March 2019 E-Newsletter

March 2019 Q & A

Q: I have a life insurance policy that names my son as beneficiary. Do I also need to include this policy in my will?

A: It wouldn't hurt anything, but no you don't. That's because life insurance beneficiary designations take priority over terms of a will, even if they differ. In fact, the same holds true for the beneficiary designations of retirement plans and annuities. This is a good time to remind you that you should keep all your beneficiary and contingent beneficiary designations up to date. If you're interested in your beneficiaries getting the most from the benefit without triggering estate taxes or you want to avoid the public glare of probate, you might consider putting the life insurance policy in a trust.

Q: My wife and I had investment losses in 2018 and would like to deduct them on my tax return. How much am I allowed to deduct for last year and going forward?

A: You can deduct up to $3,000 (for joint filers, $1,500 for single filers) of net capital losses from your taxable income on your tax return. You may also carry over excess losses to the next tax year. Remember that long-term capital gains or losses are those on investments owned for more than one year.

CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS MIXED.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data conducts a monthly survey of consumer expectations for the future. It found that in November 2018, for the eighth straight month, consumers expected an overall 3% inflation rate a year later. However, consumer expectations for home prices decreased 0.2% to 3.1%, and earnings' growth expectations fell for the second straight month to 2.0%, from 2.5% in October.

PRODUCTIVITY RISES.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that non-farm labor productivity rose 1.3% from the third quarter of 2017 through the same period in 2018. This reflects a combination of hours and real productivity growth. The increase includes a 2.3% increase in hours worked and a 3.7% increase in output.

JOB MARKET TIGHTENS.

In September of 2018 there were more job openings than unemployed people. There were 7 million job openings at the close of September 2018, while there were only about 6.1 million unemployed people. During the first eleven months of 2018 the number of unemployed persons per job opening ranged from 0.9 to 1.1. This is a dramatic drop from July 2009, when there were 6.6 unemployed persons per job opening.

WE LIKE OURS.

Healthcare is increasingly expensive and viewed by many Americans less positively on a national level. However, most people like their own healthcare and insurance coverage. These are the findings of a November 2018 Gallup Poll of 1,037 adult Americans. Eight of 10 survey respondents rated their healthcare quality as excellent or good, and 69% gave their coverage the same grades. Just 55% viewed healthcare in general positively, and only one in three thought positively about coverage nationally.

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