Tag Archives: disability

The Crucial Role of Long-Term Care Insurance and Disability Insurance in Your Financial Plan

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In today’s ever-evolving job market, employers are beginning to recognize the value of offering long-term care insurance benefits to their employees. It’s not just about enticing and retaining top talent; it’s also about helping employees plan for their financial future with confidence. However, the concepts of long-term care insurance and disability insurance can sometimes be muddled, creating confusion in the minds of many.

Both of these benefits play indispensable roles in an individual’s comprehensive financial strategy. Long-term care insurance and disability insurance share some commonalities:

  • Group Coverage Accessibility: These benefits might be accessible to employees with limited or no health underwriting if offered through their workplace.
  • Health Underwriting for Individual Coverage: When opting for more comprehensive benefits as individual policies, both long-term care and disability insurance typically require health underwriting.
  • Integral Components of Financial Planning: Both these insurance types are integral components of a well-rounded financial plan, and their importance cannot be overstated.

Long-Term Care Insurance Helps Preserve Peace of Mind

Long-term care insurance stands as a safeguard against the financial strain incurred by those requiring assistance with daily activities due to chronic illness, disability, or aging. This type of insurance covers the costs associated with the care required, allowing policyholders to protect their assets and income. But why should someone invest in long-term care insurance?

  • Choice and Control: It provides individuals with the autonomy to choose the type, quality, and location of care – be it at home, in a facility, or within a community.
  • Relieving Loved Ones: It alleviates the burden on family members or friends who might otherwise need to provide caregiving, a task that can be emotionally draining for both parties.
  • Financial Security: Long-term care insurance helps avoid impoverishment or reliance on public programs like Medicaid, which often come with limited coverage and strict eligibility criteria.
  • Tax Benefits: Some policies offer tax incentives, providing additional motivation to invest in long-term care coverage.
  • Strategic Planning: It helps in strategic financial planning to ensure adequate resources and support are in place to meet long-term care needs.

Disability Insurance Helps Safeguard Your Livelihood

On the other hand, disability insurance steps in to protect individuals against a loss of income if they are unable to work due to a disability. This disability could result from an illness or injury that hampers the ability to perform essential work functions. Disability insurance typically replaces a portion of the policyholder’s base salary, usually ranging from 40% to 70%, up to a specific limit.

Why should one consider disability insurance?

  • Financial Protection: It offers financial security and peace of mind for those who depend on their income to support themselves and their families.
  • High Risk of Disability: The risk of a prolonged disability is more significant than most people realize. According to the Social Security Administration, over one in four 20-year-olds will experience a disability lasting 90 days or more before reaching 67.
  • Consequences of a Loss of Income: Without disability insurance, a loss of income due to a disability can have far-reaching consequences, including difficulty paying bills, saving for retirement, or maintaining a standard of living.

Both disability insurance and long-term care insurance are indispensable components of a comprehensive financial plan. While disability insurance ensures a continuation of income in the event of a covered condition that prevents work, long-term care insurance covers the costs of services like nursing home care, assisted living, or home health care – expenses typically not covered by health insurance or disability insurance.

For employers, offering both types of insurance can be a game-changer. It demonstrates a commitment to helping their teams prepare for various scenarios that could potentially lead to significant financial challenges down the road. By providing these vital insurance options, employers not only protect their workforce but also foster a more secure and productive work environment.

To explore how these insurance options can strengthen your financial planning or to discuss other strategies for a more financially secure future, don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s start the conversation today. Your financial peace of mind is our priority.

How to Take Care of Your Key People (the Right Way)

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Your business is humming along but without your top employees, your company might start feeling the strain immediately. Many small businesses rely on a few key people to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. But what happens to your key people when they fall ill or become disabled? Today we’re going to talk about how to continue taking care of your key people even in the face of disability.

Who are your key people?

Most companies need their MVPs to run their business successfully. Your key people are high performing and often do the work of many people. Business simply runs better when they’re there. When a key person becomes sick, injured, or disabled, it’s likely to disrupt the business in both functionality and profit.

In today’s world, longevity at a company can seem like a rarity. Apart from losing key people to positions elsewhere, a big concern is if your top performing employees have an illness that disrupts their ability to do their job at a high level, thus impacting their earning capacity. It’s a problem most companies fail to consider.

How to take care of your key people when they’re disabled:

Many companies do have some type of Group Disability coverage that provides blanket protection to everyone and yet surprisingly these plans don’t adequately protect the highest earners. The limits typically cover the masses, leaving your MVP’s to receive less than their standard wages by a large differential. In addition, you’ll likely need to hire a temporary replacement to fill the shoes of your key person, further draining the company’s funds.

Sick pay is one area that the IRS allows companies to effectively discriminate in favor of highly compensated people, provided there is a plan in place. Many times, a company might use insurance to fund salary continuation when an employee is sick.

Careful, there’s a catch…

Tread cautiously because if you do it incorrectly, you could create a situation where all your employees expect to be paid when they are disabled.

If done right, companies can selectively discriminate in favor of their most highly compensated. They can also buy insurance products to assure that they have adequate income continuation while not posing a burden to the company.

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If your firm has a Group Disability plan, reach out to us. Let’s talk about how we make sure your most important people are protected properly. Email us at marketing@corpstrat.com

Group Disability Insurance: Just How Important Is it? (Hint: Very)

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Group Disability Insurance - Woman Holding her Lower Back in a Brightly Lit Office

Getting disabled. It’s easy to think, “that’s never going to happen to me” or “stuff like that only happens to other people”. We get it, nobody thinks they’re going to be the victims of a disability. Did you know that 1 in 7 Americans can expect to be disabled for 5 years or more? You heard us right, 1 in 7.

Most people dismiss the idea of becoming disabled without giving it a second thought. We think it’s one of the biggest mistakes employers and employees can make. Becoming disabled could be financially catastrophic, especially for families that rely on a single income. If you’re a close relative of Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, becoming financially burdened may not be a problem for you. But if you’re not, you need to ask yourself: how are you going to replace your income in the event that you can’t work? Both business owners and employees who earn and need to continue to generate incomes must protect themselves and their families.

That’s where Group Disability Insurance comes in. Group Disability Insurance is:

1.) Extremely affordable
2.) A fantastic Employee Benefit
3.) Protection for people who need to protect others.

Some people are under the false impression that Group Disability Insurance is expensive. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In the event of the unthinkable, NOT having Group Disability Insurance is far more costly. Even though it’s not a flashy benefit, none of your employees are going to jump for joy, it’s one of the most important benefits you can provide. Because when life happens and someone gets disabled, this will be the lifeline that keeps their family financially afloat.

If you’d like to set up Group Disability Insurance for your team, contact us at marketing@corpstrat.com and we’ll get you started!