NQnext – Designed to Work with Plan Participant’s Current Financial Advisors

What makes NQnext unique is the commitment to work with a Non-Qualified Plan Participant’s Current Financial Advisors. This immediately puts the plan sponsor at ease and makes it easier to introduce the NQnext platform.

Here is how it works – 12 Months before the Executive is to receive the first Non-Qualified Plan Distribution a NQnext package is delivered. The package is best communicated online and preferably in a tablet format. Their benefit payments will be explained along with the expected taxation. NQnext describes the Long Term Care and Life Insurance options available to the executive in an interactive format.

In about fifteen minutes the executive will have a greater understanding of the benefits of NQnext for their family. Keep in mind the age of executives will typically range from 55 to 70, an excellent time to put the coverage in place and they have a source of funds from the Non-Qualified Plan.

At the end of the program if the executive decides to pursue additional NQnext coverage they will be given the choice to work directly with NQnext or their Current Financial Advisor. If they choose their own advisor, NQnext will send directly to the Personal Advisor all of the information in the NQnext package. If the advisor agrees with the recommendations then if desired NQnext can facilitate the implementation of the plan including applications, underwriting and delivery.

We think this approach makes the most sense. What do you think?

Thank you for reading!

Doug Marshall

10,000 A DAY FOR THE NEXT 15 YEARS

Every day 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 in the United States. NQnext recognizes the uncertainty of aging in America. The CORE objective of NQnext is to reduce the emotional and economic uncertainty for families as parents and friends become more dependent on others for day to day living.

SIMPLE and ADAPTABLE

When I recently polled some of my peers about their parents the answers were all over the map. Some were living, some passed away years ago, some were healthy and some were ill. NQnext believes that old age planning is important and can be more successful if kept simple enough to adapt.

THE IMPACT of ONE LIFE

At the end of my Father’s life there were over a dozen family members impacted in those final days. Illness and death are traumatic events. Dad’s illness changed travel plans, vacations, work schedules, sleep patterns….. It changed everyone’s life in my family but we were able to focus on making Dad comfortable and caring for our Mom.

NON-QUALIFIED PLAN DISTRIBUTIONS

Some planning tools will cost money. Non-Qualified Plan Benefit Payments can be a source of funds to pay for products that will create greater financial security. But the focus of NQnext is not product specific. It will always be driven by our CORE objective to reduce emotional and economic stress.

Thank you for reading

Doug Marshall

Open Source – NQnext

This idea is still developing in my head, the idea of modeling NQnext after the Open Source Business model. Open Source is typically associated with software. WordPress, the blogging software I use here is built on an Open Source framework. It is a great business story. I suppose it would be difficult to “Open Source” the car making business but I suspect there may be parts of the automobile industry that could benefit from some form of Open Source development when it comes to public safety perhaps. But this is getting away from the point here.

In my Amazon wish list is a book – “Flash Foresight – See the Invisible to Do the Impossible” – Authored by Daniel Burrus. I have not purchased yet only to avoid diluting my current reading list of over half a dozen books. What got the book into my wish list was an excerpt from the books summary identifying seven triggers to Flash Foresight…. The first three are:

1 – Start with certainty (use hard trends to see what’s coming.)
2 – Anticipate (base your strategies on what you know about the future).
3 – Transform (use technology-driven change to your advantage).

Here is what I know…. The population is getting older and people are living longer. Elderly care will be taking a greater toll on families than ever before, financially, emotionally and physically. Technology can create access to products and resources and it can transform the delivery of solutions for the elderly.

So why is an Open Source concept the model I want to use for NQnext? Because the emerging need for better solutions for the aging population impacts everyone. Open Source will allow NQnext to be nimble and adapt more quickly.

Simon Sinek wrote a book – “Start With Why” – He points out that all companies know WHAT they do but the ones that make the most impact understand the WHY of their business.

The WHY of NQnext – We are building NQnext to change the lives of people and their families as they face the prospect of living longer. NQnext is giving them a story to tell to their families. How and What NQnext does will be driven by the stories people want to tell about themselves.

I do not have enough imagination to consider all the possibilities thus the need for an Open Source approach. This will give me a chance to work with some very creative people. This is going to be an awesome adventure.

Thank you for reading!

Doug Marshall

Awareness Part 2

Almost twenty years ago in the mid 1990’s I started to think about what happens to Non-Qualified Plan Benefit Payments when they are distributed to Executives. Back then I was a Northwestern Mutual Special Agent and an Associate with The Todd Organization. It seemed to me it would be a good thing to have an advisor relationship with these executives, a great customer base. But I never did come up with a workable idea and a story compelling enough to get a project going. I am not the only person to be asking this question and some have tried however there is not much evidence of great success.

What has changed for me that I now believe in the potential success for NQnext?

– AWARENESS –

Our perspectives are changed by real life experiences. Last week I sent out an E Mail to ten of my peers in the insurance industry. Some were under 55 (my age), some over. I asked them about their parents, if they were still living, if deceased how old they were at the time they died and then if they had experienced a long term illness. Many of them had stories to tell about the lessons learned from watching their parents in the later and final years.

I personally became aware of what families go through when an elderly parent becomes ill. My Father died in April and in the uncertainty of his last two weeks my perspective changed and NQnext was launched not long after.

NQnext simply presents the idea that it is a good time to execute a Life Insurance and Long Term Care Plan when Non-Qualified Benefit Payments commence. Since individuals receiving these payments are typically ages 55 to 70 there is a good chance they are AWARE of the costs associated with old age because of their experiences with their parents or parents of friends.

Over coffee earlier this week I sat down with a new friend Matt Hamann who has spent more than 20 years in the Long Term Care (LTC) Industry. Matt told me that when he started in the LTC business there was a lot of focus on statistics and the chances that someone will have a LTC event. But now he sees a change in the message that really boils down to a simple question – “What if the same thing happened to you?” – NQnext recognizes the need to ask this question and those of us associated with NQnext will be working toward getting permission to pose that question to individuals receiving Non-Qualified Plan Distributions. This one question opens the door. I expect you will hear more from Matt on this subject.

Today I read a tweet with a Chinese Proverb – “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”

Let’s do this now!

Thank you for reading!

Doug Marshall

You should follow me on twitter here ➡ www.twitter.com/jdougmar
From there you can link to @NQnext and @sPlan5

A Year to Plan

Once an executive is less than 12 months away from a non-qualified plan benefit distribution there is nothing they can do to change the payment event. This is a part of the provisions of IRC 409A. Rather than viewing this as a restriction of inconvenience the executive could use this year long period as a time for financial planning. They will know about how much they will receive and when it will be received.

We have seen a shift in the 401(k) industry after years of focus on asset accumulation. Now the focus has shifted to how individuals can make those accumulated dollars last for a long time into retirement. This created new products and financial strategies.

Perhaps it is time to start looking at the options for executives receiving non-qualified plan distributions. There are many tax advantaged products and strategies readily available today. They include 529 College Savings Plans for Grandchildren, Annuities, Life Insurance and Long Term Care. There is nothing we can do to avoid taxation on current distributions but it may make sense to look at ways to minimize tax going forward. All of these products offer some form of tax advantage.

NQnext will focus on Long Term Care and Life Insurance because it is important to get these in place while still healthy. 529 Plans and Annuities are not health sensitive therefore the urgency is not as great. With a year to plan I hope people will make the most of it.

Something to think about.

Doug Marshall

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