‘In The News’ Archives
Woman Gets Life Sentence for Killing Husband
A 61-year old Santa Ana woman got a life sentence for killing her sick husband to collect on his life insurance policy and retirement funds. Prosecutors said Jessee Aehlert and her son, Thomas Aehlert hired a hit man to kill her third husband because she was tired of caring for him, she wanted to avoid paying for his cancer treatment, and she [...]
Blue Shield of California Foundation Funds Health Centers
Blue Shield of California Foundation announced $11.4 million in first-quarter funding. The majority of these funds will provide community health centers and domestic violence service providers with core operating funds, which are especially important at a time of great change in both fields. Community health centers are undergoing a major shift [...]
Top 401(k) Plans Offered by Los Angeles Companies
A ratings firm in San Diego has issued a report naming the top 25 best 401(k) plans offered by companies in the Los Angeles area. The list was compiled from a total of 1,712 plans of companies within 50 miles of Los Angeles. The list ranks plans with more than $100 million in assets. The rankings can be found at www.latimes.com.
Strong Voter Support for a Smart Health Exchange
A survey by the Field Research Corp. reveals that California voters support vital elements of a “smart” state health benefit exchange -- one that would employ market forces and provide team care options to drive down costs; improve medical outcomes; and expand access to care. Nearly three in four California voters expressed interest in making [...]
Why is Hartford Really Killing Its Annuity Business?
The insurance giant said it is exiting the annuity business so it can focus on its property and casualty insurance group benefits and mutual funds. The move came over pressure form one of its largest shareholders, John Paulson. Although the company was a leader in variable annuities, its exposure to the guarantees that come along with some [...]
Hartford to Exit the Annuity Business
Hartford Financial Services has announced that it would exit its annuity business and consider a sale of a large portion of it's life insurance operation. They will cease new annuity sales in April. However, for people who own Hartford's fixed or indexed annuities, it means that Hartford is still obligated to protect its exisiting customers and [...]
IRA Boom Fueled by Tax Hike Fear
Tax hikes are coming and that means you may want to adjust your client's retirement planning to compensate. Thanks to tax cuts, wars, the recession and our growing population of retirees, the federal government is spending more than it takes in. Experts predict that the top income bracket will go from paying 35% to almost 40% in taxes annually [...]
Health Plan Cost Discrimination
In the vast majority of states, women pay more than men for the same health coverage through a discriminatory practice known as "gender rating." Research by the National Women's Law Center shows that in states that haven't banned gender rating, over 92% of the top plans charge women more than men, in spite of the fact that majority of them do not [...]
Retirement Education Offered at UCLA
The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) at the UCLA Anderson School of Management along with fiduciary education group fi360 will let students and advisors earn reciprocal course credits and participate at a discounted rate in each organization’s training programs. Regulation continues to evolve in the fiduciary world, which makes the [...]
Families Fight with Medi-Cal Plan
Nine Ventura County families are awaiting state hearings over home care that's been denied to them by Gold Coast Health Plan, the administers for Medi-Cal. It has been revealed that Gold Coast will no longer cover home health care for these families. Gold Coast, which previously paid for the home care, now claims that these services are no [...]
