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Newsletter 2011

 

Employee Benefits

Here 5 expert-approved tips for small business benefits plans:

1. Put something in place. In an increasingly competitive hiring market, companies offering benefits have an advantage over those that don’t. Group benefits and retirement plans demonstrate that a company cares about its employees’ present and future.

2. Focus on the basics. Offering life and basic health coverage will protect a company’s employee assets while also providing greater budget control. You can always add on to this benefits base in the future.

3. Ease of implementation and administration is key. A 20-person company may have only one HR staff member, if any. Service providers have begun offering simple turnkey plan solutions for small businesses with limited resources. Also, a good benefits consultant can help a small business design a plan to suit its needs.

4. Make it needs based. Determining what employees want from a plan means understanding company demographics. Employees in their 20s may not value comprehensive health benefits. Similarly, an older demographic will likely see the need for a group retirement plan. “A benefit is perceived only as a benefit if it’s something employees can see they’re getting value out of,” says Mandy Eagles Gratton, HR manager with Work at Play in Vancouver.

5. Employees can be good plan consumers. Benefits and group retirement plans are great tools for building a productive and healthy workforce. But they also represent costs for a company. Employee co-payments can help keep plan costs in check, and communications can arm employees with key cost-saving knowledge. “Instead of being just users and spectators of the plan, employers have to get employees more engaged with it,” says Mike McClenahan, CEO of Benefits By Design in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

This was originally published with Small plans can think big with benefits, retirement solutions.

 

 

Life Insurance

Your life has changed. Maybe it’s time to change your life insurance.

When you purchased your term insurance policy, it provided affordable financial protection for your temporary needs, like covering your mortgage and replacing lost income while your children are young. But your needs may have changed over the years.

Did you know your term insurance comes with a valuable conversion option?

This option lets you convert your term insurance into a permanent plan, such as whole life, Term- 100 or universal life insurance. And most policies can be converted without providing any medical evidence. This makes converting your term coverage really simple.

Is converting your term insurance into permanent coverage right for you?

Think about the cost. Term insurance is the most affordable life insurance you can buy. But, when your policy is up for renewal (in most cases after 10 or 20 years), the cost to continue your coverage for another term will be much more expensive now that you’re older. Permanent insurance might be more cost-effective in the long run since you can structure your premiums to never increase.

You may still need protection. Your term insurance will eventually expire even if you do renew it. But that doesn’t mean your need for life insurance will expire at the same time. As long as you pay your premiums, permanent life insurance provides permanent financial protection that can help protect your family throughout your lifetime and cover final expenses, such as funeral costs, final medical bills and estate taxes at death.

There’s tax-advantaged savings. Part of the premium you pay for permanent life insurance helps accumulate tax-advantaged savings. That’s because the asset growth inside your policy is tax-deferred. You can usually access this cash at any time, for any reason.* The equity you build can help you reach your financial goals and be passed onto your beneficiaries tax free.

Consider a partial conversion. If your mortgage is almost paid off and your children have grown up, a large term policy may not be necessary. Instead, you may want to consider a partial conversion. For example, you could keep enough term insurance to replace your income until you retire and convert the rest into a permanent plan with tax-advantaged savings.

Choose a permanent life insurance plan that’s right for you.

*originally published by Manulife Financial 2010 

 

 

Wealth Management

The Toronto S&P/TSX index ended the quarter 5.01% higher, capping a third straight quarterly gain. In the U.S., the S&P 500 climbed 5.42% and the Dow Jones Industrial average was up 6.41%. 

Major international indexes were mixed and, on average, did not fare quite as well.  The German DAX rose by 1.84%; the London FTSE 100 by 2.14, and the Paris CAC40 by 4.83. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined by 4.63% and Zurich by 1.22%.

The quarter was marked by two unexpected events, which caused markets to pull back temporarily during the early part of March. The wide-spread uprisings in the Middle East caused some concern for a time, as watchers tried to assess the impact on oil production and general region stability. Then, during the same time period, the severe earthquake and tsunami in Japan created more uncertainty.  By the end of March, analysts tended to the view that the Middle East situation was fairly contained, and the Tsunami aftermath might even include some positive consequences in the form of reconstruction initiatives and a generally higher level of economic activity for Japan.      

Here at home, the Canadian economy continues to perform well. January growth numbers are now available, showing that the economy posted an impressive .5% expansion in one month, setting the stage for the strongest quarter in a year. Some analysts now believe that our economy is on track to report growth of as much as 4.5% during this past quarter.

With our strong economic performance and strong loonie, now trading at 103 cents U.S., many analysts believe that an increase in the Bank of Canada rate is likely, sometime later this year.

Some investors found the market swings this quarter quite disconcerting; with the memory of the last bear market still vividly in mind. The reality is that even during positive stages of the economic cycle – where we seem to be at present - swings will still frequently occur as markets respond to events around the world. Should you wish to reassess the level of risk within your portfolio, please be sure to contact us for a review.