Keeping your employees fit!

A study done for the California Department of Health Services on chronic disease, estimated that physical inactivity, obesity, and being overweight cost California $21.7 billion in direct and indirect medical care, workers' compensation, and lost productivity in the year 2000. These costs were projected to rise to over $28 billion in 2005. More than 75 percent of medical care costs are attributable to largely preventable chronic diseases.

Research from diverse and reputable sources report a significant relationship between employee health and fitness and increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, employee loyalty, and decreased health care costs associated with illness, injury, and worker compensation.

In these difficult economic times, implementing an employee wellness program may be one of the wisest business decisions you can make to reduce costs. If you invest in maintenance for equipment and facilities to achieve long-term cost efficiency, it makes sense to do it for your workforce.

In fact, the National Business Group of Health says employers can achieve a potential three to one ROI, or $300 for every $100 spent per employee, on implementing preventive services and health improvement programs.

Let us help you design a low cost employee health and fitness program. Many Health Plans offer value added programs and ancillary health programs can include value added health and fitness programs. One of the best ways to see these programs blossom and work is to offer small incenetives to employees using and maintaing these programs.

Contact us for more information at info@amsinsure.com or 800-334-7875.

Despite the Market Downturn, Participants Continue Contributions to Their Retirement Plans

Many financial publications show; a stay-the-course mentality that is either a stubbornness or inertia that could be hazardous to wealth. It's not that experts are suggesting ordinary investors ought to stop kicking funds into the retirement kitty or that they should completely overhaul the investment strategy. It's that investors can't ignore the last few years of volatility, as well as a decade where the broad market has been flat to down, when picking the proper investment strategy for their retirement savings. “Hewitt Associates released a study showing that, despite record losses in 401(k) accounts in 2008, savings and investing habits barely changed at all."

While this view counters the principal of Dollar Cost Averaging, one must consider the nature of savings for retirement. Anything short of a time line where someone is close to retirement and could be adversely affected by a down turn, the advantage of continued savings can far out way the loss of available dollars from not contributing to ones retirement plan.The simple idea of continuing to make contributions allows the principal of Dollar Cost Averaging to work over a long period of time. As one makes a contribution it is invested as the plan is instructed to by the plan participant at the cost of that investment for that contribution. In times of a good market the amount of savings may buy less of unit’s investment and when times are on a downturn the same contribution will buy more units of an investment. This therefore allows over a period of time to have a continual growth in funds and fund values which at any given moment in time may have more or less value.

The timing of when a person is going to retire should reflect the nature of the investment as to risk being high or low. In today’s market one can utilize life style or target investment vehicles where professionally managed funds will help to provide the best tools for someone not wanting to develop their own investment model.The most important consideration is that of time and not market volatility, as time shows that there is a general uptrend over many years, and while the market may dip further or may start a recovery which for some time does not get back to the previous highs, investing over time will prove to be the best hedge for long term growth.

2010 Minimums and Maximums for Health Savings Accounts Plans and High-Deductible Health Plans

On May 14, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2009-29,1 which announced various inflation-adjusted amounts for 2010 for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs). The IRS calculates the annual adjustments using the 12-month period ending March 31.


The new numbers are shown in the chart below.


2010 Minimums and Maximums for HSAs* and HDHPs


Maximum
$3,050 Individual
$6,150 Family

Annual HSA Contribution
(up $50 from $3,000 in 2009) Individual
(up $200 from $5,950 in 2009) Family

Minimum
$1,200 Individual
$2,400 Family

HDHP Deductible
(up $50 from $1,150 in 2009) Individual
(up $100 from $2,300 in 2009) Family

Maximum
None Individual
None Family

HDHP Deductible
Maximum
$5,950 Individual
$11,900 Family

HDHP Expense ***
Out of Pocket (up $150 from $5,800 in 2009) Individual
(up $300 from $11,600 in 2009) Family


*HSAs, established by the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) as of January 1, 2004, allow individuals or employers to contribute to an HSA as long as the individual is covered under an HDHP.

** As in 2009, individuals age 55 or over can contribute an additional $1,000 to their HSAs in 2010 and subsequent years.

*** The out-of-pocket expense does not include premiums.


Group Health Plans




Individual and Family Health Plans

The Business Owner’s Bonus Plan

Are you a business owner?

Is your business organized as an S corporation, partnership, or LLC?

If so, you probably have a big question on your mind: “What about me?” As a business owner, you spend time, money, and other resources to build your business. This includes the costs of recruiting, rewarding, and retaining key employees. But eventually you need to think about yourself and start saving for retirement.

