Disability insurance may not be the first type of income protection a client considers, but this critical financial safety net can be an important part of any comprehensive plan by protecting a client's most important asset: the ability to earn.

Reviewing your clients’ life insurance and annuities may be even more important this year than in past years. Life or health changes, economic or financial shifts, poor performing products—any or all of these may be leaving unintended and unnoticed gaps in coverage.  What’s different for your clients this year?

Eligible clients may benefit from the tax advantages qualified charitable deductions may offer.

Discover alternatives to the Stretch IRA for clients who plan on passing IRA assets to beneficiaries.

To rollover or not rollover a 401(k) sounds like a simple question. The answer, however, can be quite convoluted. Let's start breaking it down by addressing a few questions you should ask clients prior to rolling over a 401(k).

Client appreciation events have always been an excellent way to show gratitude to your existing client base, create a loyal community around your practice, and increase referral business. In working with advisors, we've seen a variety of successful events—from a Valentine’s gala for singles, to summer barbeques and carnival rides, to annual family photos with Santa Claus. When done well, an appreciation event not only shows your existing client base a great time, but it also gives them something to look forward to and makes them proud to invite friends.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which combines stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic and appropriations for the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, was signed into law on December 27, 2020 by President Trump. The Appropriations Act amended section 7702 of the tax code, which defines the term ‘life insurance contract’ for federal income tax purposes.

When planning an early surrender or excessive withdrawal of an annuity, you and your clients must factor a market value adjustment (MVA) into the transaction. Learn the basics of MVAs in relation to the current economic environment in “The MVA Opportunity and Landmine.”

Continuing education (CE) should do more than just fulfill a requirement. It should help grow your skills and increase your revenue. Highland’s Consolidated Educational Services (CES) courses do just that. CES, an approved provider of continuing insurance education in 49 states, as well as a national provider of continuing education for the CLU®, CFP®, and CPA designations, produces courses that are thoughtfully developed, engaging, and relevant. Taught by experienced professionals, each class focuses on real-world applications and provide actionable marketing resources to each participant post-course to help take your business to the next level.

In celebration of Long-Term Care (LTC) Awareness Month, we’ve collected some of our most helpful resources to open the LTC conversation with clients. These robust sales supports not only offer insight into LTC planning but provide ready-to-share communications to help clients understand the importance of LTC planning and the financial protection it offers.

Whether you’re an RIA or an IAR, you have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of your clients. As such, you have a “duty of loyalty” and a “duty of care” to your clients and must always place their interests above your own. Part of this duty is to identify and either eliminate or fully disclose any conflict of interest.

With increased federal spending in response to COVID-19, there is growing concern that personal income taxes will rise over the next few years, forcing high-net-worth clients to look for tax-efficient ways to invest their money. Many will look at a Roth IRA, but there are two primary limitations to this plan: maximum income limits and the maximum contributions limits.

Life insurance is an important and often forgotten part of financial planning. Now is the perfect time to discuss with your clients how important life insurance is not just for them, but for their families. Share it now! Encourage those you know to speak with an advisor today.

Chances are, 70% of Americans will need long-term care at some point in their lives. Some will choose to self-fund that care, potentially putting their retirement assets at risk. Others will choose to be proactive by opting for long-term care coverage.

As you continue reaching out to clients virtually, it’s important to provide long-term care information that is easy for them to access, understand, and apply to their own longevity planning situations and objectives. Highland is here to help. We’ve produced two videos for you to share with clients to open up the longevity planning discussion—even remotely—and help them understand some basics about available long-term care products.

Electronic health records (EHRs) have been receiving a fair amount of buzz in the underwriting world. A more efficient –and contactless—way to procure medical records, the growing popularity of EHRs has been further spurred by COVID-19’s limitations on face-to-face exams.

You are probably well aware that current historically high exemptions, depressed asset values, and historically low applicable federal rates (AFRs) and 7520 rates have created the perfect storm for wealth transfer planning. What you may not know, however, is how powerful loan regime split dollar (Reg. sec. 1.7872-15) can be in this type of environment. In fact, loan regime split dollar rules are even more favorable than the intra-family loan rules (Code sec. 7872).

Longevity planning can be a sensitive topic. Add to that social distancing protocols and virtual meetings, and starting the longevity planning conversation with clients may seem a little challenging. But with the right tools and resources, the longevity planning discussion can not only be informed and productive, but supply your clients with greater financial security and peace of mind in an uncertain environment.

We are pleased to announce that the following article by Robert W. Finnegan, J.D., CLU®, AEP®, was recently published in the April Trusts & Estates.