Stay in close contact with insurance agents to save money, Jamestown
BY MASAKI OVA
The Jamestown Sun
JAMESTOWN – The No. 1 way for individuals to save money on insurance coverage is to stay in close contact with their insurance agents, according to Steve Bennion, owner of Steve Bennion Agency of Farmers Union Insurance.
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Bennion said. “Go in and visit. Make sure that you are getting the discounts that are available.”
He said all his clients have access to his cellphone and email. He said anyone is more than welcome to come into his office and talk about what’s available for insurance coverage.
“It’s always important for people to ask questions and make sure that there is not something being missed,” he said.
People shouldn’t be afraid to shop around, but they should be confident in their agent to explain exactly what a
product is and what they are getting for their money, he said.
“They should be confident that they have the right coverages that meet their needs,” Bennion said.
He said coverage prices are important but aren’t everything. He said customers should get a good product for their money but not every carrier has the exact same product.
“Just because you have a homeowner’s policy with company A and you go get a quote from company B and they say it’s 5% cheaper, sometimes there might be something that is not in that policy that you are not getting,” he said. “So, prices are important but when you are shopping you need to make sure that you are shopping for your best fit.”
Bennion said the basic job of an insurance agent is to meet with people, listen to what their needs are and provide options to protect any risks or assets they might have. He said many suggestions
It’s important to ask questions of your insurance agent.
that he has come through discussions about a person’s lifestyle, employment and family needs, among others.
“From there we go with finding out what they are looking for and what they might need to protect their risks that are out there for that individual person or entity,” he said.
The most common needs that people go to Bennion for include insurance for home and auto, farm and commercial. He said his agency is a one-stop shop that can also provide insurance for crops, health, life and business. He said his office is provided tools from Farmers Union Insurance that can handle any needs of individuals.
“Pretty much any request that anybody has, we have a fit for them or we can help them find a solution for their needs,” he said.
Some people don’t like to talk about life insurance, Bennion said. He said it’s important to have discussions with
an insurance agent about life insurance coverage especially if individuals have families and assets.
He said rates for life insurance are affected by age and health.
“Obviously the younger you are, the cheaper the rate,” he said. “The healthier you are, the cheaper the rate is.”
Bennion said his office works with annuities as well. He said people should constantly review their life insurance or investment positions with their agents because of the changing economy.
“Getting in and speaking to them and reviewing things and seeing what options are out there, seeing other ideas that maybe they should be looking at is always a great idea especially as people get older,” he said. “Every decade birthday seems to be a pretty good hit on rate increases, so if you are somebody that is coming up on your 40th birthday, and you have a life insurance policy that
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might be expiring in a couple of years, it might be a good idea while you are still in your late 30s to start a new policy to carry you on.”
Bennion said life insurance can be as simple as covering funeral expenses. If something happens to someone, that individual wouldn’t want to put a burden on other family members.
He said it is recommended to have life insurance that can cover up to 10 years for a family to live their same lifestyle.
He said the husband and wife should talk about their bills if something happens to each other and how they can sustain their current lifestyle if one passes away.
Bennion said consumers could see rate increases with the way the economy has been with increased cost of supplies, repairs, vehicle costs and building materials. He said it is difficult for insurance companies to charge the same rate when it costs more to pay out a claim.
“Because of that, people might be looking to shop,” he said. “One advantage that we have in our office here is that we have multiple carriers for multiple products.”
mova@jamestownsun.com | (701) 952-8454
Masaki Ova / The Jamestown Sun
Steve Bennion, owner of Steve Bennion Agency of Farmers Union Insurance, talks about the different types of insurance that individuals might seek. He said his agency is a one-stop shop that can also provide insurance for crops, health, life and business.
Families with young children may see lower tax refunds, says Jamestown CPA
BY KATHY STEINER
The Jamestown Sun
JAMESTOWN – Probably one of the most significant changes this year with taxes is related to COVID stimulus money, said John Tompkins, managing CPA at Tax Forward in Jamestown.
Much of the program is now gone, he said, and some people will see lower refunds as a result.
“The major people that that’s going to affect are people with children,” he said. “Young people with small children, those small children being in day care, those folks are going to be seeing a big change in their tax refunds, in their tax returns this year.”
Also new is that starting in 2023 for the 2024 tax year, the Inflation Reduction Act provides new energy credits for people’s homes, which were historically capped at $500 in your
lifetime, Tompkins said.
“And now these new limits of these tax credits are annual,” he said. “So you could fix your windows, basically do energyefficient improvements to your home and now you can do that year after year and still take advantage of these credits.”
Professional advantage
Tompkins said the advantage of having a professional do your taxes rather than using a tax preparation platform is that a professional provides that human element that software will not.
“The reason I would go to a professional is because that is their day-in and day-out job,” he said, and with that experience is able to guide any individual.
