How does burial insurance work? Burial insurance covers the cost of your funeral and/or cremation expenses after you pass away. It can also be used at the beneficiary’s discretion to pay off debts including any medical bills, mortgage loans, or credit card bills

The dangers of letting your life insurance lapse…

It’s one of the life insurance industry’s best-kept secrets – a great number of life insurance policies in the U.S. tend to lapse, meaning the coverage runs out and is not available if you die. Some studies claim as many as 80 percent of policies will lapse before a payout is due. However, the reasons behind this phenomenon are far more complicated and avoidable than you may realize. Typically, life insurance policies have a 30-day grace period for paying your premium. If you forget to pay your premium within that time, your policy will be canceled. That can be disastrous for an older person who has health problems that he didn’t have when he initially bought the policy.  Another major reason for lapsing policies is that people buy more coverage than they…

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What to do if you’re the beneficiary of a “lapsed” life insurance policy

If you’re the beneficiary of a life insurance  policy and you’re counting on receiving that money, you’re at the mercy of the policy’s owner. If that person stops making payments, the policy will lapse and could become void. You might not even know the policy has lapsed – until you try to make a claim after the insured dies. Is it possible to recover any money from a lapsed life insurance policy? Hope there was cash value If a permanent life insurance policy lapses, there may be enough cash value built up to keep it in force for a while. Often an insurance company will tap into a policy’s cash value to cover premium payments if it stops receiving payments and doesn’t hear from the policy owner. Michael Hartmann, a life…

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Is group life insurance enough for you and your family?

Life insurance is a fundamental part of one’s financial safety net. But having life insurance and having enough of it are two different issues. In fact, the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) estimates that only about a third of life insurance shoppers believe they have enough coverage.1 “It’s smart to periodically review whether your existing coverage is adequate, and open enrollment period is a good time to do it,” said Lee McGowan, managing director at Monument Group Wealth Advisors, in Concord, Massachusetts, in an interview. (How much do you need? Life insurance calculator) Employer-provided life insurance If offered without cost, you should always take part in your employer’s group plan. “Take it, no questions asked,” said Sean Flynn, a financial advisor at Essex Financial Services in Southport, Connecticut, in…

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3 Reasons why you still might need life insurance… don’t make regrets make memories…

If you are single, with no children, and just starting out in your career, do you really need a life insurance policy? Maybe so, if: You have parents or other relatives who may need you when they’re older.You have a significant amount of debt.You want to leave a legacy, or at least not impose on others, after you’re gone. Of course, there are other financial priorities early in adulthood, not the least of which are building a budget, setting up an emergency fund, and establishing a retirement plan. And many young adults are focused on growing wealth as quickly as possible as well. Life insurance could be considered of lesser importance in comparison. And for some, that may be true. But for others, maybe not. To be sure, a close look at…

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I’m turning 80 Am I too old to buy life insurance?

Like most insurance, life insurance is cheaper to buy the younger you are when you buy it. This is great news if you’re in your 20s or 30s, but what if you’re a little older and in the market for a new life insurance policy? How old is too old?The answer depends on the type of life insurance you’re shopping for, but one thing’s for certain — no matter what your age today, it’s better to buy a life insurance policy now rather than waiting a year. The price goes up as you get older Premiums for term life increase by about 8% per year in your late 40s, and that rate of increase continues to climb to 9-12% per years after age 50.To illustrate this, we used Policy Genius Life insurance…

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Starting January 1st All Hospitals Must Publish Price Lists

New federal law that was announced in April states that in the New Year, hospitals must publish price lists online of all the services they offer. This should also make it easier for patients to access their medical records. Hospitals must publish public price lists under the Affordable Care Act, but with this new law hospitals are now supposed to make these lists available online. Every year these numbers must be updated so patients get the most accurate price. Rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, and critical access hospitals are also expected to put price lists online under this new law. Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, commented when the program was confirmed: “We are just beginning on price transparency. “We know that hospitals have this information…

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Prescription Drug Costs

The high costs of new drugs, as well as the dramatic price increases of some older and traditionally less expensive generic drugs, have thrust drug prices into the headlines. But what’s the full story? Today, we’re shedding some light on the cost of new drug coming to market, generic drug prices, and why drug coupons the picture. Cost of new drugs New drugs can cost a lot—both to Medicare and to the people who need these drugs. We found that Medicare and its beneficiaries spent about $5.9 billion for 75 new Medicare Part B drugs (those typically administered in a doctor’s office) in 2013. And nearly two-thirds of those 75 drugs had annual costs of more than $9,000 per beneficiary. Moreover, the annual costs of 20 of those drugs—most of…

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RETIREES MOVING TO… COLLEGE?

If you plan on relocating during retirement, there is one type of location that may not be on your radar, but it should be. College towns. According to a U.S. News & World Report article. there are many great reasons why moving to a college town in retirement is a smart idea. And it seems like many retirees are already in the know. College towns boast many events and venues that are perfect for retirees. Universities have a packed schedule of sporting events, concerts, guest speakers, art exhibits, festivals, theater productions etc. Being near a college gives you an endless supply of things to keep you enlightened, connected to the community, and just plain busy. Access to quality medical care is usually, and should be, a top priority when deciding…

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Why Baby Boomers Are Extending Their Working Lives Into ‘Unretirement’

The old idea of “retirement”?a word that means withdrawal, describing a time when people gave up productive employment and shrank their activities?was a short-lived historical anomaly. Humans have always found meaning and motivation in work and community, and the boomer generation, poised to live longer in better health than any before, is already discovering a new type of retirement planning called “unretirement”?extending their working lives, often with new careers, entrepreneurial ventures, and volunteer service. In Unretirement  (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016), Chris Farrell details how their experience, wisdom?and importantly, their continued earnings?will enrich the American workplace, treasury, and our whole society in the decades to come. The following excerpt is from the book’s first chapter: “Work Long and Prosper.” Two titans of the New Deal were Harry Hopkins and Henry Morgenthau Jr. Hopkins…

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