On May 3, the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) released findings from its 2021 Annual Market Data Collection Survey. The data collected represents summary closing data from 2021 life settlement transactions with twenty-three LISA provider members contributing data to this effort.
Life settlements are becoming more and more common, as people realize the potential financial benefits that they can unlock from their unwanted or unneeded life insurance policies. In fact, Americans received almost $848 million in payouts last year from selling their life insurance policies into the life settlement market. That’s money that these policy owners would have lost entirely if they had let their policies lapse and is far greater than policy owners would have received if they had surrendered their policy back to their life insurance company. In fact, on average, policyholders average a payout of 4X more than the cash surrender value in a life settlement.
The low interest rates we’ve been seeing for the past decade have been a double-edged sword—good for financial moves like mortgages—but bad for returns on bonds and other interest-dependent investments. As you assess your investments in this climate, there’s one important scenario that’s easy to overlook: Low interest rates on life policies.
Selling your life insurance policy is both an exciting opportunity and a fairly big decision to make. When you decide that it’s time to sell, it’s a decision that you will need to share with your family. While telling your family about selling your life insurance might seem a bit challenging, there’s no need to worry. You only need to make sure that you approach the topic in the right way. Here are a few helpful tips to consider when telling your family about selling life insurance to ensure the conversation goes smoothly.
Life settlements are a means of selling your life insurance policy that is regulated by individual states. Life settlements can be a great option if you’re no longer in need of your policy and would like to gain the means to pay off hefty bills or simply to set yourself up for future financial stability.
Life settlements are a great option for life insurance policyholders who no longer need them - or simply would like to exchange them for a fair monetary value. If you’re interested in receiving a settlement, it’s very likely that you’d like to receive the maximum payout possible for your policy. In this blog, we’ll define and explain multiple factors that may increase the value of your life settlement.
If you’ve recently received a life insurance settlement or are planning to in the near future, you may be wondering how taxes may impact your proceeds, if they do at all. With the intricacies surrounding U.S. tax law, understanding how taxes and life settlements are related is incredibly important. In this blog, we will teach you everything you need to know about how you may be affected as a beneficiary of a life insurance settlement.
Life settlements can be a complicated industry to understand for those new to the practice. However, the number of life insurance policies nationwide continues to grow year after year. According to PolicyGenius, about 54% of Americans are currently holding policies. For this reason, it’s important to understand what your options are pertaining to life settlements and how to explain it to a family member or loved one without a policy.
Many misconceptions exist about the life insurance industry, as well as life settlements. According to a 2021 study performed by PolicyGenius, just over half of Americans currently hold some form of life insurance. With the majority of the population taking up this investment, it’s important that policyholders understand all of their options as it pertains to the matter. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the most common myths associated with life insurance and settlements.
Life insurance is purchased with the purpose of providing financial security for your loved ones in the event you are no longer around to provide for them. The primary purpose of a life insurance policy is to furnish a steady stream of income for your family when you pass. This amount of money can also be used to pay off any medical bills from treatments you might have received. There are many times that this stream of money needs to last for a lifetime. Life insurance is an elective that many people are provided an option through their work - similar to health insurance. However, if it is not offered to you there are many organizations you can purchase life insurance through.
Do you have a life insurance policy that you’re about to let lapse? Maybe you’re thinking about surrendering the policy for its cash value. Are you 65 years or older?
Surprisingly, viatical settlements are not as well-known as they should be. Many people, despite possibly benefitting from the choice to arrange for a viatical settlement, don’t know about them or discuss them. Nevertheless, a viatical settlement is a lucrative arrangement for people suffering from a terminal disease. These people are able to sell their life insurance policy at discounted rates and obtain cash, which can help with financial hardships or other needs. Buyers cash in the policy’s full amount after the death of its original owner. While distinct from life settlements, viatical settlements are also a useful asset for people in specific situations.
On the surface, life insurance seems like a straightforward type of insurance policy. But could it be a financial asset? That depends on the type of life insurance policy, as well as your perspective. Some types of life insurance, as well as several other insurance types with cash value components, count as assets. This should be kept in mind for many events, such as divorce and other legal proceedings, but also because they may aid you in obtaining financial security when and if it is ever necessary.
A life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for more than its cash surrender value but less than its net death benefit. In a life settlement transaction, the policy’s owner transfers ownership of the policy to the buyer in exchange for an immediate cash payment and, in some instances, a reduced interest in the death benefit for the policy’s beneficiaries.
Nashville, Tenn. — October 15, 2019 — The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), the oldest and largest trade association representing members of the life settlement industry, hosted its 25th Annual Fall Life Settlement & Compliance Conference this week in Nashville and rolled out an aggressive strategy for encouraging legislation that protects a consumer’s right to sell a life insurance policy.
