Risk Management
You should consider a life or disability policy when someone else is depending on your income. For most people this is when they are married, purchase a home, or have their first child.
The premium rates for permanent life insurance are significantly higher than term life insurance so many people only consider term insurance. Term insurance was created to last only for a finite period (10, 20, 30 years) while permanent policies are designed to exist until you pass. We spend a lot of time educating our clients on the differences between these options so they can make the right decision for their family.
Unfortunately, most employees do not review their life and disability insurance benefits provided by their employer until it's too late. Life insurance is usually offered as a multiple of the employee's earnings and most employers offer one times the employee's annual earnings as a life insurance benefit. For most people this will not be enough to support their family in a premature death.
Investment Management
We utilize both active (mutual fund based) and passive (index fund/exchange traded funds (ETFs) based) investment strategies. Our investment models include mutual funds as well as index funds for an optimal blend of performance and tax efficiency.
Our investment committee meets monthly to review our client's positions. If the committee determines that a fund or sector needs to be adjusted or replaced we have the capability to get it done that day. During a typical year, we will rebalance our client's accounts quarterly, semi-annually, or annually depending on the investment climate.
When you hire an advisor at Integrated Capital Management you are hiring a team. We have an investment committee as well as several support staff that help in making sure our client's accounts and all administrative requests are exceeded. However, you will have a lead advisor that is responsible for personally meeting with you and guiding you to your goals.
Retirement Planning
Yes, you can save money in a Traditional or Roth IRA along with your employer’s 401(k) plan. The current IRS contribution limits apply for your IRA as well as your employer’s 401(k).
If you have a spouse that is a stay-at-home parent or has no earned income from work, you can save into a Roth or Traditional IRA for them. The spousal IRA is an effective way to contribute the maximum amount to IRAs each year. In order to qualify for a spousal IRA, you have to file jointly as a married couple and the spouse must have enough earned income to fund the IRA.
This is a unique question for each family we work with. The answer also varies as particular retirement goals are different for each individual. We meet with our clients and plan for their personal goals by utilizing advanced financial planning software to model their plans and adjust them to meet their goals. This allows our clients to know if they are on track for retirement.
Employee Benefit Coordination
Yes, it is important for most individuals to have disability and life insurance outside of their employer’s group offering. Although it is very inexpensive to have disability and life insurance coverage through work, we see that many of our clients need additional coverage and also might not work at a single employer their entire career. Owning your own life and disability insurance, which is portable, allows you to lock in your medical insurability and minimizes the impact of a change of employer or employer’s benefits.
The IRS currently sets the limit for annual employee contributions into a 401(k) plan at $23,000 for 2024. This increases to $30,500 for individuals who are age 50 and over by year-end. If your plan has a profit-sharing option, the total limit for all contributions in 2024 is $69,000 (not including the catch-up for individuals who are at 50 and over).
Yes, you can design a 401(k) plan that allows your employees to contribute to their plan and also allows the business owner to allocate additional contributions from the company to pre-defined groups of employees.