a plan?
A:  Any Corporation, Professional Corporation, Partnership or Sole Proprietor

Q:  Is the money paid to a disabled Employee under a Plan classified as Wages?
A:  Yes, and such Plan Payments are tax-deductible by the Firm as a Business Expense (under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code).

Q:  When must a Plan be adopted by the Firm?
A:  Before the employee becomes disabled.

Q:  Must the Plan be in writing?
A:  Yes, and the Employee must be aware of its terms (as required by ERISA).

Q:  Is the necessary documentation required for a Plan a complex arrangement?
A:  No, it consists of adopting a simple Plan Resolution and then providing the Employee with a simple Plan Letter.

Q:  What would be the status of a disabled person who is not covered by a Plan before the disability begins?
A:  Such a person would be considered to be an Ex-Employee.

Q:  If money is paid to a disabled Ex-Employee, can it be called Wages?
A:  No, because Wages can only be paid to Employees.

Q:  What term would be applied to money paid to a disabled Ex-Employee?
A:  The money has been described by the Federal Tax Court as Ad Hoc Payments, which are taxable to the key employee as ordinary income.

Q:  Are Ad Hoc Payments tax-deductible to the Firm?
A:  No, the court has held them not to be a Business Expense, and the Firm has lost the deduction.

Q:  Suppose a Firm does not have a Qualified Sick Pay Plan, and when a key person becomes disabled, the Firm decides to continue to pay some income to the key person.  Then let's suppose the Firm fails to disclose that it is paying income to a disabled Ex-Employee.  How is this likely to come to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service?
A:  When the Ex-Employee applies for the Social Security Disability Benefit, or when an audit is conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, the subterfuge will be obvious.

To receive your plan documents, send an e-mail to russ@benefitslab.com

Want more control over your health insurance costs?  Would you consider a different strategy if you knew in advance it would work?

Do you have a group health insurance broker?

     Is that broker "main stream" or "out of the box?"

          Are you shown strategies?

                Or just pricing spreadsheets?

                    Have you been shown the Carrot and Stick strategy?

                         It's "out of the box" and it will save you money.

One of our recent clients (40 employees) saved $45,000.

     The insurer didn't change.

          The benefits didn't change.

               But the broker changed.

                    The employees paid less than they paid the previous year.

Want to hear more?

     Click here.

          Or send an e-mail to russ@benefitslab.com   

With the recent concern over savings and investments, I thought it timely to include in my blog the recent Annuity News e-mailing that I send to my clients and friends ...

Think of your money as irreplaceable.  If you lose it, it is gone forever.  Therefore, you should treat your money just like you would treat your very pretty teenage daughter -- whenever your money is going out of your sight you want to know who it's going with, what it's going to be doing and when it's coming home.
 
The recent market decline has many people scurrying into CDs and current interest rates are low.  What about an annuity?  The annuity has been around for a long time.  It's an insurance contract offering safety coupled with tax-deferred interest rates.
 
An annuity is not meant for everyone, but if it fits, it might be worth considering.
 
For example, "The CD Crusher" is a single premium deferred annuity with

• 4.60% Interest Guaranteed for 3 Years
• Tax-Deferred Accumulation
• 3 Year Walk-Away
• Systematic Withdrawals Available
• "A" Rated Company  

It works similar to a three year CD except that the interest accumulates on a tax-deferred basis.  In other words, there are no taxes due until the money is withdrawn.  At the end of three years, you may withdraw the principle plus interest and then pay the taxes due.  Or you may roll it over for another three years at the then prevailing interest rates and defer the taxes until you begin withdrawals.
 
We have an educational video entitled "Understanding Your Annuity."  In addition, there's our Safe Money Advisory newsletter, full of insightful articles to help you plan better.
 
More about "The CD Crusher?"  E-mail to russ@futureseniors.com

No ... I'm not really serious ... BUT ... you do need to consider both ...

If you didn't have health insurance,
could you get free care at a hospital?

If you didn't have disability insurance,
could you get free food at the supermarket?

How would you pay your ... rent? ... mortgage? ... phone bill? ... cable ... electricity bill? ... car payment? ... insurance payments ... clothing ... your other monthly obligations?  What would you eliminate?

Would you like reliable consumer information?

How about other information on Sick Pay Plans or 401(k) disability plans?

Many companies do not realize that the IRS can disallow the deduction of wages paid to a disabled employee because such payments are not a necessary business expense unless those wages are paid in accordance with the terms of a Qualified Sick Pay Plan (under Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code).

Qualified Sick Pay Plans enable companies to continue to pay wages to a disabled employee and still be able to deduct those wages as a business expense, and also entitle both the company and the disabled employee to exemption from FICA taxes after six months of disability (Publication 15, Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide).

If the plan is funded with Disability Insurance, then the company may deduct the premium paid for the policy as a business expense (under Section 162) and the amount of the premium is not taxable as earned income to the employee (under Section 106).