(NAPSI)—Many retirees share a fear of gradually losing their ability to think as clearly as they used to or remember simple information such as other people’s names. And while everyone has the occasional “senior moment,” medical research indicates that aging by itself is generally not a cause of cognitive decline.
(NAPS)—The Stanford Center on Longevity’s 2018 “Sightlines Report” found that baby boomers have accumulated less household wealth and carry more debt in comparison to previous generations of American retirees.
A common decision that faces nearly all seniors at some point is when to begin “downsizing” for retirement. Many older Americans who have lived in the same house for decades eventually conclude they just don’t need as much room in retirement as they needed while raising their families — and in fact the extra space isn’t worth the expense and time required for its maintenance. The fact is that downsizing isn’t a concept limited to the size of your house or the amount of possessions sitting in boxes.
In previous generations, it was common for an American to land a job at a stable company, work for that same employer for decades, then retire one day with the proverbial gold watch and a nice pension to supplement their monthly Social Security checks.
(NAPSI)—Anyone who has ever seen a retirement account take a hit during a recession or stock market correction knows firsthand that it takes a mental and emotional toll. New research, however, has discovered that it also makes you sick.
A recent Harris Poll survey, conducted on behalf of Purchasing Power, found that 87 percent of American adults are at least somewhat stressed about their current finances, with nearly one in four (23 percent) indicating they have either “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of financial stress. In spite of the healthy U.S. economy, 39 percent of full-time employees revealed that their stress level has actually increased in the past 12 months.
The passage late last year of a new law that includes sweeping changes to the tax code — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — was welcome news to business executives, who saw their corporate tax rates cut significantly, and to many American consumers, most of whom will see more money in their paychecks as they pay lower federal income taxes this year.
After an unusually tranquil and steady climb higher in 2017, U.S. stock markets have reminded us this year of how volatile they can be at times. Dow Jones MarketWatch reported this month that so far in 2018, the S&P 500 stock index has gained or lost more than 1% in a single trading day on 32 days. One day that many retirees in particular can recall was February 5th, when the S&P 500 dropped more than 4% — a one-day negative swing that we had not experienced in nearly seven years.
Her bags are packed, but there's one thing left to do. Ruthie checks her smartphone and confirms that the dog sitter is scheduled to come by today to feed Bella. As she's browsing her dog sitting app, she receives a text message that the Uber her grandson sent for her has arrived. She locks the front door and gets into the car as her driver kindly puts her suitcase into the trunk. Ruthie's adventure has begun. It's time for the trip of her lifetime: a cruise to Alaska with her children and grandchildren.
Let's say you have a cash value or convertible term life insurance policy, but you really need the money now. Or, maybe you're finding it hard to keep paying the premiums.
Instead of just surrendering your policy to the insurance company for its current cash value, there's a way to get a better profit. You can sell your cash value or convertible term life insurance policy to a life settlement company.
As life settlement brokers, we know that seniors age 65 and older are leaving huge amounts of money on the table in lapsed and surrendered life insurance policies. That’s why we work so hard with financial advisors to help seniors sell their life insurance policies. A life settlement can provide much needed liquidity for some of life’s most burdensome expenses, like long-term care or medical costs.
The choice about where to live in retirement is one of the most crucial decisions that a senior makes. It’s not just a major financial consideration, it’s also a highly emotional issue as a retiree’s home is often the anchor to their golden years.
A life insurance policy is an important investment for consumers. We’re diligent about choosing a policy that seems to best meet our family’s needs and then we reliably make those required premium payments on time so we can keep the policy in-force as the years go by.
A 2017 report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Long-Term Care Subgroup includes life settlements among three options for paying for long-term care.
LISA’s Life Settlement Institutional Investor Conference is the hallmark event that brings together professionals from pension funds, hedge funds, family offices, foundations and endowments for updates on the latest developments in the life insurance secondary market. To register now, please click here.
Preparing for retirement is a significant financial challenge during the working years, but the envisioned reward of enjoying stress-free golden years keeps most of us motivated to earn and save as best we can. Indeed, according to a story this week in the Wall Street Journal, “people at 65 to 74, the so-called time affluent, reported having more fun than any other age group,” according to a 2016 study by Age Wave and Merrill Lynch.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that, in the coming decade, the fastest-growing segments in the American labor force will be the 65-to-74 year-old and 75-and-older age groups. In fact, 40 percent of all Americans age 65 and older are working at least part-time right now.
Most Americans over the age of 65 will require long-term care at some point in their lives, with today’s average senior likely to incur $138,000 in future long-term care costs, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. This is different from medical care and includes personal help with daily living activities such as bathing and dressing.
