What Beneficiaries Need To Know

What happens when an account owner passes away? What do beneficiaries need to do? Step into a beneficiary’s shoes to learn how to prepare your estate for smoother execution.

If your loved ones have invested, saved or insured themselves to any degree, you may be named as a beneficiary to one or more of their accounts, policies or assets in the event of their deaths. While we all hope “that day” never comes, we do need to know what to do financially if and when it does.

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Retirement Account Rollovers – The Tax Implications

When physicians consider rolling over retirement accounts, the tax implications should be factored into the decision.

The decision as to whether you should roll over your 401k plan to an IRA, another employer’s 401k plan, or simply to leave it where it is, involves several different factors, including long term investment cost and the availability of investment options within the plans. Both can impact the long term performance of your retirement plan. However, a critical factor that can have a big impact, both short and long term, are the tax implications of a rollover.  Understanding these implications is essential before making any decision regarding your 401k plan.

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Whose Lives Should a Physician Insure?

The Physician’s Life Insurance Primer – Should you own life insurance on others?

The primary reason most people own life insurance is to ensure that their loved ones will have the means to replace lost income and pay for their financial obligations in the event of their premature death. In fact, life insurance is a critical financial tool in any circumstance in which the premature death of an individual could result in a financial hardship on another. So, while owning it on your own life may be the best possible use of life insurance, you may want to consider all circumstances in which it could provide essential financial protection for you, your family or your business. Read more to learn more about who physicians should consider insuring.

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Physician Contracts: Independent Contractor or Employee?

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As a physician, there will likely come a time when you need to secure a new position with a hospital, a health care group, or a privately-owned medical practice. All are opportunities in which to practice your specialty, earn a commensurate salary, and provide care for patients.

But not all positions are the same.

While it’s common to be hired as a full-time employee, there’s also a possibility that you’ll be presented with the option to work as an independent contractor.

And those are two very different things.

Before you sign your next physician contract, make sure you know the difference between working as an employee and working as an independent contractor. There are pros and cons to each, so you’ll need to weigh your options to determine which scenario is right for you.

Looking for a new position or getting ready to sign a new contract?

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Life Insurance as Part of Your Tax Diversification Strategy

The Physician’s Life Insurance Primer Series: How life insurance fits in a savings and tax diversification strategy

For many people, life insurance forms the security foundation of their financial plan. While most financial planners recommend that life insurance be purchased for its protection, and not as a primary savings vehicle, few would argue that cash value life insurance doesn’t have some fairly unique and attractive savings features.  When these are considered in the context of a person’s overall savings and investment strategy, they may offer some advantages for physicians, especially for providing additional tax diversification of income sources.

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What’s Missing in Your Financial Plan?

As a physician, what key elements are missing in your plan to get on track and stay on course for financial success?

There’s no denying that physicians have a greater opportunity to earn a great living and build wealth than most people; however, they also face several challenges, such as the initial delay in starting their careers under a mountain of debt. Their ability to earn a high, six-figure income is their most valuable asset, but it must quickly be converted into capital that can be accumulated and preserved if they are to achieve financial independence within a shorter time horizon. Without a comprehensive financial plan to guide them in their financial decision, even high-earning physicians can fall well short of that goal.

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What Makes Whole Life Insurance Different?

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The Physician’s Life Insurance Primer Series: What is Whole Life Insurance and how does it work?

Although whole life insurance, in its present form, has been around for over a century, it remains somewhat of an enigma for people who want to buy permanent protection, especially as new forms of life insurance have sprung up around it over the last several decades. In this article, we’ll discuss how this type of policy works and some of the features that may be useful within a complete financial plan.

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How to Tell if You’re Getting Good Disability Income Planning Advice

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Because they recognize the need to protect their most valuable asset – their earning power – physicians are a ready and willing market for disability insurance sales people. Most physicians, by the time they enter residency, are bombarded with solicitations which continue throughout their working lives.
For most young physicians, the initial advice they receive for addressing their disability income needs is typically provided by insurance sales people, incentivized by their company to sell its products. This leaves to question just how good is the advice and whether it’s offered in the best interest of the physician or the sales person.

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You’re Covered for Any Injury, Disease, or Disorder Except for…

Medical Exclusion Riders – What are They and How to Avoid Them

Often when we present policy offers that contain medical exclusions to physicians, they are frustrated and consider looking elsewhere for coverage. However, it is likely, if a reason for an exclusion is found by one carrier, others will find it in your medical history as well. Medical exclusions don’t have to be showstoppers, though. Learn how disability insurance can still work for you, even with exclusions.

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What’s in Your Disability Insurance Policy?

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What’s in your disability insurance policy? That question might remind you of a certain credit card commercial in which the announcer asks, “What’s in your wallet?” We won’t subject you to a Viking assault in this blog, as one version of the commercial did onscreen, but we will share our opinion that ignorance of what’s in your disability policy could be as painful as an arrow in your back when it comes time to make a claim.

Disability insurance plans can be complex, and each plan is different. Employer-based disability plans are often free or very inexpensive, but the benefits are likely to be inadequate to cover all contingencies. Are you sure your disability insurance policy contains what’s best for your long-term financial plan? Maybe it’s time to look into it.

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