For the latest on Income Planning, check out the profile sights and subtopics pages of a few of our experts on the topic. You can even become a fan of the columnist or choose to be alerted when content on the niche market of your choice is posted to the site.  Make these selection on a columnist profile in the box labeled “Get real-time notifications!”

Chris Conklin, principal and actuary with Insurance Insight Group, is the expert moderator of the Income Planning and InvestingChris has developed new products that resulted in one company achieving sales growth over a ten-year period from nearly zero sales to over $100 million annually in life sales and $3 billion annually in annuity sales. He also led a department that brought to market over 170 new products and significant product enhancements in a 5-year period. Chris has 20 years experience in the industry, is a licensed insurance agent and holds a Series 65 license. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and is also a speaker and sales trainer. Read Chris Conklin’s article, "I need to think about it," which provides ideas on how to deal with the "I need to think about it" objection while selling fixed indexed annuities or other financial products. Then visit the Income Planning and Investing   page to see what’s new in that specific market.  page.

Many experts on the site have said that a single premium whole life policy builds cash value, but what’s important is why. Read excerpts from experts on the site for a refresher course on this valuable savings vehicle.

Be sure to watch the September Spotlight on Income Planning, which discusses how the top five executives at 10 separate financial institutions who received large taxpayer bailouts have already seen a combined increase in their stock options of almost $90 million; the fact that 396 funds have been merged or liquidated for far this year; and how total individual annuity sales dipped to $60.5 billion in the second quarter-- a drop of 11 percent from the same period last year.

Watch the September Spotlight on Long Term Care, which discusses how nearly half of polled Americans feel that Medicare cuts to assisted living facilities are an unacceptable way to fund health care reform; how Medicare Part D has since then reduced seniors' annual out-of-pocket costs by an average of 16 percent; and the National Long Term Care Symposium, which takes place in Washington, DC on September 14.

Expert Frank Darras , author of the column "Insurance Law Simplified," is now moderating the Protecting Your Assets subtopic page. Visit this page to see the latest from Darras, as well as other authors who are focusing on helping their clients with savings protection. Have a question on how best to ensure savings protection? Leave Darras a comment on the forum that appears att eh bottom of the Protecting Your Assets page, and wait to see what guidance he provides.

I recently discussed the usage of annuities in estate planning with Jason Ryan, founder/president of Optimum Wealth. To see an archive of Ryan's articles, visit his profile here.

Also, as I stated above, they have some great guarantees that are very unique to annuities (death benefit, income you can never outlive, etc). Plus, with the addition of the new living benefit riders, a client can sleep well at night knowing that their future retirement income is protected.

SB: Is there another product you’d recommend over the annuity when it comes to estate and retirement planning?
JR: There really is not a perfect product when it comes to retirement and estate planning. It truly depends on the client and their goals. The problem for most advisors is that they often become too attached to a single financial product or solution. And it then ultimately clouds their thinking. It is like the old saying, "When your only solution is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail." For some advisors, annuities are their hammer. They position an annuity as a one size fits all financial solution to any and all problems. Again, there is nothing wrong with annuities, and it may very well be the best solution. However, advisors need to dig deeper into their toolbox and utilize all of the financial tools that are available to them. Don't let the financial product dictate the solution.

Hopefully by now you visited our Expert Ranking List to see how the experts on the site add-up in terms of fans. 

However, I wonder how many of you have ever wished you could ask an expert a question directly, but decided not to post a comment on the forum. Well, this blog is here for you to comment on with certain questions you'd like to ask certain experts on the site.

Please leave any questions you'd like me to ask a specific expert below and I'll make my next blog a Q&A with the person with whom you're most interested. Are you intriegued with the biographical info on an expert ? Don't hold back! Let me dig for the dirty details for you!

And, remember, don't be shy!

The number of federally insured reverse mortgages acquired in March and April increased by nearly 20 percent since the same period in 2008.
In fact, Inside Mortgage Finance says the government insured nearly 11,700 reverse mortgages — the biggest figure since the government-backed program began in 1990.
And, findings indicate that more and more seniors are turning to reverse mortgages in an effort to boost retirement savings. This is perhaps a result of more seniors now qualifying for the savings vehicle since Congress in February raised the maximum home value that seniors can borrow against to more than $625,000.
That bill also capped reverse-mortgage origination fees at 2 percent on the first $200,000, and 1 percent on any amount over that — with fees not to exceed $6,000, according to reports.
Do you recommend reverse mortgages to your senior clientele? How would you encourage an older client to use this savings vehicle? Please leave your thoughts below.

Dictionary. com defines an annuity in two ways, firstly: a specified income payable at stated intervals for a fixed or a contingent period, often for the recipient's life, in consideration of a stipulated premium paid either in prior installment payments or in a single payment… come again? (Since this sounds a bit confusing, we’ll define this in layman’s terms: the annual payment of an allowance or income.) Secondly, the site defines an annuity as the right to receive such an income, or the duty to make such a payment or payments.

• Every birthday I’ve had, my grandmother has issued me an allowance of  between $5 and $100
• One thing I miss the most about going back to school is the “annual allowance” my parents gave me to use toward supplies and new clothes.
• After filing my taxes by April 14, the IRS returns me what they declare to be my annual allowance.

Americans seeking affordable long term care options will find the Midwest offers the most choices at the lowest cost, while Northeast and West Coast states generally offer fewer affordable alternatives. These are among the key findings of a national cost of care survey released today by Genworth Financial.

Since 2004, Genworth has surveyed the cost of long term care across the U.S. to provide Americans with a clear understanding of the cost of care in their part of the country. With this knowledge, families can begin to prudently plan for these potential costs. The most comprehensive study of its kind, Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout(R), covers more than 14,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health and adult day health care providers in 331 regions across America.

New to the 2009 survey is the Genworth Choice & Affordability Index. This tool identifies regions where nursing home care choices are both numerous and most affordable in proportion to the area's 65+ population - creating an index of the best places in the U.S. for nursing home care. The Choice & Affordability Index does not measure or reflect the long term care services capacity (i.e.; number of beds) available in a region, or the quality of care, but rather reflects the number of facilities in the region in proportion to the 65+ population along with the cost of care in that area.

Full results of Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey, including the Choice & Affordability Index, an interactive map of the cost of care in all 50 states and 331 geographic regions, and other useful tools and information is available online at www.Genworth.com/CostofCare.

President Obama recently proposed that employers establish an automatic retirement savings account (similar to an IRA) for all of their workers, which brings about a few questions. I asked Chris Conklin, Principal & Actuary for the Insurance Insight Group, if he could give some insight on the issue.  

*To read more from Chris Conklin, visit his columnist profile, here: http://www.producersweb.com/r/IIG/d/columnist/?auI=1205&tk=2,a,1205,searchResults

The challenges that women face in retirement are many and should only motivate our mothers, sisters and daughters to plan early and plan smart. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that:

Recent reports indicate that, if one of your clients were to die this year, the first $3.5 million of their estate is exempt from tax. Yet the estate tax is currently slated to disappear in 2010 and in 2011 the exemption will be only $1 million of each estate.