Analysts from the website MagnifyMoney recently poured over data from the 2017 University of Michigan Retirement Research Center’s Health and Retirement Study. Their published conclusions are sobering.
The Wall Street Journal recently brought attention to a problem that is quietly impacting the estates of Americans who are fortunate enough to realize their 100th birthdays: the expiration of the life insurance policies they believed to be permanent assets.
A recent survey by AARP, “Top 5 Boomer Travel Trends for 2017,” found that retirees love to travel . . . and travel often!
It’s no secret that health care costs in America continue to escalate, creating anxiety for many over how they will afford medical expenses that could strike at any time. The ongoing political drama in Washington, D.C. over the future of health insurance policy in the nation only exacerbates this uncertainty.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal was entitled: “Happy 100th Birthday! There Goes Your Life Insurance.” The article discussed how some universal life policies do not pay a death benefit if the insured lives past his or her 100th birthday:
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has approved a document for policymakers and various stakeholders that provides an overview of long-term care (LTC) financing mechanisms currently available in the private market, including the life settlement option.
The State of Florida, which has the highest percentage of residents over the age of 65 of any state in the U.S., just passed an important piece of legislation that will hopefully encourage other states to increase consumer disclosure requirements to protect seniors who are considering making changes to a life insurance policy.
Six states already require special disclosures for consumers who are about to give up a policy
The Florida legislature recently passed H.B. 1007, a comprehensive bill intended to combat insurance fraud. One important provision of the bill requires that insurance consumers be advised of their options before making changes to a life insurancepolicy. The new law now awaits the governor’s signature or, unless vetoed, automatically becomes law 15 days after it was sent to the governor’s desk.
(BPT) – Retirement is the time in your life when you can throw off the shackles of your daily responsibilities and truly enjoy the fruits of everything you spent years working toward. It’s an empowering feeling and you’ve earned it. You’ve planned and you’ve saved, but now that you’re here, don’t make the mistake of believing your financial planning is over.
Reassess assets in context of current needs and objectives.
A 2016 survey found that just one in 10 wealthy individuals had given complete information about their estates to their heirs, out of fear that such disclosures would dampen their work ethic. The survey, which was conducted by Wilmington Trust and polled individuals with a net worth in excess of $20 million, also found that two-thirds of the respondents were “apprehensive about sharing inheritance details.”
By many measures, our country is sharply polarized when it comes to our politics, with registered Democrats and Republicans lining up on opposing sides more so than ever before. In fact, a Pew Research poll taken during the 2016 presidential campaign found that the average American’s views of the “opposing party” are now more negative than at any point in nearly a quarter of a century.
Life insurance has long been used as a tool for estate planning. It has the unique ability to satisfy a wide range of objectives including covering outstanding debt obligations, paying for burial expenses, providing for surviving family members, and offering liquidity to cover estate taxes.
The 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey, an annual report published by the non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), was just released and its findings provide more reason for concern about how prepared Americans are for retirement.
Financial stress is nothing new. For decades, parents, grandparents, and retirees have been kept up at night worrying about how they’re going to pay for their child’s college, how to cover an expensive home repair, or how they’ll be able to handle a spouse’s unemployment.
If you're struggling to make ends meet in retirement, you're not alone. And when your income is limited and fixed, you do your best to cut out unnecessary expenses.
When you’re living on your retirement savings, any opportunity to reduce unnecessary expenses is welcome. There are lots of ways people go about this.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s (EBRI) 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey found that the confidence American workers have in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement is remaining stable, with nearly two out of three workers reporting they are very or somewhat confident of having enough money for a comfortable post-career life.
A life insurance policy is one of the most valuable assets many Americans will ever own. Unfortunately, far too many consumers are unaware they have the right to sell a life insurance policy through what is known as a life settlement transaction. As a result, billions of dollars worth of life insurance is “irrationally lapsed” each year.
No matter how much you’ve been able to save for retirement, there comes a point for many retirees when they begin to worry about having enough money to last them. Not having a paycheck, or even the prospect of a paycheck, can produce major feelings of anxiety – even if you thought you were fully prepared for that reality. The good news is that retirement doesn’t have to be as expensive as you may think it does. With a few changes, you can easily live the lifestyle you love without depleting your retirement account.
If you’re a member of the “sandwich generation” – adults who are caring for both their own young children and their elderly parents – then you’re no doubt familiar with the challenges and conflicts that arise on a monthly,
As the calendar turns to a new year, we all ought to raise a glass to congratulate our fellow Americans who will reach a milestone in 2017 of achieving their dreams of retirement!
