We specialize in:
Why Life Insurance?
The answer lies in one word — risk. The purpose of life insurance, as with all forms of insurance, is to provide protection from loss by transferring the risk associated with that loss to someone else, i.e. the insurance company. With life insurance, the loss we are generally trying to protect ourselves from is the loss of income in the event of the death of the family breadwinner. In addition to income replacement, life insurance is often purchased to pay off bills including home mortgages and estate taxes that may exist after the insured dies. LEARN MORE
What is an Annuity?
An Annuity is a contract between an individual ("annuitant") and an insurance company. The annuitant agrees to pay the insurance company a single payment or a series of payments, and the insurance company agrees to pay the annuitant an income, starting immediately or at the later date, for a specified time period. Annuities are a means by which an individual can manage risk; not the risk of death during income earning years, rather the risk of living too long and running out of money. You can outlive the proceeds of your Keogh, IRA and other investments — but most annuities are designed to provide you with an income for life. LEARN MORE
Individual Retirement Accounts
(IRAs). IRAs are personal savings programs which allow individuals to accumulate funds on a tax-deferred basis until they retire. Contributions are used to buy investment property such as stocks or bonds which must be held by a qualified IRA trustee or custodian. There are two types of IRA programs — Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs.
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Wills and Important Papers
Every adult member of your household should have a current will — regardless of how little he or she might own. If you are married, it is extremely important that both you and your spouse have a current will and that it be kept up-to-date. The expenses you incur for having a professionally prepared will usually provide a large dividend when it is time to settle your estate. It might save your survivors a small fortune in estate or death taxes. It will definitely save your survivors the trouble and expense of repeated court trips and related legal costs. LEARN MORE
Why Save and Invest?
Generally, people save and invest for one or more of the following reasons:
a. Retirement. The primary reason for investing is to accumulate funds for retirement. In today’s economy people realize that it is often a mistake to rely only on social security and possible employer pension funds for their income needs when they are no longer working.
b. Emergency Reserve. People often invest to have funds available for unforeseen events such as a medical emergency, automobile repair, or a family crisis that may require immediate access to substantial funds.
c. Major Expenditures. People frequently invest to accumulate funds for significant expenditures including education, home improvement, or vacation travel.
d. Financial Security. The income you make from working, called earned income, may not be a "sure thing." Consequently, investment money may serve as an alternative or supplemental source of funds for current and future personal spending requirements.
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It is important to maintain a liquid base as well as an income base, in order to have a financial safeguard for the unexpected.
Information provided by AFBA’s Financial Planning Guide |