DDB Financial Services, LLC.

05/31/2023

Protect Student Loan Payments

Under the Student Loan Rider, your policy will reimburse you for your monthly student loan payments if you suffer a total disability and are unable to work.

Clients can choose a monthly benefit between $100-$2,500 and choose a ten- or fifteen-year term.

By adding this rider to a policy, we can help shield our clients from the possibility of defaulting on their student loan if they're unable to work due to illness or injury.

We can help you choose the monthly benefit amounts and terms that match your obligations.

The Student Loan Rider pays a monthly benefit in addition to the basic monthly benefit to reimburse student loan payments. It’s based on the amount of coverage purchased and monthly student loan amounts.

05/30/2023

Protect Physician Income

Physicians see firsthand how often an injury or illness can occur, and they can be especially at risk of an injury or illness impeding their ability to work.

Did you know that more than one-third of IDI policies are sold to doctors? In fact, we have designed a disability policy with physicians in mind. Features like the Own Occupation Rider and the Student Loan Rider provide a first-class IDI policy for your physician clients.

05/19/2023

How does Retire Guard work? A case illustration:

Edward, at age 35, begins making a $875 monthly contribution to a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan ($10,500 annually).

Normal Age Retirement
Edward makes 30 annual payments of $10,500. At age 65, his defined contribution plan totals $1,189,474.20

Disabled with RetireGuard
Edward becomes totally and continuously disabled at age 40. Prior to disability, Edward purchased RetireGuard and made five annual payments of $10,500 into his defined contribution plan. Beginning 180 days after disability, monthly benefits of $8,753 are paid into a MassMutual trust account. At age 65, the combination of his defined contribution plan and the MassMutual trust account totals $972,425.4

Disabled without RetireGuard
Edward becomes totally and continuously disabled at age 40 without RetireGuard. Prior to disability, Edward made five annual payments of $10,500 into his defined contribution plan. No further payments are made after disability strikes. At age 65, his defined contribution plan totals $421,861.50

Many people don’t realize the risk of becoming disabled as the result of an illness or injury at some point in their lives — or how it can affect their ability to work, to earn an income, and to provide for themselves, their families, or their businesses. Let's connect and discuss your options.

05/17/2023

Excellent picture of what retirement can look like for you, depending on the planning you do early on.

These five retirees are living on less than $1 million in savings. Here's what their financial lives look like.

05/17/2023

Don’t let a disability come between you and your retirement!

We have a way to help you continue saving for retirement if you become too sick or hurt to work. And while it’s not a retirement plan, nor a substitute for one, it can help replace an amount equal to the contributions that would have been made to your retirement plan if you had not become disabled.

With RetireGuard, we may insure up to 100% of your present contributions to your defined contribution plan, including employer matches (based on IRS limitations). During a period of total disability, we will pay benefits into an irrevocable trust that offers different investment options so that you can select the option that best meets your retirement goals. We will invest (at your direction) the benefits received until retirement age, as defined in the trust. Trust proceeds are then distributed to you to help supplement your retirement benefits.

05/12/2023

Disabled? Me? Never.

Disability income insurance can help you protect 45%-65% of your income should you become too sick or hurt to work. So if you have people who depend on you financially, college tuition to cover, and mortgage payments, you should consider disability income insurance.


https://youtu.be/Ab2AWAvWaCk

05/10/2023

Coverage for Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which includes learning how to protect yourself, your family, and your business. There are carriers that provide unlimited benefits for disabilities stemming from mental disorders and/or substance abuse.

Every seven seconds, someone in the United States suffers an illness, injury, or accident that will keep them out of work for more than one month. Everyone’s financial situation is unique. While base coverage provides robust income protection, you may have more specialized needs due to your occupation or income. We can help with flexible enhancements that allow you to tailor your policy to fit your profession, income, and current stage of life. Let's discuss your options to help you meet your financial goals.

05/08/2023

Think about it:
All your plans for the future; from buying a home, to putting your kids through college, to building a retirement nest egg — are based on the assumption that you’ll continue to earn a paycheck until you retire. But what happens if those paychecks suddenly stop?

That’s where we can help. Income protection insurance protects you by providing monthly income to you and your family if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.

The most common claims made by clients are back conditions, injury/disease of joints, and mental/emotional and nervous disorders.

