BEST

April 2022

 
 

Advisor News Insight

 
What you get by achieving your goals...

B.E.S.T. UPCOMING CE PROGRAMS

Virtual Super CE Event

Date / Time: Thursday, April 21, 2022 / 3:00pm - 4:30pm Eastern Time
Live Webinar Presentation: Planning with Social Security and Medicare
Self-Study Course: The Advisors Guide to Social Insurance Programs

Earn up to the maximum amount of CE credit hours of state insurance (amount of credit hours varies by state). CFP® & IWI® (CIMA® / CPWA® / RMA®) professionals may earn 10 CFP® and / or 5 IWI® CE credit hours. This monthly program includes a live webinar presentation, a self-study course and an online examination.

 
Register Today
 

2-Hour CFP® / IWI® Ethics CE Webinar

Date / Time: Wednesday, April 06, 2022 / 2:00pm - 4:00pm Eastern Time

Earn 2 CE credit hours of CFP® and IWI® (CIMA® / CPWA® / RMA®) Ethics & NO EXAM! (no state insurance credit)

 
Register Now
 

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Health Care Planning

2022 Retirement Healthcare Costs Data Report Brief: The Long-Term Impact of Short-Term Inflation

HealthView Services, Inc.


HealthView Services’ annual Retirement Healthcare Costs Data Reports have provided advisors and clients benchmark data to plan for one of the most significant expenses in retirement – healthcare. For a healthy 65-year-old couple living to actuarial longevity, total lifetime retirement healthcare costs will increase by $85,917 if healthcare inflation is 11.85% (1.5 times the current annual CPI of 7.9%) for two years. For an average 55-year-old couple retiring in 10 years, using the same inflation rate and period, costs will rise by $160,712.

 
Read brief

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Retirement Planning

Aligning Retirement Expectations with Financial Resources

Insured Retirement Institute (IRI)


This report demonstrates the comparative financial security today’s retirees enjoy, in contrast to the expectations of workers who will be retiring in the years and decades to come.

 
Read more   Download report
 
 

New Findings on What Current, Future Retirees Want from Advisors

Jeff Berman, Staff Reporter at ThinkAdvisor


Investors who are already retired feel much more secure about their retirement than are near-retirees, according to a new Insured Retirement Institute report on retirement readiness, conducted with American Equity Investment Life Insurance and Eagle Life Insurance Company.

 
Read more
 

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Roth IRA Planning

Roth IRA Secure Act Regs. Bring New Roth IRA Advantage

Sarah Brenner, JD, Director of Retirement Education at Ed Slott and Company, LLC.


Good news for Roth IRA beneficiaries! The IRS confirms in the regulations that all Roth IRA owners are considered to have died before their required beginning date. This means no annual RMDs from inherited Roth IRAs are required for beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule. An inherited Roth IRA offers complete flexibility within the 10-year period and completely avoids the complicated RMD rules. And, best of all, the Roth IRA can grow tax-free for ten years before any distributions are required.

 
Read more

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Social Security Planning

Getting Clients Comfortable Delaying Social Security with Reversible Delays

Jeffrey Levine, CFP®, CPA, PFS, CWS, AIF Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners


Social Security benefits are a critical part of many retirement income plans. In such situations, making the best claiming decision (or decisions) can have a big impact on the success of that plan. One such shift in the rules when an individual reaches FRA involves the ability to file for retroactive benefits.

 
Read more
 
 

Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age

Congressional Research Service (CRS)


Retired workers can claim retirement benefits as early as age 62 (the earliest eligibility age, or EEA). Benefits claimed between age 62 and the FRA, however, are subject to a permanent reduction for early retirement.

 
Read more

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Tax Planning

IRS reminder to many retirees: April 1 is last day to start taking money out of IRAs and 401(k)s

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)


The Internal Revenue Service reminded retirees who turned 72 during the last half of 2021 that, in most cases, Friday, April 1, 2022, is the last day to begin receiving payments from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), 401(k)s and similar workplace retirement plans.

 
Read more

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Practice Management

Best Interest Standard of Care for Advisors #84: Compliance with PTE 2020-02: Special Issues: Monitoring

C. Frederick Reish, Partner in Faegre Drinker’s Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group


This article is not about the expanded definition, but instead about a circumstance in which a fiduciary could have more responsibility than anticipated. In the preamble, the DOL discussed whether there is a duty to monitor investments that are made because of fiduciary recommendations to retirement investors.

 
Read more

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ASSUMED FEDERAL RATES (AFRs)

§7520 Rate for April is: 2.2%

Break down:

Assumed Federal Rates
 
Leimberg.com

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FINANCIAL FACTS OF THE MONTH

A Tax that Impacts Very Few

Source: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

3,382,000 Americans died in 2020 or 9,240 a day. But of that 2020 death total, just 1,275 Americans paid federal estate taxes in 2020, down from 139,000 in 1976.

irs.gov
 

Bad Guess

Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

As part of a 10-year budget projection made by the Congressional Budget Office in January 2012 (i.e., 10 years ago), our national debt, which was $15.223 trillion as of 12/31/2011, was forecasted to reach $21.665 trillion as of 9/30/2022. Our actual national debt is $30.036 trillion as of 2/10/2022.

cbo.gov
 

Forty Years

Source: Department of Labor

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, was up +7.48% year-over-year as of 1/31/2022, the highest annual rate recorded in the US since February 1982 when year-over-year inflation was up +7.62%. Just 1-year ago (1/31/2021), year-over-year inflation was up +1.40%.

dol.gov
 

International Transactions

Source: SWIFT

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) was formed 49 years ago in 1973. The non-profit cooperative formed by European bankers operates worldwide in 193 countries and electronically moves transactions between 11,000 financial institutions.

swift.com
 

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RECOMMENDED READING

The Peak 65 Generation

Jason J. Fichtner, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Economist, Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC)


The Alliance for Lifetime Income recently published a new economic report about the “Peak 65 Generation” you might be interested in. Peak 65 is a term used to describe the point in time when more Americans will turn age 65 than at any point in history. This will occur in 2024. This fast-approaching milestone requires the urgent attention and collective action of retirement security stakeholders, including policymakers, the financial services industry, employers, and consumers themselves. The report also focuses attention on a looming retirement income crisis in America, which has been dramatically accelerated by the huge increase in Americans retiring prematurely—due to layoffs or by choice—because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
Download report

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ADVISOR TOOLS

2022 Federal Income Tax Guide

Our Tax Guide contains tax information such as:

  • Individual income tax rates
  • Estates and trusts tax rates
  • Roth IRA contribution limits and much more...