So what makes one plan "qualified" and the other "not qualified?"  It's the "paper trail," the documentation that such a plan actually exists.  And the plan may or may not have disability insurance attached to it.

Want to see the documentation?  Send an e-mail to russ@benefitslab.com

One of the challenges I've been facing is one of identity.  Somehow or other, it seems as though I have the words "Health Insurance" tattooed across my forehead.  No matter how much I've tried to show that I do so much more than being an "out of the box" health insurance broker, the "so much more" always seems to take a backseat to health insurance.  It is for this reason that FutureSeniors.com has been launched.

FutureSeniors is where we have a safe money approach for helping clients plan for a worry-free retirement.  We use only fixed insurance products such as ...

These products have the benefits that help clients gain the confidence that they won't outlive their assets and are not subject to any unnecessary market risk in today's economy.

Think of your money as irreplaceable at this stage in your life. If you lose it, it is gone forever. Therefore, you should treat your money just like you would treat your very pretty teenage daughter - whenever your money is going out of your sight you want to know who it's going with, what it's going to be doing and when it's coming home.We also work with a community of service providers and a complete continuum of those services is available through the Massachusetts Care Planning Council.

We also specialize in helping veterans, members of a veteran's family, or the surviving spouse of a veteran understand how to qualify for up to $1,842 per month in long term care benefits. 

We believe this web site (and the links contained herein) to be as complete a source for virtually any topic relating to long term care planning that you'll find anywhere on the internet. 

In addition, you'll find sprinkles of serendipitous nostalgia ... Retired Radio playing Life's Greatest Hits ... Remember Those Old Westerns? ... Tom Rush and The Remember Song ... and more. 

QUALIFICATIONS ??? 

Am I qualified to discuss Long-Term Care Insurance and/or Long-Term Care Planning?  I should hope so.  I was the sole caregiver for my mother for the last eight years of her life.  She passed away in August 2006 at the age of 94.  I have hands-on experience in dealing with the myriad of challenges that face the elderly in their declining years and can bring this experience to help others facing similar challenges.  I am a Certified Senior Advisor.  I receive a "full benefit" Social Security check on the third Wednesday of the month PLUS the receding hairline and the grey hair means I know something about Senior Issues.  I'm also a Director of the Massachusetts Care Planning Council so if you need help in locating other eldercare services, I'll refer you to the right provider.

Socialized medicine ain't all it's cracked up to be.  These videos will tell you the truth.  Two are about Canada;  three are about the UK.

Brian Lee Crowley, president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, is a leading voice for free-market reforms to Canada's health care system.

Among his many books and other publications, Crowley co-authored two projects on the Canadian health-care system both of which won the Sir Antony Fisher Award. In recognition of his health-care work, he was named to the most influential recent provincial health-care inquiry in Canada, the Alberta Premier's Advisory Council on Health (the Mazankowski Committee).

Crowley is a much sought-after media commentator on health-care policy and has spoken to scores of national and international conferences in recent years on health-care reform in Canada. In March, 2008 his health care policy work was further recognized when he was named Senior Fellow at the Galen Institute, a health policy think tank in Washington, DC.

Crowley is also President of Civitas, which promotes an understanding of the principles of free and ordered society; and is director of the Maine Public Policy Institute.

Health insurance companies divide their insureds into two categories ...

1.  Small Group (1 to 50 lives) ... These groups are community rated.
2.  Large Group (51 and up lives) ... These groups are experienced rated.

While community rated groups are not directly affected by claims, large groups are directly affected by claims.  The "bottom line" is that for all companies to better control their health insurance costs, they've got to find a way to help their employees improve their health.

It is estimated that three of every four healthcare dollars are spent on chronic health conditions, many of which are caused by obesity and smoking .. diabetes .. hypertension .. heart disease .. stroke .. mental disorders.  For the most part, these conditions are both treatable and manageable.  Many of these can be managed with medication adherence.
 

The above chart (we apologize for the small print) bears this out in that the Alternative Path depicts how these conditions respond to proper treatment.  To download the actual report (bigger print), click here.

Since 75% of the healthcare dollar is spent on manageable health conditions, how can employers help employees become healthier? 

*******************************************************

*******************************************************

Controlling health insurance costs is not rocket science.  If you want to lower your health insurance costs, just increase your deductible.  If you increase it enough, you could have a qualified High Deductible Health Insurance Plan (HDHP).  

"Qualified" means it meets the federal guidelines to offer Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) wherein employees may set aside money on a tax-free basis to pay for their medical expenses when and if they occur.

The money in the HSA continues to grow tax-free and could be used for post retirement medical expenses which tend to be quite high.  As long as the money is used to pay for qualified medical expenses, now or in the future, no taxes will ever have to be paid.

HSAs for Businesses

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have become the fastest-growing product in the health benefits industry for good reasons. High Deductible Health Plans dramatically lower health insurance costs for employers while employee-owned accounts provide control and freedom for routine health expenses.

Here's how to maximize participation and minimize confusion: