On The Mark

New Decade, New Spreadsheet-Topping FIA Coming Soon!

What better way to celebrate a new decade than by introducing the best-in-class FIA you’ve been asking for and that your clients need?

Watch your inbox for details, including launch webinar and product information.

Hint: When you hear this FIA’s name, you’ll realize it really says it all!

New Product Launch!

Take $462K in Withdrawals and Still Leave a $370K Death Benefit!

For clients who want to leave a legacy to loved ones but plan to take withdrawals—either because they need to take RMDs or want income without an income rider—the FutureMarksm fixed indexed annuity can be a great option. The BeneBoostersm enhanced death benefit, included with FutureMark at no additional cost and with no underwriting or waiting period, increases the amount payable to beneficiaries by 25%* of the lifetime contract gains. And that’s true even if that money has already been withdrawn!

As this hypothetical example** shows, the boost to the death benefit can be substantial:

Age 60: $200K Premium
Ages 70–90: $462K Withdrawn ($22K Annually)
  + $370K Enhanced Death Benefit at age 90
  = $832K Total Paid Out

To learn what FutureMark and the BeneBooster can do for your clients, visit www.legacynet.com to run an illustration or call the Legacy Sales Team at 800-395-1053, Ext. 4002.

FutureMark 10, 10 LT (Contract Series 416/4416). BeneBooster guaranteed minimum death benefit rider (Rider Series 2182). Products are single premium deferred fixed indexed annuities underwritten by Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company (Americo), Kansas City, MO, and may vary in accordance with state laws. Products are designed and exclusively marketed by Legacy Marketing Group®, an independent, authorized agency of Americo. Some products and benefits may not be available in all states. Certain restrictions and variations apply. Consult contract and riders for all limitations and exclusions. The Optimizer administrative fee of 1.00% will be deducted from the Accumulation Value at the end of each contract year, including the first. FutureMark and BeneBooster are service marks of Legacy Marketing Group.

* 25% for issue ages 0–75; 15% for issue ages 76–85.
** View illustration. HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE assumes $200,000 premium in FutureMark 10 allocated in the Two-Year SG Columbia Adaptive Risk Allocation Index Point-to-Point With 115% Participation Rate. Rate effective January 29, 2020, and subject to change. Keep in mind that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any such example must not be regarded as guaranteed or as an estimate of future performance, unless it is based solely on the minimum guaranteed interest rates. Strategy may not be available in all states. Results prior to the Index’s actual existence are simulated and based on back-testing. The results obtained from such back-testing should not be considered indicative of the actual results that might be obtained from an investment in the Index. The actual performance of the Index may vary significantly from these results obtained from back-testing.
LMG4177v0120
18-625-13 (01/20)
  FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CONSUMERS.    

Proprietary Index Strategies: Fad or Fantastic?

Question:

Are proprietary index strategies just a fad, or can they really provide greater value than strategies tied to a familiar benchmark index?

 
Answer:

Proprietary index options offer several advantages over traditional index options. Traditional indices simply track the value of specific investments. Proprietary indices are developed to do more than track value; they are created to outperform the benchmark. Some of the brightest minds in investment banking are building indices based on innovative ideas for rules-based methodology that provide opportunities for strong consistent growth.

Inherent in this rules-based methodology are volatility control and asset diversification components. Designed to leverage market highs and minimize market lows, volatility control can result in very efficient pricing. With more money to spend on options, carriers can drive participation rates above 100%, providing strong upside performance.

The asset diversification component helps position client assets for long-term growth. Unlike benchmark indices that limit exposure to a focused or narrow portfolio of investment holdings, proprietary indices can offer exposure to a diverse basket of assets that typical indices don’t have access to such as bonds, commodities, and cash.

Legacy’s suite of exclusive fixed indexed annuities offers multiple proprietary index strategies designed to provide strong returns in various market conditions and add stability to renewal rates.

To see the earnings potential of Legacy proprietary index strategies for yourself, visit www.legacynet.com to run an illustration or call the Legacy Sales Team at 800-395-1053, Ext. 4002.

SECURE Act Highlights and Opportunity

The new requirements of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, signed into law on December 20, 2019, are wide ranging, and their full implications are still being determined. Because the SECURE Act will likely impact retirement savers in different ways—depending on their retirement plan, retirement assets, age, financial situation, and whether they’re using or plan to use Stretch IRA provisions—it’s important for them to speak with a financial professional or tax adviser regarding the law’s impact on their financial plans. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to re-engage with clients who might be impacted by the changes and position yourself as a valued financial service professional.

Among the highlights of the SECURE Act are several provisions related to annuities:

  • To allow more flexibility for retirement savers, it increases the age for required minimum distributions from 70½ to 72 for distributions required to begin after December 31, 2019. Unfortunately, taxpayers already taking RMDs must continue to do so. However, for those born on or after July 1, 1949, the new RMD trigger age is 72.
  • Recognizing that retirement savers are working and living longer, it repeals the contribution age limit for traditional IRAs if individuals have earned income.
  • The act repeals stretch provisions for non-spouses on inherited retirement accounts such as IRAs. After 2019, inherited account balances must be distributed within 10 years of the death of the owner, with a few notable exceptions for certain beneficiaries. These new rules apply to retirement assets inherited after December 31, 2019. Beneficiaries that inherited an IRA from an owner who died before January 1, 2020, are not impacted.

In addition, the new law will broaden access to annuities in pension plans and provide lifetime income for participants. Experts believe these changes will greatly expand the market for annuity sales in the coming years.

Rules to implement the SECURE Act, including revised required minimum distribution factors for distributions starting at age 72, are still being interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service and other authorities, so we anticipate subsequent guidance.

Legacy is working with its carriers to update policyholder communications, RMD forms, and administrative systems to support the SECURE Act. Please remember that Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. does not currently accept inherited IRAs. Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company has stopped accepting inherited IRA applications temporarily until it can fully support the changes to the inherited IRA rules. Stay tuned for updated forms, illustrations, and marketing materials.

In the meantime, for more information, view the Ameritas SECURE Act highlight sheet and Americo’s January 24, 2020, Compliance Update on the SECURE Act or call the Legacy Sales Team at 800-395-1053, Ext. 4002.

Information was gathered from sources believed to be reliable; however, we make no representations as to its completeness or accuracy. This information should not be construed as investment, legal, or tax advice.

Legacy is not an affiliate of the issuing insurance company.

LMG4177v0120
18-625-13 (01/20)
  FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CONSUMERS.    

Resolved To Grow Your Business in 2020? Legacy Can Help!

If you’re like many Producers, growing your business was near the top of your list of New Year’s resolutions. How’s that coming? Legacy has many ways to help you reach your goal, among them:

Illustration and Sales Support—Working on a live case and need an illustration ASAP? Call the Legacy Sales Team at 800-395-1053, Ext. 4002, from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Pacific time. Along with your IMO, they are here to support your business. From sales ideas and solutions to particular client needs, to questions about everything from rates to state approvals, they have the answers. Don’t be shy ... call them!

Speaking of illustration software, our professionally designed, easy-to-follow outputs can make the difference in demonstrating the growth and/or income potential of Legacy FIAs.

Marketing Reimbursement—It’s almost impossible to grow your business without promoting your services and building your brand. But it takes money to do so. We can help put some money back in your pocket with our Money for Marketing program! Sell $250,000 or more in qualifying paid premium on Legacy FIAs in a calendar quarter to earn reimbursement of 0.15% to 0.35% of qualifying premium, up to the amount of your invoice. For details, click here.

Hint: Our preapproved ads can add firepower to your marketing plan. Browse the Ad Catalog today for everything from direct mail pieces to HTMLs. Money for Marketing can help pay your costs!

Five Facts About Joyce Corda, Legacy Relationship Manager

  1. Joyce is a long-time Legacy asset. Come July, she will have been with the company for 22 years. Like others at Legacy, her role has evolved. She began in Licensing and Contracting and transferred to Claims before landing on the Marketing Field Support team in 2007. This 13-year MFS veteran appreciates the opportunity she has to help Producers understand the value of Legacy’s exclusive products.
  2. With prior insurance industry experience at Aetna and Fireman’s Fund, Joyce brought a wealth of knowledge that she has only built upon over the years. Her contributions to Legacy, its partners, Producers, and clients all reflect her dedication, professionalism, and character—which, if you have ever spoken with her, you already know about!
  3. Joyce attributes her appreciation for and loyalty to Legacy to the environment she works in, which, she says with a smile, makes her “happy.” She finds her colleagues to be an extension of her family and appreciates how the entire group works together toward a shared vision. A truly special memory for her was her first day with the company and an amazing speech CEO Lynda Pitts gave about how Legacy came to be. Joyce says she knew then that Legacy was where she needed and wanted to be.
  4. Growing up on a dairy ranch (one of the few still standing in Petaluma), she has taken part in cutting horse competitions for quite some time. In addition to seeing calves be born, milking and feeding cows, riding horses, and herding cattle, Joyce has participated in her fair share of contests, winning saddles and buckles. She has even competed alongside celebrities, including Joe Montana and Michael Keaton!
  5. Speaking to what is to come, Joyce describes the MFS team’s efforts as creative, cutting edge, and “all hands on deck, top to bottom.” The claim of Lynda and Preston Pitts that they would never sell a product they wouldn’t purchase themselves speaks to the character of the company for Joyce, and provides her even greater confidence in the products she sells.

Presidents Day

In observance of Presidents Day, Legacy and Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company will be closed Monday, February 17 (Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. offices will be open). If you have immediate needs that day, be sure to check LegacyNet® for all your business resources!

LMG4177v0120
18-625-13 (01/20)
  FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CONSUMERS.