“What About Me?”

Perhaps you have already helped some of your key employees prepare for retirement by offering supplemental benefits such as nonqualified deferral plans or salary continuation benefits. Or maybe you have offered your key employees 401(k) Look-Alike Plans or some sort of split dollar benefit. But as the owner of a “pass through” entity (S corporation, partnership, or LLC), you have been told that these arrangements are not available to you. So after helping your key employees save for retirement, you ask again: “WHAT ABOUT ME?” The answer to “What about me?” is the Business Owner’s Bonus Plan. The Business Owner’s Bonus Plan is personally owned benefit plans which can help small business owners create a tax-efficient source of supplemental retirement income.

Potential Benefits

The Business Owner’s Bonus Plan uses life insurance purchased with after-tax funds to provide both death benefit protection and cash value accumulation which can be used to supplement the business owner’s retirement income. This arrangement can be an effective strategy for providing a tax-efficient source of supplemental retirement income along with death benefit protection for the business or the owner’s family.

The Business Owner’s Bonus Plan can provide the following potential benefits for the business owner:

• 
  Supplemental Retirement Income – Bonuses are used to purchase a life insurance policy which accumulates cash values.



• Tax-Deferred Growth – No income tax is payable while money is accumulating inside the life insurance policy.



• Tax-Free Income1 – Provided the life insurance policy is not structured as a modified endowment contract (“MEC”), the business owner will be able to attain tax-free income through a combination of policy withdrawals and loans.



• Income Tax-Free Death Benefit2 – The life insurance policy provides protection for the executive’s family in the event of death.



• No IRS Distribution Requirements or Penalties – Distributions from a Business Owner’s Bonus Plan can occur before age 59 ½ without a premature distribution penalty from the IRS, and there are no required minimum distributions at age 70 ½ or thereafter.

Contact us for additional information: 800-334-7875 or email info@amsinsure.com

President Obam's Letter regarding initial Health Care Debate in Congress

Good afternoon,

You are receiving this email because you signed up at WhiteHouse.gov. My staff and I plan to use these messages as a way to directly communicate about important issues and opportunities, and today I have some encouraging updates about health care reform. The Vice President and I just met with leaders from the House of Representatives and received their commitment to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31.

We also have an unprecedented commitment from health care industry leaders, many of whom opposed health reform in the past. Monday, I met with some of these health care stakeholders, and they pledged to do their part to reduce the health care spending growth rate, saving more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years -- around $2,500 for each American family.

Then on Tuesday, leaders from some of America's top companies came to the White House to showcase innovative ways to reduce health care costs by improving the health of their workers. Now the House and Senate are beginning a critical debate that will determine the health of our nation's economy and its families. This process should be transparent and inclusive and its product must drive down costs, assure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and guarantee all of us a choice of doctors and plans.

Reforming health care should also involve you. Think of other people who may want to stay up to date on health care reform and other national issues and tell them to join us here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/EmailUpdates

Health care reform can't come soon enough. We spend more on health care than any country, but families continue to struggle with skyrocketing premiums and nearly 46 million are without insurance entirely. It is a priority for the American people and a pillar of the new foundation we are seeking to build for our economy. We'll continue to keep you posted about this and other important issues.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

P.S. If you'd like to get more in-depth information about health reform and how you can participate, be sure to visit http://www.HealthReform.gov.

Benefit News

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  Financial Monitor Newsletter current issue here
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Controversary on Taxing Employer Provided Health Care

Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee Representative Charles Wrangle said he could not support the taxing of health care paid for by business.

Under current law, employers can take tax deductions for their contributions to the cost of employee health insurance, and the benefits are not counted as taxable income to workers.

While the Senate Chairman of the Finance committee said he would support this idea and Mr. Wrangle had not suggested an alternative to how to fund health care for the people currently 45 million uninsured, it is President Obama who has suggested that the tax be used for that purpose. This idea was originally floated by Senator MC Cain and rejected by President Obama who latter changed his support on recommendations from his advisers.

Many in Business, Labor Unions and others have stepped up there criticism of the idea of taxing business financed health care for employees. Eliminating the tax break “has a huge potential of destabilizing the private market and leaving more Americans uninsured.

While there will be many more discussions as Health Care is a candidate for change, it is unsure on the direction which the President, Congress and the public take over the next several months. Stay tuned and informed, as well as consider voicing your opinion by writing your congress people and senators.