PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS AND EMPLOYEES B Y ALLE Y C APAT O S T O , FI NANC I AL S E R V I C E PR O FE S S I ON A L A G E N T NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
As franchisees, you know firsthand that the loss of a key employee can have a profound impact on business operations. When an employee leaves, customers who dealt directly with that person may worry about receiving their goods or services in a timely manner; suppliers may be concerned about getting paid for their deliveries; and staff morale can also take a dip as remaining employees worry about assuming a heavier workload. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your business is prepared to deal with the unexpected departure of a key employee, which usually happens for one of three reasons: the employee chooses to resign, the employee becomes disabled, or he or she passes away. While life insurance cannot protect against employees choosing to leave, it is often used as a tool to help incentivize them to stay; deferred compensation plans are powerful vehicles for doing just this. Deferred compensation arrangements allow you to provide retirement income to select employees. The way it works is that you and the selected employee enter a contract that specifies the compensation you will pay out to him or her in the future. Since you may not set up a specific reserve fund in which a participant has a vested right, a life insurance policy is uniquely suited to informally finance a deferred compensation plan. The future of your business depends on attracting and retaining the right talent with the right tools.
“ The future of your business depends on attracting and retaining the right talent with the right tools.” 42
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“ Deferred compensation and key employee insurance are benefits that are related exclusively to your top employees.” It’s also important to protect your business against the economic losses it may face as the result of a top employee’s death with the use of key person insurance. The way it works is that the business applies for and becomes the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy covering the key employee. If the insured employee dies, the business receives the policy proceeds. Deferred compensation and key employee insurance are benefits that are related exclusively to your top employees, but New York Life also has options that you can offer your entire team to help cultivate a rewarding work environment, such as life and disability insurance. These benefits can provide employees and their family’s peace of mind and added financial security, which can go a long way toward attracting and retaining valuable employees. As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to get where you are today. Having a contingency in place will allow you to focus on making the best possible decisions for the future your business. To learn more about the information or topics discussed, you may contact me at 407-683-2692. ALLEY CAPATOSTO
CAN BE REACHED AT 407-683-2692 or
acapatosto@ft.newyorklife.com
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two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country. The average hourly worker currently earns $18.78 per hour, the report finds. This year, workers would need to earn $24.90 per hour for a two-bedroom home and $20.40 per hour for a one-bedroom rental. • PepsiCo plans to sell its Tropicana and other juice brands in North America to French private equity firm PAI Partners for $3.3 billion as it looks to simplify its product range and move away from high-sugar drinks., reported Reuters. PepsiCo will keep a 39 percent stake in the new joint venture and have exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the brands. • A new study by B2B ecommerce platform Subscribbe found that 72 percent of Britain residents would prefer to live close to a convenience store than a pub (48 percent), park (63 percent) or a supermarket (57 percent). • Utah’s alcohol control authority reported over $517 million in liquor sales last year, setting a new record even in a global pandemic, reported Fox 13 Now. The numbers show that people didn’t stop buying alcohol when bars and restaurants were closed in the COVID-19 pandemic. • Same-day delivery giant Instacart and automation specialist Fabric have partnered to provide U.S. and Canadian food retailers with microfulfillment centers, reported Supermarket News. The facilities will use both robotic software and front-end e-commerce technology to accelerate and facilitate online grocery orders placed through the Instacart Marketplace or through a retailer’s branded Instacart e-commerce site. • The holiday season is typically a time when retailers fill seasonal posts with people in need of extra cash, but this year merchants are going into the season shorthanded and scrambling to fill vacant posts in a tight labor market, reported the Dallas Morning News. Turnover rates are soaring even as wage rates rise, and the number of job seekers is down 10 percent from pre-pandemic levels, while job vacancies have grown by nearly 70 percent. • QR codes have emerged as a permanent tech fixture from the coronavirus pandemic, reported the New York Times. Restaurants have adopted them, retailers including CVS and Foot Locker have added them to checkout registers, and marketers have splashed them all over retail packaging, direct mail, billboards and TV advertisements. • U.S. fossil fuel consumption—including petroleum, natural gas, and coal—fell by 9 percent in 2020 compared to the prior year, the lowest level since 1991, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including a 15 percent decrease in energy consumption in the U.S. transportation sector, continued from page 47
