We assist you in achieving your financial independence through our On Track™ process that covers both your Business and your Personal Financial situation. Each client will have their own personalized On Track™ program. The process is designed to help you make smart decisions around your money and create a financial independence for you and your family:
HOW WE WORK
Financial Planning
We’ve got you covered. Our 6-step process keeps you on track of your financial goals.
Establish the goal/relationship
Gather Data
Analyze Data
Develop Plan
Implement Plan
Review & Monitor Plan
Retirement Planning
How much money do I need for retirement? This is the most common question any financial advisor will hear. The truth is that the answer to this is different for everybody as everyone has their own unique set of circumstances. Building customized Financial Plans that include determining how much you need to save and accumulate for retirement and where your income will come from in retirement are cornerstones of what we do to meet the individual goals and objectives of each of our clients.
Tax Planning
Minimizing taxes is one of the key drivers of accumulating wealth and very much a focus of our planning strategies and solutions. From tax efficient investment solutions to tax effective life insurance solutions to reviewing/recommending/implementing tax effective structures (for business owner clients) to tax efficient retirement solutions we cover the tax aspect every step of the way.
Estate Planning
Effective Estate Planning is about making sure your wealth ends up exactly where you intend it to with as little conflict and effort as possible and by minimizing the taxes payable. We ensure you have all of the appropriate documentation in place and work with estate planning specialists wherever there are deficiencies to ensure that your affairs are all in place and documented properly.
Life Insurance
Freedman Kruss & Associates delivers custom corporate and personal life insurance solutions. Our client-centric focus ensures that plans are tailored to client’s specific situations and are backed by Canada’s leading insurance companies. Our team offers Term, Whole Life and Universal Life plans.
Disability Insurance
Any person’s single greatest asset is his or her ability to make a living. The projection of your future earnings over your working lifetime reveals that your earned income is, for most working individuals, their greatest financial asset. Your financial security today and tomorrow, as well as many of your other financial plans, depends on the continuity of your salary or earned income. What if a serious disability caused by an accident or illness destroys your earning ability, how can it affect you and your family’s lifestyle and financial security while you’re alive? We work with all the best carriers to ensure we can find the most complete and cost-effective disability coverage for our clients.
Critical Illness Insurance
Ask yourself, who you know of your relatives, or friends who have suffered a heart attack, invasive heart surgery or undergone chemotherapy. They survived the initial critical illness and may be enjoying life again. Was their recovery prolonged and how were their lives and those of their families, or businesses affected? Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum on the diagnosis of a critical illness or specified event, after surviving for 30 days or more, depending on the condition. It is not based on inability to work and full recovery can be made. It offers a unique customer benefit, as one can spend the money as one wishes. It covers from 3 to 26 critical illnesses or events.
Long-term care Insurance
Recent studies have shown families and friends that care for elders at home over long periods also suffer emotionally and financially from giving these services and are in need of extra nursing care support. A private Canadian nursing home can cost between $3,000 and $8,000 a month. How can this risk be protected against? Long Term Care insurance can help protect the financial security and lifestyle we have worked so hard to achieve. It provides peace of mind by reducing the fear of outliving valuable savings and other assets by providing tax-free income to pay for care at home for a nurse or therapist to provide necessary services. This can allow disabled seniors to stay at home longer with their families as a matter of their preferred choice.
As a business owner there are several problems that arise when a shareholder or key man dies. These problems can continue for the corporation beyond the death of the owner as the corporation will continue. In the early phases of a business, term assurance may be useful, but in many circumstances permanent life insurance becomes attractive because of the lower corporate tax rates.
As a business owner, have you asked yourself the following questions?
Small and medium size corporations
If another shareholder dies?
-
- If another shareholder dies do I want to acquire his stock and continue the business, without resistance from inactive stockholders heirs, who are more interested in continuing income than running the business?
- Is there a buy-sell agreement in place to affect change of ownership? At what price, and how will the share transfer be funded?
In the case of your death?
