CGFG For Financial Professionals

03/11/2026

Financial Professionals!!! You are Invited! CG Financial Group and Equitrust will be conducting a lunch and learn on April 7th in Des Moines. Not from Des Moines? Come see us anyway. For details and to register, click below.

Equitrust stands out as a leading provider of MYGAs, indexed annuities, single premium life insurance and long-term care annuities. Meanwhile, CG Financial Group is rapidly emerging as one of the top IMOs, dedicated to assisting advisors in the sale of annuities, life insurance, and long-term care s...

02/24/2026

Index products. There is almost always a moving part!

First off, there are some products that actually do guarantee the cap for the entire term of the annuity. This is a great option if you don’t trust the company. But, there is a trade-off in that Rate versus the products that do have moving parts.

Yesterday, we had a conversation with a guy that was talking about a product that he said had “no moving parts“. We had to burst his bubble and explain that although the caps and the participation rates on the product were guaranteed, the underlying index that was used did indeed have a major moving part. It was an excess return index. Nothing wrong with it, but if he truly knew how these things worked, he would not be able to talk about how there are “no moving parts“. An excess return index is basically like a built-in fee that can go up and down with interest rates. Again, I like some of these excess return indexes, but he was misrepresenting it.

In short, don’t be tricked by some of these products because there are two layers in the pricing formula that need to be looked at. The first layer is the product caps, participation rates, etc. The second layer is the underlying index. Carriers have gotten tricky over the years with what is hidden in the underlying index.

I believe that if call option markets are “efficient” over the long run, all of these strategies will perform about the same. My favorite? The plain vanilla S&P 500 strategy. Of course, I analyze the carriers as well. I won’t say who my favorite carriers are here. Message us if you want to have a conversation.

A simple way of looking at how much “juice” is truly applied to the call option budget is to look at what the fixed account rate is on that index product. Of course there are ways to beef up the “juice“ by additional fees, etc..

02/21/2026

Roth IRA conversions.  Talk with your clients about how they can generate more after tax wealth by paying taxes on their pre-tax assets sooner rather than later. 

Here is a very high level video that shows you how you can have conversations around Roth IRA Conversions with your clients. If you dont feel comfortable wi...

02/02/2026

5.7% Guaranteed for 5-Years is a big deal. Then you take your money and walk. A- Rated Company. Let us know if you would like additional details.

Guaranteed Annuity Rates that are among the highest paying in the country. Combat inflation and low interest rates.

01/09/2026

Advisors, you have to know this stuff in order to truly help your clients and beneficiaries once death happens.

Decedent IRA Whitepaper and Cheat Sheet.

01/01/2026

Three times over the last month I’ve had small business owners and one farmer come to me asking how they can get tax write offs for 2025.

One of the easiest ways to do so is by setting up a “SEP IRA”. For instance, if you are a “sole proprietor” business owner, you can put away up to $70,000 for 2025 in a SEP IRA. Assuming you make enough income, of course. And you have until your tax filing deadline to do so. It is as easy as filling out one IRS form to set up the SEP. 70k is a nice tax write off!

Of course, various rules apply that you need to be aware of. Do you have employees? How much income does your business make? Are you contributing to other retirement plans? Etc., etc. But let us know if you have any questions or additional details.  

12/23/2025

Financial Professionals! Do you know your Medicare "IRMAA"? Whitepaper below.

As the year winds down and the days get shorter,so does the window for proactive planning. Thefinal quarter of the year brings a natural pausepoint for clients reviewing Medicare coverageduring open enrollment, evaluating year-endtax strategies, and preparing for changes in thebroader retirement lan...

10/23/2025

Long-Term Care Policies and increasing premiums. Although today there are many product options where the insurance company CANNOT increase premiums, the traditional long-term care policies are indeed able to increase their premiums, subject to state regulators' approval.

With that said, we examine a ton of LTC policies every week. Here is what we have found when somebody comes to us and asks if they should stop paying on their LTC policy that is, say, twenty years old. These people are usually upset that the insurance company increased their premiums, yet again. After the analysis, the answer is usually NO, THEY SHOULD NOT ABANDON THEIR OLD POLICY.

As much as it stinks to have 100%, 200%, 300% premium hikes over the years, those policies may still be what is in the clients' best interest. That is because they have paid in for so long, and also because those old policies CAN still be cheaper than new policies today, even after the premium hikes.

Nevertheless, LTC is one of the largest financial crises that many of us will face. If one has no LTC coverage, there are great "hybrid" LTC options that exist today. Inquire with CG Financial Group, LLC

10/14/2025

Up until 1983, Social Security retirement benefits were not taxed. Then in 1983 amendments were passed that made Social Security taxed depending on your "Provisional Income". Those tiers were adjusted again in 1993.

What that means is, today if you have "provisional income" above the tiers below, a large chunk of your social Security can be taxed:

Single filer:
$25k -$34k: Up to 50% of your Social Security can be taxed
$34k Plus: Up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed

Married filing jointly:
$32k - $44k: Up to 50% of your Social Security can be taxed
$44k Plus: Up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed

Also, those thresholds HAVE NOT increased since!!! Effectively, that is a stealth tax increase on your Social Security!!!

09/25/2025

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08/12/2025

Financial Professionals!!! New LTC Sales Campaign Available Now!

CG Financial Group is excited to announce the first of several sales CLIENT FOCUSED campaigns that will be introduced in 2025. This initial sales campaign is focused on long-term care (LTC) as life expectancy and the cost of care continue to rise, and only 33% of Americans are confident in their LTC plans. Planning ahead to cover these potential costs can have a positive impact on their retirement.

This campaign is now live and available in Business Builder. It includes educational materials, videos, marketing tools and compliant consumer-facing pieces you can self-brand and use to create sales opportunities leading to new business. It also offers strategies for using annuities and life insurance with LTC riders as alternatives to a traditional LTC policy.

To learn more about the turnkey LTC sales system and how to use it, Join our Webinar on Thursday, August 14th at 11:00 CST. Register Below

New LTC Sales Campaign Available Now! CG Financial Group is excited to announce the first of several sales CLIENT FOCUSED campaigns that will be introduced in 2025. This initial sales campaign is focused on long-term care (LTC) as life expectancy and the cost of care continue to rise, and only 33% o...

07/08/2025

Webinar: The Big Beautiful Bill, what advisors need to know.

Charlie is going to highlight the points of this new law that are planning opportunities for your clients. 

It’s taking place this Friday at 11 o’clock central time

It was signed into law on July 4th of 2025. What does this mean for you and your clients? That is exactly what Charlie Gipple, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® (Owner of CG Financial Group) will discuss on this fun and educational webinar. As always, he will discuss this in a way that actually applies to your c...