Our Services
At Castle Advisors we provide services in the following areas:
- Retirement Planning
- Estate Planning
- Life Insurance
- Life Insurance Analytics
- Wealth Management
- Group Insurance
- Annuities
- Disability Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Medicare Supplement
- Investments
- 401k Analytics
We work closely with you to identify your retirement goals and the actions necessary to achieve them. Retirement planning includes identifying sources of income, estimating expenses, implementing a savings program and managing your assets.
A fundamentally sound plan encompasses all aspects of life after paid work ends, not just financially. At Castle Advisors we take a holistic approach to retirement planning. We understand the emphasis one puts on retirement planning changes throughout life and we strive to keep you on track.
Estate planning is a lifelong process in which you regurarily evaluate your situation and plan for the future.
Our goal is to provide families in the Burlington area with the expertise and resources needed to accumulate, conserve, distribute to ensure that the estate reaches the right beneficiaries. More specifically, it is the process of making proper preparations for the protection, conservation and distribution of one's assets for the benefit of the loved ones.
At Castle we recognize a professional relationship with a planner does not mean that he replaces other professionals such as lawyers or accountants. We define “planner” as a coordinator who works with other specialists in determining the most comprehensive planning process. Our professional network has been cultivated throughout 30 years in the business.
We want to protect you and your assets. Although most people find it unpleasant to think about the possibility of disability or death, advanced planning is a powerful way to show your loved ones financial security, reducing potential distress in times of need. We welcome you to stop by our office in Mallet's Bay, Colchester to hear more about possitioning yourself today to avoid losses tomorrow.
Are You Optimizing Your Life Insurance Coverage?
Life insurance is a complex and highly flexible financial instrument. But too often, it's purchased for a very specific purpose, crossed off the financial "to-do" list and tucked away.
Why You Need to Evaluate Your Existing Life Insurance
Chances are, your life has changed since you last purchased life insurance. The insurance industry has undergone dramatic changes, and interest rates have plummeted. If you haven't taken a good look at your life insurance policies lately, you might be missing out on essential information about the performance of your policies and possible gains resulting from more current, cost effective coverage.
A Policy Review:
Is a critical component of a sound financial planning strategy . It begins with some basic questions:
- Is your existing life insurance policy providing adequate coverage?
- Have the needs that prompted the purchase of your existing life insurance policy changed?
- How is your policy performing relative to its original objective?
- Is it on track to meet intended goals?
- Are your insurance products competitive and cost-effective?
The objective of a Policy Review is to help ensure that your life insurance coverage is in alignment with your current financial needs. It takes into account personally owned contracts, trust owned contracts and employer provided benefits to provide you with an assessment of the adequacy of your coverage.
Due to significant changes within the life insurance industry in recent years, this is a good time to review your life insurance policies to help ensure that you are getting the appropriate benefit out of your life insurance coverage and that you have the right type of life insurance to help meet your specific needs. Over the past decade, life insurance products have advanced considerably.
A Policy Review helps ensure that your life insurance policy meets your needs today. We can provide you with a thorough explanation of how your policy has performed, projected cash values at designated intervals, and an assessment about the number of years that the policy will remain in force based on current assumptions. In cases where there is a clear advantage, we will also provide you with information on alternative policies.
The professionals of Castle Advisors offer life insurance review and policy management procedures to help ensure that policies are reviewed regularly and systematically. The review process helps identify potential policy problems that may jeopardize the integrity of the asset. Our overall strategy is to provide multiple company relationships based on key criteria including carrier quality, market position, underwriting orientation and financial strength.
Ø Independent Life insurance Policy Analysis
Ø Policy audit and evaluation
Ø Trust-Owned Life insurance review
Ø Life Insurance Management and Optimization Services
Ø Coverage and suitability reviews
Ø Comparative pricing analysis
Ø Internal Rate of Return Analysis
Ø Carrier due diligence analysis
Ø Life Insurance Policy Design
Ø Cost and benefit design Optimization
Ø Advanced Underwriting strategies
Ø Premium Financing* Analysis and Design
Ø Procurement Services
Ø Evaluation of carriers and policy suitability
Ø Underwriting Advocacy to optimize pricing
Ø Life Expectancy Arbitrage
Wealth management is a practice that in its broadest sense describes the combining of personal investment management, financial advisory, and planning disciplines directly for the benefit of high-net-worth clients.