-
- When I die, will there be a guaranteed market for my shares, if my heirs no longer want to continue in the business?
- Do you want your family to get the going concern value of the business or a fire sale value, because the person responsible for its successful operation has died?
- If you want your family to retain their stock and continue the business, will there be enough money in the business to enable your heirs to successfully manage it?
- Is there a buy-sell agreement in place to affect change of ownership? At what price, and how will the share transfer be funded?
Key man needs
-
- How will the loss of a key person affect your business profits and credit line?
- How much money would you need to reduce the impact of the loss of a key man?
Corporate Insured Retirement Plans
-
- How can the corporation accumulate enough surplus funds to pay for your retirement when corporate tax rates on invested capital are so high?
- How can my family get tax-free money out of the business when I die? And is there a way I can use corporate dollars to reduce capital gains taxes?
For all of the above questions, life insurance offers flexible, cost effective and tax efficient solutions to shareholders, corporations and partners alike.
Group Benefits
We offer a broad range of employee benefits designed for small and large groups. Working together with our clients and the insurance carriers, we strive to provide the best benefits package to suit our client’s needs. In addition, we keep our clients updated with respect to changing trends in the market place, as well as changes in legislation, or any information that will be of interest or will benefit our clients. Our services also include group financial packages such as group RRSPs, Defined Contribution Pension Plans and Deferred Profit Sharing Plans.
Group insurance benefits provide employers with group benefit plans, tailor made to suit their businesses. Group benefits can be customized to suit the needs of the employer and employees. The following is an overview of some of the options that can be offered:
Life Insurance
This is a mandatory benefit with most carriers. Coverage can be a choice of either a flat amount or a percentage of annual salary. Depending on the size of the group and the plan design, evidence of insurability may be required.
Accidental death and dismemberment
Usually mirrors the life insurance. Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage provides employees or their beneficiaries with financial assistance in the event the plan member dies or incurs a loss of use of limbs, sight etc. as the result of an accident.
Dependent life coverage
Life coverage on the plan member’s spouse and each dependent child.
Integrated Benefit Solutions
An Integrated Benefit Solution offers a combination of traditional group benefits and individual income protection products. Some of the key advantages related to the individual products include portability and the issue of the individual contract without evidence of insurability. This combination is only available to groups and is only available for disability and critical illness products.
Health
This is coverage for benefits not covered by provincial health plans. Coverage generally includes:
- Drugs – plans can include a drug card;
- Paramedical services e.g. physiotherapy, chiropractors, podiatrists, massage etc;
- Equipment e.g. wheelchairs, crutches, orthotics etc;
- Hospital rooms – plans can include private or semi-private rooms;
- Out of province/country emergency coverage – coverage provided in the event of an unexpected emergency while traveling on business or vacation.
Dental
Coverage can include preventative and diagnostic services, basic coverage, major restorative e.g. crown, caps and bridgework and orthodontics.
Short term disability
This cover ensures plan members continue to have a source of income (salary replacement), if they become disabled due to illness or injury and unable to work for extended time periods. It supplements disability benefits available from government programs e.g. CPP, QPP.
Critical illness
This cover provides a cash lump sum when diagnosed with an insured critical illness and the insured survives 30 days.
Employee Assistance Plans
A comprehensive and confidential counseling resource available to employees and their immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Wellness programs
A proactive approach to positive behavioral changes and illness avoidance.
First in Line
A one of a kind health care package for Canadian residents focusing on treatment and recovery. This includes insuring the availability of necessary medical information, technology and financial resources including access to American medical centers of excellence. This plan is available to employees and their families for groups with three or more lives.
Group RRSP Plans
Group retirement plans can be designed to include both employer and employee contributions. We provide our clients with a wide range of flexible, competitive products that are leading edge in the industry. Employees meet privately with qualified advisors to evaluate their tolerance to risk and to assess the many available investment options. In addition, Structured RRSPs, Defined Contribution Pension Plans and Deferred Profit Sharing Plans are available.