Happy Birthday America!!! May God continue to watch over us and bless us and may we continue to give thanks for the many blessing that he has bestowed upon us.
And blessings we have received…
- The Knights of Columbus has had 5 records setting months so far this year and it is very possible that June will make it 6 in a row. This on top of a record setting 2009.
- We are 1.8 million members strong.
- We are debt free and we were just rated AAA (Extremely Strong) by Standard and Poors and A++ (Superior) by AM Best. Here’s what these two highly respected companies had to say…
Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed its top rating of AAA (Extremely Strong) for the 18th consecutive year, and A.M. Best reaffirmed its top rating of A++ (Superior) for the 35th consecutive year.
Standard & Poor’s said that its rating of the financial strength of the Knights of Columbus is “based on its extremely strong capital, very strong competitive position because of its unique strategic advantage in the Catholic market, historically strong profitability, and extremely strong liquidity.” S&P called Knights of Columbus operating performance “very strong,” reflecting “an asset portfolio that consists primarily of high-quality, investment-grade bonds.” S&P also said that the Knights of Columbus “is achieving its primary objective of providing members and their families with high-quality, low-cost insurance products.”
A.M. Best said that “The ratings of the Order reflect its strong fraternal and insurance presence within the Catholic communities in the United States and Canada, its superior risk-adjusted capitalization as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio and the Order’s consistently positive operating results.” A.M. Best also declared that the Knights of Columbus “has a strong affinity with its large membership base through its charitable programs and competitive portfolio of life insurance and annuity products.”
It doesn’t get any better than that! You can be proud of not only the outstanding fraternal work done by you and members of our order but you can be proud of the sound financial strength of the Knights of Columbus and the awesome benefits available to you and your family.
There’s a saying that I’ve heard for many years…The only things certain in life are Death and Taxes!
We’re all going to die and it’s pretty certain we’re going to be taxed. There’s not a lot we can do about death. It will come to each of us. We know not when, or where, or how. We can take steps to lessen its pain. We can take steps to ensure that we are properly cared for. We can take steps to ensure that our families are not left with undue burdens and hardships, but we cannot stop death. Each of us has a responsibility to take those steps. The problem is many of us don’t know what steps to take and how to go about taking that first step. We put it off until one day it’s too late. Here’s the key to taking the first step…Call me!
Now taxes are a different matter. We know we’re going to pay taxes. Like death we can’t stop taxes but we can minimize their impact. We had a very interesting and informative conference call with the Home Office last week. The purpose of the call was to discuss how the Dual Life and Survivorship Universal Life policies could be utilized to minimize the estate tax problems faced by many today. During that conversation we talked about what we should/could expect in 2011. Here are some highlights…
- Very high probability that the “Bush” tax cuts will lapse at the end of 2010. So what’s this mean?
- The federal estate tax rate will go back to pre-tax cut levels.
- You could be faced with a tax rate of 55% or more depending upon the size of your estate
- The individual exemption will be $1,000,000.
- There will be a 3 yr look back period
- An area of concern is how the government will treat the appreciation gain on your home.
- Currently no appreciation/capital gain imposed on your heirs at the death of the second spouse
- The value of the house at the time of death becomes the new “basis” for the house
- Discussion underway to repeal this exemption and make the entire gain/appreciation taxable.
- This will have a major impact on the amount of taxes that will be required to be paid by your estate. As of this time this is only an item of interest and is not law!
How are you feeling about the current market?
I know many of us were hoping that 2010 would continue the market gains that we realized in 2009. Unfortunately the gains we saw earlier this year have all but evaporated. If you have been putting off moving those IRA or 401K funds into a safe and secure investment with a guaranteed minimum interest rate now might be a good time to call me especially if you have a KofC annuity with a minimum guaranteed interest rate of 3.5%. Many of you have older annuities with these great guaranteed minimums and you only have a few hundred dollars in them. Did you forget about them? If you can’t remember…Call me!
Council Happenings
- Quick note to new member proposers, Financial Secretaries and Council Officers…make sure your candidates are fully informed about the New Member Annuity Benefit. Candidates are checking the “yes” box on the new form 100 and are clueless as to what the box is for. If you are not sure yourself please call me.
- Happy Birthday to our brother Knights born in July and good luck in the new Fraternal Year.
The Knights of Columbus CAN HELP! Let’s set up a time to get together!
CALL ME!
Tom Johnson, FIC
KofC Field Agent
502 863-5047 H/O
502 370-7281 Cell