He said a lot of tax preparation platforms have become good at asking questions but they aren’t good at interpreting a question to the average person.
“A very good example is around children and filing status, head of household,” he said.
He said a tax professional is going to be able to help a person navigate that better than software will.
Tompkins said talking to your professional can help with tax planning as well.
“... it’s so critical to talk with a tax professional about your year and about what you’ve been doing and about anything you can do going forward,” he said. “It’s simple things like how do I fill out my W-4 at work. Am I taking the right viewpoint of paying for child care, am I contributing enough to retirement, are there things that a person’s doing now that they could change for 2024 that would impact their tax return.”
He said one of the best questions he gets from clients is “Is there anything
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Contributed / Tax Forward
John Tompkins is managing CPA at Tax Forward in Jamestown.
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that I’m doing that I should be doing differently?”
Tompkins said tax planning can also be beneficial for small businesses.
“So we’re in what I call the ‘golden era’ of paying tax where our tax rates are at one of the all-time lowest, especially for small businesses, especially for our ag community, and I look to the future and say, ‘Well, when does this end?’” Tompkins said.
In 2025, a large portion of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunsets, he said. He said if that occurs that will result in “a huge change” for people’s taxes.
“Especially small businesses and agricultural,” he said.
In order for what’s currently in place to continue, Congress would have to pass new laws, he said, and there’s no way to predict what will happen.
“I think we can only ever predict with the information we know today and plan on with the information we know today,” he said.
But there is also a lot of opportunity now to plan for small businesses, he said.
“We do that all the time,” Tompkins said. “It’s super prevalent in the ag industry.”
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Tax professionals can advise on changes to laws.
He said almost all of his clients who are farmers do some tax planning in the fall, and thinks it would be good for small businesses as well.
“To take a look at what’s going on before the year ends while we can still
do something. ... To have a long view of what’s going on and what could down the pipeline or what is projected to come down and how do we mitigate that, ...” he said.
People who bring their tax information to professionals should bring all of the documents in at one time to make it easier for them and their tax professional, Tompkins said.
“One of the big struggles we have is what I call piecemealing where somebody brings in one document at a time,” he said.
Tompkins noted that there are not as many tax professionals in the business as there used to be and that could affect people’s ability to get the professional service they need in the future.
“We’re hearing that coming through school, the numbers are getting lower and lower,” he said. “So at some point here in the next decade, I think there’s going to be a critical turning point where there’s not enough people doing this to service the people that need it to be done. So with that, I would say find somebody now if you think in the future you’re going to need somebody because a lot of places in Jamestown may or may not be taking any new clients. And we’re already seeing that.”
The Inflation Reduction Act included funds for the IRS, some of which would
be used toward hiring new agents for enforcement and taxpayer services. That portion of the bill was recently rescinded by House Republicans but is not expected to pass in the Democraticcontrolled Senate.
Tompkins said if more IRS agents are hired, it would be welcome because the IRS would have more staff to provide assistance.
“One of the unpopular opinions in the accounting industry, I think with CPAs especially, is that we’re not concerned about more IRS agents,” he said. “I’ve heard that number 87,000 new IRS agents so many times from so many people and really, if you’re working in this industry, we’ve actually wanted that for some time. We don’t want people to get audited but we want taxpayer assistance, we want to be able to call the IRS and actually get a resolution and not have to take two years. And right now there’s not enough IRS professionals or agents in order to service all the new tax law that’s come out. Basically, there’s just been a big shortage at the IRS and it’s delayed everything out so long and a lot of professionals welcome” being able to reach an IRS employee if they do implement it, he said.
ksteiner@jamestownsun.com | (701) 952-8449
Q and A: Financial advisers answer questions related to future planning
Rick Bosche and Cody Kilgore, financial advisers with Wells Fargo Advisors, answer questions related to financial and life planning.
As a financial adviser, what do you do?
As financial advisers we help our clients with investment, retirement and income strategies, saving for education, and estate investment planning. While partnering with our clients we develop personalized investment plans to help the them stay on track or get on track toward achieving them. We work in tandem with each other to support businesses big and small in developing plans designed to help their employees save for retirement while at the same time providing the business tax advantages. At the end of the day, it comes down to helping clients grow their wealth and protect their wealth, so they are better able to achieve their goals.
What types of financial services are the most in demand from Wells Fargo Advisors?
Financial services that are most in demand would be our tailored financial strategies for clients preparing for or entering retirement. Another common practice is businesses looking for a second opinion on their existing retirement plan or starting a new plan. A properly serviced retirement plan is a great way to attract and retain quality employees while providing tax advantages to business owners.
In your industry, what are you hearing or seeing that people should be focused on or aware about?
We believe the distinction in the market between investing and gambling has become more apparent. Sound investments paired with time in the market as opposed to timing the market generally yields greater return potential.
When should someone see a financial adviser?
