How Long Can You Afford to Be Disabled?

This example client, Jane, has monthly expenses of $4,000. Let’s assume she became disabled in October:
In November, Jane would completely tap out the $2,000 from her checking account and an additional $2,000 from her savings.
• After December’s expenses were paid, Jane’s balance in her checking and savings accounts would be zero and she’d have to take $1,000 from her CDs.
• To pay January’s expenses, Jane would have to use the $4,000 remaining in her CDs to pay her monthly expenses AND come up with the funds to pay the penalties of early withdrawal from her CDs.
• In February, what would she do? She’d have no choice but to borrow money from her 401(k), which would have to be re-payed with interest, putting her further behind on a month-to-month basis.

What would your financial world will look like as a disability progresses???Without disability insurance, it's not a pretty picture! Jane's expenses of $4,000 per month quickly burn through her liquid cash and savings.

As you assets become progressively less liquid, the lack of cash flow becomes acute. Three months into Jane's disability, savings that she has worked long and hard for are wiped out, and now her only source of cash is her retirement fund. If Jane saves 10% of her income for 10 years, everything she saved is wiped out after just one year of disability, causing her to tap into this nest egg.

Financial devastation due to a disability is a very serious problem. But fear not! I have the solution in hand with the disability insurance protection you need. This will provide them with an income when they're too sick or hurt to provide it themselves. Contact us today to see about this affordable option! http://www.insurancedfw.com/

Health Care Highlights of Senate Budget Bill

On April 1, the Senate passed SB 1, the Senate’s version of the state budget for the next biennium that will start September 1. The Senate proposal appropriates $182 billion from all the state’s funding sources. Money to be appropriated out of the state General Revenue Fund is $87.5 billion, representing a 7.3% increase over the current budget. Education and health and human services spending comprises almost 75% of the budget.

Health care-related costs continue to be the state’s single largest budget
driver.

Health care- and insurance-related aspects of SB 1 reflect:
􀂃 A $5.3 billion increase in all funds for the Medicaid program to deal with (1) rising caseload, twothirdsof which are children, (2) a less favorable federal funding match, (3) increased rates forproviders, (40 expansion of community-based services and other cost increases)
􀂃 No additional state money to allow more families to enroll in the Children’s Health InsuranceProgram (CHIP), to allow families to “buy-in” or to lengthen the enrollment period from six months to a year.

Further details on the Senate-passed version of SB 1 can be found on the Legislative Budget Boardwebsite at www.lbb.state.tx.us.

On April 7, the House Appropriations Committee favorably reported its version of SB 1, as amended.It was referred to the House Calendars Committee on April 8 and goes to Full House consideration ofthe House version.

With the effects of the economy finally hitting Texas, there is speculation that Comptroller SusanCombs may be faced with lowering the revenue estimate she presented to the Legislature in January.The Legislature relies on the revenue estimate in crafting the state budget. If the revenue estimate islowered, the issue of whether to tap into the state’s Rainy Day Fund could resurface. The Senateversion of the state budget avoided tapping into those funds.