Our experienced wealth managers help clients construct an entire investment portfolio and advises them on how to prepare for present and future financial needs. The investment portion of wealth management normally entails both asset allocation of a whole portfolio as well as the selection of individual investments. Our planning process incorporates tax planning around the investment portfolio as well as estate planning.
In any profession, understanding the scope of the position and its typical tasks is fundamental to success.
Castle Advisors process of providing wealth management advice to high-net-worth clients:
1. Evaluating client needs: Understanding the client and client relationships, gathering key documents, and understanding the various wealth vehicles and holdings of the client.
2. Analyzing, evaluating, and developing recommendations: Analysis of the clients various financial statements, holdings, and strategies, including interactions with the client’s advisors and other professionals as needed.
3. Advising, explaining, and implementing: Presenting and discussing recommendations including relevant issues and assessment of client knowledge.
4. Monitoring and adjusting: Keeping abreast of different aspects of environmental or situational impacts on client and making adjustments where prudent to better accomplish the client’s goals and objectives.
5. Professional responsibility: Compliance with regulations including appropriate registrations, adherence to an ethical code that is applied to product decisions as well as client service, appropriate team management, and continued technical education.
We specialize in helping groups of all sizes pick the plan suitable for their needs. Group health insurance plans are one of the major benefits offered by many employers. These plans are generally uniform in nature, offering the same benefits to all employees or members of the group. Group plans usually cost less for participants than individual plans that offer the same benefits. This is because the risk is spread over the entire group, rather than one person. If the cost of premiums is borne by the insurer, then they are fully deductible, while any benefit received by group members is tax free.
Castle Advisors strives to work closely with your plan administrator to find out which benefit package is right for you. We will evaluate your needs and shop the market place to find you the best coverage for your budget.
At Castle Advisors our mission is to help you meet your financial goals. We are committed to a consultative approach. This means we will sit with you to strategically discuss placement of your funds in accordance with your investment objectives. Annuities are designed to accept and grow funds from an individual and then, upon annuitization, pay out a stream of payments to the individual at a later point in time. Annuities are primarily used as a means of securing a steady cash flow for an individual during their retirement years.
Annuities can be structured according to a wide array of details and factors, such as the duration of time that payments from the annuity can be guaranteed to continue. Annuities can be created so that, upon annuitization, payments will continue so long as either the annuitant or their spouse is alive. Alternatively, annuities can be structured to pay out funds for a fixed amount of time, such as 20 years, regardless of how long the annuitant lives.
Annuities can be structured to provide fixed periodic payments to the annuitant or variable payments. The intent of variable annuities is to allow the annuitant to receive greater payments if investments of the annuity fund do well and smaller payments if its investments do poorly. This provides for a less stable cash flow than a fixed annuity, but allows the annuitant to reap the benefits of strong returns from their fund's investments.
The different ways in which annuities can be structured provide individuals seeking annuities the flexibility to construct a contract that will best meet their needs.
When you can’t work, disability insurance goes to work for you.
What would happen if you become disabled or ill and could not work?
How would you...
- Pay your bills?
- Make your monthly rent or mortgage loan payments?
- Buy your groceries?
- Make your car payments?
- Provide for your children's education?
- Save for retirement?
Most people don't realize the risk of becoming disabled, permanently or temporarily, at some point in their lives. But the reality is that at age 40, your chances of becoming disabled for 90 days or more prior to age 65 is 43%. (Source: 2004 Field Guide, National Underwriter)
When evaluating the chances of disability, you should carefully consider sources of available funds:
Employer coverage
How long would the business continue to pay you? How much would they pay you? When would your employer have to hire a replacement? Could the business afford to pay both?
Using savings
If you saved 10% of your income each year, one year of total disability could wipe out 10 years of savings. Can you afford that?
Obtaining a loan
Without an income, who will lend you money?
Working Spouse or Partner
Can your spouse or partner earn enough and be a companion, parent, private nurse, and employee - all at the same time?
Selling investments
Will a sale under forced conditions bring a true value? What will their value be at the time you are disabled?
Collecting Social Security
You cannot collect benefits until the end of the fifth full calendar month of total disability and only if it is expected to last 12 months or more. What will you do if your disability doesn't meet those requirements? Even if it does, can you wait six months for payment?
Counting on friends, family or charity
Would these sources have funds for you to use? Do you want to depend on them?
Many different disability insurance products are available to help protect you and your family against severe financial hardship that may accompany a disability.