It is never too soon or late to meet with an adviser. One of the largest barriers to financial success is one’s own emotions when it comes to his or her investment decisions. Having a thirdparty perspective to assist in staying focused on the financial goals set is helpful at all stages of life.
When is a good time to invest?
Investment timing should be looked at on an individual basis that considers risk tolerance, liquidity needs, debt-to-income ratio and time horizon. The current correction we are in has created potential opportunity for investors under the proper circumstances.
Why should individuals adjust their portfolio?
Individuals should adjust their portfolios as their priorities and goals
change. Also, as the economic situation changes it can create excess risk or lack of opportunity in stagnate portfolios. Everyone should at the very least review their portfolio yearly which does not always warrant changes.
Everyone says it’s never too early to start planning for your financial goals. But why is it important to start financial planning at a young age?
The sooner you start saving – even if the amounts are small – the more time your money has to potentially grow. This is due to the power of compounding interest. A financial adviser can help you better understand how much this compounding effect can help and how much less you may need to put away at an older age if you were to start saving now.
People who do financial planning might be in different stages of their life and have different priorities. How does age affect what priorities each individual might have for financial planning?
Generally, when you are younger the focus of investment planning is how to best utilize money to take advantage of compounding returns. Later in life, the goal of the plan tends to shift on how to best create income from the existing assets. There is no rule as everyone is different with different needs, but this could be considered common.
It looks like clients set some short- and long-term financial goals. What would be some examples of those short- and longterm financial goals?
A short-term goal could be something as simple as trying to become disciplined enough to add to your portfolio each month. Long-term goals would be things like retirement which for some is decades away.
With the stocks having a dismal performance last year, is it a good time to invest in the stock market? Why?
In general, the long-term outlook of some investments are attractive currently for some investors. This is intentionally vague because once again it comes down to each individual situation.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Warren Buffet once said, “The market is the most efficient mechanism anywhere in the world for transferring wealth from the impatient people to patient people.” As financial advisers, we work hard to help our clients remove emotions from their investment decisions and remain focused on their long-term goals.
Masaki Ova / The Jamestown Sun
Cody Kilgore, left, and Rick Bosche, financial advisers with Wells Fargo
help their clients with investment,
Situations that call for hiring a lawyer
METRO EDITORIAL SERVICES
Situations in which people can benefit from legal advice and representation arise every day. Whether it’s help writing a will or assistance closing a new home purchase, lawyers can provide a host of invaluable services to their clients.
Legal representation can be costly, and those costs might compel people to go it alone. However, there are many situations in which hiring a lawyer is the appropriate move.
► Complex situations: A do-ityourself approach might work with minor home improvement projects. However, that approach is rarely in a person’s best interest when a legal issue arises. That’s because legal issues are often more complex than they seem due to nuances in laws. Understanding those nuances is the responsibility of a lawyer and requires years of study. When a complex legal situation arises, the abilities of a lawyer can make the difference between a successful outcome and one that puts individuals in jeopardy.
► Threat of incarceration: Lawyers are vital in situations where incarceration is a potential outcome. Such situations
do not only include instances in which people have been charged with violent crimes, but also crimes involving tax issues, domestic problems and incidents involving motor vehicles.
► Injured parties: Any legal situation in which someone has been injured requires the services of a lawyer. Whether you’ve been hurt or have been
Our staff includes 8 CPA’s, an Enrolled Agent, and professional support staff that provides many services including Individual and Business Taxes, as well as Accounting, Auditing & Bookkeeping needs. We also specialize in preparation of Financial Statements and Consulting Services.
Schauer & Associates, P.C. 111 9th St SW, Suite 203 | Jamestown, ND 58401 | info@schauercpa.com 701-252-5422 | www.schauercpa.com Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
accused of hurting someone or have had someone suffer an injury at your home or in your business, it’s best to hire legal representation immediately.
► The death of a loved one: Lawyers can help the families of recently deceased individuals navigate the potentially complex allocation of that person’s estate. For example, lawyers
who specialize in probate law can ensure all tax obligations are met and can offer insight and expertise on how to handle any disputes that may arise regarding the deceased individual’s will and assets.
► Extensive estate planning: Lawyers who specialize in estate planning are often mistaken as being the same as probate lawyers. But that’s not necessarily the case. Though some lawyers provide both estate planning and probate services, those services are different. Probate attorneys handle the administration of an estate after a client dies. Estate planning attorneys work with living clients who want to draft their wills and ensure their assets are allocated according to their preferences after they die. Individuals with large and/ or complex estates can work with estate planning attorneys to establish trusts and create extensive asset distribution plans for people who have multiple heirs and beneficiaries in their wills. These are just a handful of the many situations in which individuals can rely on attorneys to help navigate potentially complex issues.
Contributed / Metro Editorial Services
There are many situations in which hiring a lawyer is the appropriate move.