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The Supreme Court's decision in Connelly v. United States upended the world of life insurance planning for parties to an entity-redemption buy-sell agreement. It held that life insurance proceeds received by a business would be included in the valuation of the business for estate tax purposes but an offsetting obligation of the business to pay those same proceeds to the deceased shareholder's estate in redemption of the shares would not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is more than one way for a surviving spouse to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their decedent spouse's retirement account. It can be done following a rollover of the decedent's retirement plan assets or IRA to their own IRA. It can be done after treating the decedent's IRA as their own. It can also be done by affirmatively electing to delay taking RMDs as an inherited account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rules governing IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs) are complex. Throw the complexity of trusts on top of them and one begins to see the multiplicity of complications that can arise when they interact. This column will help sort it all out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rules governing IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs) are complex. Throw the complexity of trusts on top of them and one begins to see the multiplicity of complications that can arise when they interact. This column will help sort it all out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this third and final article, foundational elements of a premium-financed indexed universal life insurance sales strategy will be explored through a series of forecast outcomes. Foundational elements include indexed interest crediting rates, loan interest charges, and the amount and timing of borrowed funds. Determining appropriate indexed interest rates to illustrate using life insurance company software will be informed by historical cap and participation rates. Determining appropriate loan interest rates to forecast will be informed by historical 12-month LIBOR rates. Given that the dominant theme of these articles is to explore what it means for a financial service professional to act ethically and responsibly within the context of premium-financed indexed universal life insurance sales strategies where the insurance policy is viewed as the sole source of loan repayment, it is hoped that the financial service professional will gain a better understanding of how to talk about and present such strategies so that their clients have a more complete perspective when deciding whether to adopt this type of strategy and, if so, in what manner they should proceed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial service professional who wants to abide by a code of ethics and comply with other regulatory responsibilities can find a confusing array of product features and illustration assumptions when presenting indexed universal life insurance in the context of premiums financed by an outside lender. The inability of the illustration software to estimate the likelihood of the forecast numbers as presented, the insurance company’s right to change nonguaranteed elements, and interest rate and other risks associated with loans in general make for a daunting challenge for one so motivated. This article seeks to identify principal product features, capture the limitations associated with indexed universal life illustrations, and introduce the possibility of a better approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute ketone monoester (KE) supplementation can alter exercise responses, but the performance effect is unclear. The limited and equivocal data to date are likely related to factors including the KE dose, test conditions, and caliber of athletes studied. We tested the hypothesis that mean power output during a 20-min cycling time trial (TT) would be different after KE ingestion compared to a placebo (PL). A sample size of 22 was estimated to provide 80% power to detect an effect size dz of 0.63 at an alpha level of.05 with a two-tailed paired t test. This determination considered 2.0% as the minimal important difference in performance. Twenty-three trained cyclists (N = 23; peak oxygen uptake: 65 ± 12 ml·kg−1 min−1; M ± SD), who were regularly cycling >5 hr/week, completed a familiarization trial followed by two experimental trials. Participants self-selected and replicated their diet and exercise for ∼24 hr before each trial. Participants ingested either 0.35 g/kg body mass of (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate KE or a flavor-matched PL 30 min before exercise in a randomized, triple-blind, crossover manner. Exercise involved a 15-min warm-up followed by the 20-min TT on a cycle ergometer. The only feedback provided was time elapsed. Preexercise venous [β-hydroxybutyrate] was higher after KE versus PL (2.0 ± 0.6 vs. 0.2 ± 0.1 mM, p <.0001). Mean TT power output was 2.4% (0.6% to 4.1%; mean [95% confidence interval]) lower after KE versus PL (255 ± 54 vs. 261 ± 54 W, p <.01; dz = 0.60). The mechanistic basis for the impaired TT performance after KE ingestion under the present study conditions remains to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, as in the two that will follow in this series, there is an attempt to define the limits of how life insurance may be presented by the financial service professional and others who are governed by a code of ethics or state and/or federal laws and regulations. This is in the context of one of the most compelling sales opportunities experienced by the life insurance industry--the sale of premium-financed indexed universal life insurance to high-net-worth clients and other clients of means who are interested in taking advantage of positive arbitrage within a leveraged sale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We take a deep dive into the rules for people who inherit an IRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare distributions to nonspouse beneficiaries from an inherited IRA prior to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (so-called stretch IRAs), ratable IRA distributions over a 10-year period following the SECURE Act, and lifetime income distributions from a testamentary charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT). The CRUT distributions offer a possible solution for IRA owners wishing to stretch out payments to nonspouse beneficiaries over a longer period than 10 years while leaving a significant balance to a deserving charity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation 187 governs the behavior of New York life insurance and annuity producers when making recommendations with respect to a life insurance or annuity policy owned or being purchased by a New York consumer. Its purpose is to prevent acts or practices that are deceptive or unfair. A close reading of the regulation reveals many similarities to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new Regulation Best Interest. Both require the individual making the recommendation to act in the "best interest" of the consumer. Both impose increased record- keeping requirements. Both emphasize principles-based selling practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation Best Interest is upon us. The ratio of regulation to commentary is, once again, an indication of a massive effort to try to align the duties of brokers with those who provide investment advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This column will: (1) discuss the market for split-dollar life insurance loans; (2) review equity split dollar; (3) describe loan regime split dollar; (4) raise certain issues surrounding split-dollar loan collateral security; (5) compare accrual versus paid or imputed split-dollar loan interest and its implications with respect to collateral security; (6) suggest potential tax issues surrounding access to policy cash values without adequate collateral security; and (7) suggest a series of questions that financial service professionals can ask their clients who seek to implement a split-dollar plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are all challenged to reflect on how the pandemic will change our world going forward. We look at work from home, different ways to learn and grow professionally, how to best service clients, and other lessons from the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal Revenue Code Section 101(j) offers the chance to provide tax code compliance opportunities to build relationships with business owners and CPAs. A thorough analysis of the implications of employer-owned life insurance is in order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pension maximization strategy can be a viable one for those couples facing a pension benefit decision. We examine a methodology that will allow planners to show clients whether the strategy should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Split-dollar life insurance is enjoying a renewed interest from applicable tax-exempt organizations (ATEOs) because ATEOs must now pay a 21 percent excise tax on compensation paid to covered employees in excess of $1 million. This may not sound like something that would affect many tax-exempt organizations, yet because of the unique way covered employees must recognize deferred-compensation income, it has greatly increased the tax-exempt organizational motivation to find alternative reward programs for high earners. Split-dollar life insurance has been presented by many practitioners as a suitable alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life insurance products continue to evolve. Changing demographics, lifestyle, technology, and investment opportunities provide insurance companies with reasons to adapt their products to these changing needs. As life insurance companies continue to create new products, it is important that the sales distribution apparatus servicing the needs of their clients who own these products evolves as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this column is to increase the level of understanding of the financial service professional who is called upon to help a client decide whether it is appropriate to lower the face amount and/or change the death benefit option of an increasing death benefit guideline-premium-tested universal life insurance policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Businesses derive no immediate tax benefit from nonqualified-benefit funding. However, after-tax funding of these benefits could be less costly under the new tax scheme. Further, utilization of creative benefit designs with more meaningful balancing of corporate and executive interests and a fundamental awareness of the limitations of who may be included in "top-hat" groups helps ensure that financial service professionals who embark on a journey of increased proficiency in this rewarding field are likely to find it a satisfying pursuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]