Download the Tax Guide below:

 
 

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2022 Social Security & Medicare Reference Guide

Our Reference Guide contains information such as:

  • Social Security income limits
  • Medicare Parts A-D deductibles and premiums
  • Medicare surtaxes and much more...

Download the Reference Guide below:

 
 

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Financial / Insurance Calculators & Websites

An extensive list of online calculators and informational websites.

 

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REQUIREMENT UPDATES

State Updates

View updates by state, CE requirements and more by clicking on the link below.

 
View Updates

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FEATURED COURSE

The Advisor’s Guide to IRAs

The Advisors Guide to IRAs

According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), as of the fourth quarter of 2019, IRAs have become the #1 retirement asset with $11.2 trillion of the overall $32.3 trillion in retirement savings (34%). For many Advisors, IRAs have become a major asset in their book of business. It is your fiduciary responsibility to become an IRA expert.

In order to assist you in becoming an IRA expert, this course has been developed to provide you with the most up-to-date information to assist your clients in contributing to an IRA, rolling over funds to an IRA, managing the IRA, and distributing IRA assets, as required by various sections in the Internal Revenue Code.

 
Order course

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B.E.S.T. CE PROGRAMS

Online CE Courses

At B.E.S.T. we provide you with a lot of CE credit. Courses are cost-effective, updated annually and nationally approved for state insurance and professional designation credits (CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA®). Our CE courses are specifically designed for quick completion and include:

  • Self-paced courses
  • Unlimited retakes of review questions and final examinations
  • Instant grading
  • Course material accessible for up to six (6) months from date of purchase
  • Excellent customer support team
 
View Our Course Catalog
 

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Virtual Super CE Events

We provide advisors with:

  • Study material, a 1.5 hour live webinar (review of study material) and a 50-question electronic exam (amount of questions vary by state)
  • Up to 24 CE credit hours of State Insurance CE credit (varies by state)
  • 10 CE credit hours of CFP®
  • 5 CE credit hours of CIMA®, CPWA® and RMA®
    • Cost is $74.95 per event plus state insurance filing fees when applicable
      If you are unable to attend the live webinar, you may view a recording of the webinar or credit may be transferred to the next available live webinar.
      (NOTE: A $20.00 cancellation fee will apply for all refunds requested.)
    • Includes certificate for CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, RMA® and other professional designations
 
Register Now
 

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CFP/CIMA/CPWA/RMA Ethics CE 2-hour Live Webinar

“Ethics CE: CFP Board’s Revised Code and Standards: Ethics for CFP Professionals”
(CFP® Course#: 277681 | CIMA® / CPWA® / RMA® Course#: 21BEST011)

Earn two (2) credit hours of CFP® and / or CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA® Ethics CE with
NO EXAM!

(“Investments & Wealth Institute® has accepted this CFP Board approved Ethics webinar for 2 hours of CE credit towards the CIMA®, CPWA® and RMA® certifications.”)

WEBINAR DOES NOT INCLUDE STATE INSURANCE CREDIT!

*PAYMENT OPTIONS:

  • CFP® ONLY license: $49.00
  • CIMA®, CPWA® AND RMA® ONLY license: $49.00
  • CFP® WITH CIMA®, CPWA® AND RMA® licenses: $49.00 plus an additional fee of $25.00

NOTE: Attendees MUST participate in all exercises during the webinar. Credit received for attendee time logged and participation, NO EXAM at end of webinar. (A $10.00 cancellation fee will apply for all refunds requested.)

 
Register Today
 

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Self-Study CE Course List

As a top-notch continuing education provider we:

  • Deliver CE to financial and insurance advisors
  • Offer up‑to‑date and industry pertinent CE courses that maximize credits
  • Provide ClearCert certified long-term care and annuity training CE courses
  • Supply CE courses that are approved in all 50 states and the
    District of Columbia

Order CE courses toll free at: 1-800-345-5669 OR
send an email to self_study@brokered.net.

 
Order Courses

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DISCLAIMER

Reproductions of our Advisor News Insight newsletter are prohibited unless you have received prior authorization from Broker Educational Sales & Training, Inc. (B.E.S.T.), but you are free to email this copy (in its entirety) to colleagues.

This newsletter may not be posted to any website without written consent.

This newsletter is a digest of information published by a variety of web-based sources and is published as a service to our users. B.E.S.T. is not the author of the material unless specifically noted.

Articles are copyrighted to their publishers. All links were tested before this newsletter was emailed to ensure that they are still functional, but publishers move and/or delete articles. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the links provided will remain operational.

B.E.S.T. does not endorse and disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, or reliability of the material linked to in this newsletter. Reliance on this material should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Opinions expressed are those of the author of the article and do not necessarily reflect the positions of B.E.S.T..

THIS NEWSLETTER IS PROVIDED FOR
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CONSTITUTE INVESTMENT, TAX, ACCOUNTING OR LEGAL ADVICE.

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INFORMATION

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