03/29/2023

The right question to ask about disability insurance. And the right time to ask it.

You're probably so busy working that you may not think about disability insurance. But have you considered what would happen if an illness or injury left you with no income?

If something did happen, you'd be asking, "what now?" Then it would be too late to do anything about it.

We have the answer-
Disability insurance protects your most important financial resource: your ability to earn an income. If you become disabled due to a sickness or injury and that disability is expected to last at least thirty days, it pays you so you can pay your bills. Optional riders allow you to customize your policy to meet your needs and budget.

Now's the right time to ask, "what if?" And now you know the answer: disability insurance.

Let us help you customize a plan.

03/28/2023

Why do this now?

There’s no magic age, but when you seriously start looking ahead to retirement, an extended care plan, including long-term care insurance, should become part of your financial strategy. For some, that’s in their 40s; for others, it’s in their 50s or 60s. The risk of waiting is your insurability. Will you be insurable when you finally decide you want it, or will you be declined because of a health issue? Plus, premiums may be lower if you buy when you’re younger.

Earl Monson of Stillwater, Minnesota, and his late wife, Marjorie, didn’t want the burden of care to fall on the other if something should happen, so they planned ahead for extended care. They bought their long-term care insurance contract, Monson says, because “it made sense.” When his wife started showing signs of Alzheimer’s and couldn’t stay alone, Earl, who was a large-animal veterinarian, would take her along on calls. But the day came when she needed more care than he could give. She moved first to assisted living, then to a nursing home. Per the long-term care contract Marjorie had purchased, it helped pay the expenses for three of the more than four and a half years she was in care.

“With room and board and other expenses, it would have cost us $278,000 if we didn’t have insurance,” says Monson, a Thrivent client with membership. “I would have gone broke. I probably would have had to sell our home.” It’s been seven years since she died, and Monson has continued his long-term care coverage. “You don’t know how long you’re going to live or what you’re going to need,” he says.

Let us help you create a strategy today!

03/27/2023

How will you pay for your long-term care?

The average median cost in 2020 for a home health aide was $54,9122 a year, and facility care can be even more costly at $105,8503 a year, according to the 2020 Genworth Cost of Care Study.

A Thrivent survey found that 75% of those who responded said it would be difficult to pay for long-term care, and 52% revealed they wouldn’t be able to fund their care if they needed it today.

You may choose to save specifically for future healthcare costs or earmark investments to be used for extended care. Sometimes government programs like Medicare can help, but it isn’t intended to take care of you in the long term.

Another option to consider is a long-term care insurance contract to help cover expenses. It can help cover home care, assisted living/ residential care, adult day care, nursing home care, and in some cases, even training and support to help you remain in your home. It also may help pay for home modifications.

When people hear long-term care insurance, they immediately think of it as nursing home insurance. In reality, many people use it for home health care. It’s important to understand that it provides so much more. It’s about the services that are provided, not necessarily the place. Also, a long-term care insurance contract is not a one-size-fits-all contract. There are different costs for different features, and we will work with you to find something you can afford that will meet your needs. It’s meant to work with your assets. We’ll look at your budget and find the best options for you.

03/24/2023

Who do you want providing long-term care for you, and where?

These are critical questions; usually, the first assumption is that your family will care for you at home. Oftentimes loved ones can’t say no because they love their family. Women, especially, are natural caregivers. They’re going to care for people until the day they can’t stand up themselves. But depending on your condition, do you really want to put your care entirely on the shoulders of those you love most?

Your spouse may not be physically or emotionally able to provide for all your needs. You may not be comfortable with your adult children helping you with things like bathing, dressing, and eating.

Do you plan to always stay in your current home, or do you plan to move someday, perhaps when you retire? If you think you will move, will you stay in your current area or retire to a different climate? And if you stay in your current home, would modifications be possible if needed?

These are all important questions to consider. Different parts of the country have different opportunities for care, and you’ll have to take the cost of living into account. A little research can help you find out what options exist in your area for licensed home care providers or adult day care, a place where you’d spend the day while your loved one is at work. It’s good to understand the costs of those options and then begin to look at how you will pay for them.

You have the power when you’re healthy to create the extended care picture you want, and while there are costs associated with care, having a plan for handling it is priceless for you and your family.