Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a partner, children, or elderly parents who depend on you for support (financial or otherwise), then it’s a wise decision to purchase life insurance, which will provide them with a financial safety net should something unexpected happen to you. You might not need life insurance, however, if you have already built up enough savings to provide that safety net on your own.

Life insurance benefits are paid in full in one lump sum to your beneficiaries when you die. In turn, they can choose to use the money however they want to. Some people use the funds to pay off a mortgage; others continue making rent payments. Often, life insurance benefits are used to care for children, fund college expenses, and cover day-to-day living expenses. They can be used to settle any unpaid medical bills, taxes, or co-signed debt that would otherwise transfer over to your co-signer. Although life insurance benefits are usually tax-free, sometimes the money is used to cover any estate taxes your family must pay to inherit your other assets.

The best time to get life insurance is when someone depends on you. Also, the younger you are, the more affordable your life insurance is likely to be. It’s a smart move to lock in a low monthly price now, which will stay flat for the entire term of your policy.

As your needs change over time, you can change your insurance. If you have another child or buy a bigger house, your needs might increase, and you can apply for more coverage. As you save money or earn more over time, your needs might decrease, and with Ladder, you can decrease your coverage with no fees or penalties.

Every customer is underwritten individually and receives a price based on many factors, including health history, current health, age, sex, and tobacco use. Unfortunately, in certain cases, health problems can result in being declined for coverage. That said, health problems in no way preclude you from applying. I have many happy customers who have a history of health challenges.

Big picture: Consider how much financial support you’d like to provide for your beneficiaries and how much debt you have. Then, subtract your savings and existing life insurance. The best way to answer this question for your personal situation is to make an appointment and discuss your needs and goals. Remember, I offer you flexibility. If you get more coverage than you need, you can decrease it at any time (with no fees or penalties). On the other hand, if your needs grow, you can apply to layer on more coverage.

There are a few factors to consider when determining the length of your term. Start out by looking at when your mortgage term ends, when your last child will graduate from college, and when your partner plans to retire. It generally makes sense for your term to last through these events.

You’ll also want to consider your own savings. If you’re a person who saves quite a bit each month, you may need insurance for a shorter term, as you’ll sooner rely on your savings instead.

Lastly, the price of your insurance can be a consideration. Longer terms are a bit more expensive per month than shorter terms, which could affect the decision you make.

Your monthly payment is determined based on your personal situation, taking into account your age, sex, health, family medical history, and other factors. In addition, your monthly payment also depends very much on the length of your term and the amount of your desired coverage. My  customers are often pleasantly surprised when they see their monthly price.

Oftentimes not. Many people are surprised to learn that the life insurance included as part of their benefits package is only one or two times their salary. I find most people need far more than that to feel comfortable. Also, coverage generally doesn’t move with you if you change jobs.

Those who stay at home provide all kinds of unpaid work to keep a household running. If something were to happen to a stay-at-home partner, it could be expensive to hire external help for things like child care, driving, cooking, cleaning, and managing household finances. It’s a wise decision to insure both adults in your household, regardless of whether they bring in income.

Life is dynamic. As your needs change, so, too, should your coverage. For instance, if you have another child, purchase a home, or incur new debt, you might apply for more life insurance to cover these things. On the other hand, if you pay off your mortgage, a child graduates from college, or you’re able to save a large amount of money, you might decrease your coverage.

In general, it’s a good idea to check in with yourself on a quarterly or annual basis and adjust your coverage accordingly.

An Annuity is basically a contract between you and your insurance company. You pay in one lump-sum or broken into monthly payments called a premium. The insurance company in return, promises to pay you regular income either right now or in the future. We use them as a type of savings for retirement income, called a retirement savings vehicle.

They work by providing a steady flow of income, for those in retirement. Funds accumulate over time(accrue). There are a lot of options when looking to find out how an annuity works for anybody’s specific needs. It gets even more complicated when you bring in taxes. Funds accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. Kind of like a 401k, in which contributions can only be taken out with no penalty after 59 ½. And you will pay a tax on income you receive from an annuity at the regular income tax rates.

So many, it all depends on your specific situation, there is the immediate annuity, or a deferred annuity (which pays now or at a time in the future). Then there are 2 main varieties. Fixed and indexed annuities.

In a fixed annuity, the insurance company guarantees that you will earn a minimum rate of interest during the time that your account is growing. The insurance company also guarantees that the periodic payments will be a guaranteed amount per dollar in your account. These periodic payments may last for a definite period, such as 20 years, or an indefinite period, such as your lifetime or the lifetime of you and your spouse. Fixed annuities are not securities and are not regulated by the SEC.

A fixed-index annuity, or fixed-indexed annuity, is a special type of annuity. During the accumulation period - when you make either a lump sum payment or a series of payments - the insurance company credits you with a return that is based on changes in an fixed-index, such as the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index. The insurance company typically guarantees a minimum return. Guaranteed minimum return rates vary. After the accumulation period, the insurance company will make periodic payments to you under the terms of your contract, unless you choose to receive your contract value in a lump sum.

Fixed-Index annuities combine features of traditional insurance products (guaranteed minimum return) and traditional securities (return linked to fixed-index markets). Depending on the mix of features, an fixed-index annuity may or may not be a security. The typical fixed-index annuity is not registered with the SEC.

A rollover is when you move the assets in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), into an IRA.

You start by deciding what type of IRA is best for you. You'll then call the financial company that holds your former employer's retirement plan and have your savings moved into an IRA.

Rollovers typically take 2–4 weeks to complete. Please contact your plan's provider to better understand time frames.

A rollover IRA is a type of traditional IRA and shares the same tax rules. The only difference is that money in a rollover IRA can later be rolled over into an employer-sponsored retirement plan if the plan allows it.

If you have a Roth 401(k) or 403(b), you can roll over your money into a Roth IRA, tax-free.

If you have a traditional 401(k) or 403(b), you can roll over your money into a Roth IRA. 

However, this would be considered a "Roth conversion," so you'd have to report the money as income at tax time and pay ordinary income tax on it.

Yes. And you don't have to pay it back like you would with a loan from your employer-sponsored plan.

However, withdrawals you make before age 59½ may have consequences:

• Roth IRA: There's a 10% federal penalty tax on withdrawals of earnings before age 59½. Withdrawals of your contributions are always penalty-free.
• Traditional IRA: There's a 10% federal penalty tax on withdrawals of contributions and earnings before age 59½.

There are some exceptions** to the 10% penalty, so be sure to check the IRS website for details.