With the recent news coverage of Oscar Munoz, the new chief executive officer of United Continental Holdings Inc. undergoing treatment at a Chicago hospital after suffering a heart attack, many people are reviewing what a loss of a senior leader could mean to a business and its value. They are reviewing the options available for… Read more »
Long-Term Care for Employed Spouses
Nikki Kook – Marketing and New Business You are the sole proprietor or partner of a business. Your spouse is a genuine employee of the business. A long-term care insurance plan can be set up and paid for by the business for the benefit of this employed spouse. In conjunction, the employed spouse’s spouse (AKA-… Read more »
Intentional Environment: (CAMELS Connections)
I get the privilege of traveling across the country every week calling on the great people in community banking. I have started to notice a direct correlation to the banks that have a trained staff welcoming customers when they walk in and their CAMEL ratings. CELS ratings or Camels rating is a supervisory rating system… Read more »
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Section 409A Compliance
David Fritz – Managing Partner A Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum of the IRS advises that a pre-vesting plan correction will not “save” a nonqualified deferral plan’s failure to comply with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code if benefits vest before the last day of the tax year in which the correction was made. Plan… Read more »
Is Personal Communication Dead?
In today’s world of constant pressure for our time and attention has personal communication lost its value? There are over 380 influence attempts daily for the average person. It starts with the commercials on your alarm clock radio. It moves to the advertisements in your local or national newspaper. It is every eight minutes on… Read more »
Banks Saving Tons of Money with this Idea
Most banks pay up to eight weeks of maternity benefit at 100% of salary. If the bank has a large female employee pool it might make sense to spread the risk. Instead of self- insuring for the entire maternity leave, consider a Group Short Term Disability policy which would provide a 60% benefit and the… Read more »
Multiple Uses of Deferred Compensation Plans
With the improving economy, key employees that had been limited in other employment opportunities and resistant to look for new jobs are now willing to explore possible employment changes. Employers need well designed incentives to recruit and retain key employees. Key executive deferred compensation programs are popular vehicles to motivate, incent, and retain key personnel…. Read more »
Designing a Customized Benefit Plan
The design features of an executive benefit plan can help drive bottom line performance and retention. Each person is different, and each person has a different idea as to what is important to them. A Senior VP who is in his fifties may think retirement is more critical than a 30-year-old, while the 30-year-old believes… Read more »
The Many Benefits of Corporate and Bank Owned Life Insurance (COLI / BOLI)
Companies use Corporate and Bank Owned Life Insurance (COLI / BOLI) to help fund their employee benefit plans, increase earnings and shareholder value as well as recruit, reward and retain key officers and directors. Tell us something we do not already know, such as its uses in: Succession Planning Supporting the Employee’s Family and Community… Read more »
Putting the Freeze on Fees
Martha Petitjean – Executive Benefits Coordinator Executive Benefits Network provides fee-free access to client’s financial information, including illustrations and annual reports. This is not the case with most companies. As illustrated by Peter Katt & Company’s article, Quagmire of Life Insurance Policy Service*, access to information about financial products is not common in the industry…. Read more »