Long-term Disability Insurance may be right for you if…
Ø You have resources that could cover your living expenses for the first few months of a disability
Ø You want comprehensive, long-term benefits that would cover disability from an accident or sickness
Ø You prefer more rider options so you can tailor coverage to meet your unique needs
Ø You’re interested in protection that is portable throughout several years of your career, even up to age 67
Short-term Disability Insurance may be right for you if…
Ø You want immediate coverage from the first day of your disability
Ø You only need coverage until your employer-provided disability insurance would begin paying benefits
Ø You’re interested in protection that is portable, not tied to your job
Ø You are willing to accept a shorter benefit period to keep the premium as low as possible
Our team of dedicated advisers has over 25 years experience servicing businesses in Burlington, South Burlington, Shelburne, Colchester and the Chittenden County area. Our mission is to educate and provide financial anaylsis detailing plan design, options and cost. This due dilagence provides the employer a strong basis to make sound decisions based on their history and needs.Health insurance can either reimburse the insured for expenses incurred from illness/injury or pay the care provider directly. In some cases it can be included in employer benefit packages.
The cost of health insurance premiums is deductible to the payer, and benefits received are tax-free. Call an associate to review your current policy, request a quote or find out more.
Allow our associates to help you maintain your hard-earned savings. Have the flexibility and financial security to help ensure you receive appropriate care. At Castle Advisors, we provide the options you need to help create a personalized plan that can make it easier for you to help protect and secure a healthy financial future. We are proud to work with individuals across New England to help protect agianst losses
Long Term Care Insurance for individuals
If you ever have a long term illness or a chronic condition, you may require extended care at home, in an assisted living facility or nursing home. Long term care insurance (LTCI) may help cover these costs, which can be steep. For example, on average, nursing facilities providing skilled care charge $150 to $300 per day -more than $80,000 a year or more. Even custodial home care at three visits per week can cost more than $9,000 a year. LTCI can help you maintain your financial freedom and give you the flexibility to participate in making choices that impact your care — about the services you receive, where you receive them and who provides the care you need. Our skilled team will help you carefully read and compare the benefits to determine which policy satisfies your needs.
List Bill for employer
We offer a comprehensive group LTCI program that can showcase your organization as a forward-thinking employer. When offered as part of your benefits package, group LTCI can provide your employees with a way to help protect their savings and assets, their family and friends from the burden of care giving, and the ability to choose where care is received.
Linked Benefits
Managing risk is an important part of a sound financial strategy, both in terms of preserving the assets you've accumulated and protecting the legacy you plan to leave to loved ones. In today's world, two important tools for managing risk are long term care and life insurance. Historically, you had to buy two separate insurance policies to get this essential protection. Now, you can buy Linked Benefits insurance which combines life insurance and long term care insurance in one flexible life insurance product.
What is a Medigap policy?
A “Medicare Supplement Insurance” policy (also called Medigap) is private health insurance that’s designed to supplement original Medicare. This means it helps pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover (like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles). These are “gaps” in Medicare coverage. If you have Original Medicare and a Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amounts for covered health care costs. Then your Medigap policy pays its share. A Medigap policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) because those plans are ways to get Medicare benefits, while a Medigap policy only supplements your Original Medicare benefits. Note: Medicare doesn’t pay any of the costs for you to get a Medigap policy.
Every Medigap policy must follow Federal and state law as designed to protect you, and the policy must be clearly identified as “Medicare Supplement Insurance.”
Payment of insurance benefits is subject to the claims paying ability of the insurer.
Speak with one of our experienced associates today to protect against gaps in your coverage!
Castle Advisors takes a consultative approach to investing. Our experienced associates use analytical fact finding questionnaires to determine your investment experience, financial goals and risk tolerances. Help us help you, after analyzing your financial situation we will present options that balance your risk objectives while accelerating your potential returns.
*(Mutual funds, variable annuities, stocks, fee-based planning)
A dept of labor regulation went into effect last summer. Are you familiar with the 408B2 regulation?
This new regulation requires trustees of 401K's to evaluate the fees that they're paying (for all their investments and administrative services). As you probably know, it's difficult for trustees to do this on their own. In order to evaluate something, you have to be able compare it to something similar.
Castle Advisors can provide guidance and help determine whether or not your fees are still in line for the services and the investment opportunities you're receiving now.
Call today to schedule an appointment with one of our experience associates.