Printable Version

Financial Seminars

ING Financial Advisers, LLC, in conjunction with the various schools, sponsors financial seminars that are offered as part of the "added benefit". The seminars are educational, and in no way are they forums for individual investments or insurance product sales. Money management concepts and tools are presented in an informative, enjoyable, and professional manner. The seminars feature practical information and are relevant to all income and educational occupations.

Seminar Objectives:

  • Help individuals determine their personal financial goals and develop a plan to meet them
  • Help individuals to avoid paying more taxes than necessary
  • Help individuals understand a variety of investments
  • Help individuals maximize their earnings on their investments
  • Help individuals understand the benefits that their employer offers
  • Help individuals learn how to protect themselves from unnecessary financial risks

    • Below is a list of the various seminars currently offered. If you are interested in participating in one of the seminars, please contact your Human Resources/Benefits Department.

  • Women and Personal Finance
  • Financial Principles
  • Investments
  • Investment Strategies
  • Risk Management
  • Retirement Contributions
  • Long-term Care
  • Pension/Tax Reform
  • Estate Planning
  • Asset Allocation

    • Women and Personal Finance

    After three decades of dramatic social change, more women are managing money than ever before. Whether they are single or working with a partner, it's important for them to determine their short and long-term financial goals, and learn how to meet them effectively. This seminar can help by introducing the financial planning process and showing them how to begin investing in their future.

    The following facts illustrate why it is critical for women to attain more knowledge and become effective money managers:

  • Marital status: 21.4 million adults, representing 10 percent of the population, are currently divorced. Forty-seven percent of first marriages and 49 percent of second marriages end in divorce. Twenty four percent of women have not married. Seventy-five percent of married women eventually become widowed at an average age of 56. And 45.2 percent of women over 65 are widows.1
  • Education: Women are becoming more educated. In 1999, women were predicted to earn just over 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, compared with 43 percent in 1970 and under 24 percent in 1950.2
  • Employment: Collectively, women-owned firms in the top 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. number nearly 3.2 million, employ 4.9 million people and generate over $661 billion in sales - thus the top 50 metropolitan areas account for over half the number, employment and sales of women-owned firms nationwide.3 Currently, 60.2 percent of women now work outside the home.4
  • Income: Despite the high incomes some women earn, their wages as a group have not kept pace with those of men. The average woman currently earns 76 cents for every dollar the average man earns,5 and nine out of ten women make less than $40,000 a year.6 What’s more, women are less likely to work for companies with retirement plans. In 2002, Median weekly earnings for women was $491 and for men $646.7
  • Wealth: Women control nearly 45 percent of the wealth in this country, and collectively earn more than $1 trillion a year.6
  • Family: The structure of the American household is changing. More single women are raising children. In fact, 27.7 percent of children under age 18 are living with one parent and 85 percent of children with a single parent live with their mothers. And many alternative lifestyles constitute a family today. In 1998, the number of unmarried couples in America topped 4.1 million.8

    • Sources:

    1 Census Bureau, 2000

    2 U.S. News & World Report, February 2, 1999

    3 Center for Women’s Business Research, 2002

    4 Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1999

    5 Christopher L. Hayes and Kate Kelly, Money Makeovers, Doubleday, 1999
    6 Employee Benefit Research Institute, November 2001

    7 David Bach, Smart Women Finish Rich, Bantam Books, 1999

    8 Census Bureau, 2000

    Back to top

    Financial Principles

    This seminar will orient employees to financial principles and the financial planning process. It will help employees recognize financial obstacles and understand methods to overcome them.

    The following topics will be discussed:

  • Inflation
  • Compounding & Interest
  • Taxation on income and investments
  • Assessing your current financial situation
  • Knowing where you are
  • Managing your cash flow
  • Financial goals

    • Back to top

    Investments

    Today's investment world is full of variety and confusion. More types of investments exist today than at any other time in history. In addition, the investment world is becoming more interconnected.

    When you understand the variety of investments that are commonly used, you can make intelligent choices about which alternatives will best meet your needs.

    The following topics will be discussed:

  • Individual investments
  • Fixed-income investments
  • Cash equivalents
  • Bonds
  • Equity investments
  • Pooled investments
  • Professional money management

    • Back to top

    Investment Strategies

    When implementing an investment strategy, you may want to consider the following:

  • You may understand what stocks and bonds are and even how a mutual fund works, but how do you know how to use your investment knowledge most efficiently?
  • How are investments selected?
  • Can investment strategies balance risk with potential for higher returns?

    • In this seminar, the following topics will be discussed:

  • Types of investment risks
  • Inflation risk
  • Interest rate risk
  • Market risk
  • Business risk
  • Methods of managing risk
  • Laddering
  • Dollar cost averaging
  • Diversification
  • Asset allocation

    • Back to top

    Risk Management

    Managing risk allows you to provide a solid foundation for your overall financial program. Risk management is a high priority in the financial planning process.

    In this seminar, the following topics will be discussed:

  • Loss of health
  • Health insurance
  • Disability income insurance
  • Long-term care insurance
  • Premature death
  • Uses for life insurance
  • Determining how much life insurance is needed
  • Types of life insurance
  • Negligence and liability insurance
  • Property loss and property insurance

    • Back to top

    Retirement Contributions

    Your retirement needs may seem a distant concern. This section will show the importance of starting a retirement plan now. No matter what stage of life you are in, it is never too late – or too early – to start your retirement plan.

    In this seminar, the following topics will be discussed:

  • Retirement planning
  • Types of retirement plans
  • Benefits of using retirement plans
  • Employer-sponsored retirement plans
  • Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution
  • 401(a) plans
  • 403(b) plans
  • 457 plans
  • Other retirement plans
  • Personal retirement plans
  • Traditional IRA
  • Roth IRA

    • Back to top

    Long-term Care

    Over the course of your life, you will most likely be affected by long-term care. You or a loved one will need care, or you will pay taxes to support the cost of financing long-term care for others. It's up to you to decide how your family will approach the issue of long-term care. One thing is certain — you need to plan.

    A study by the National Council on the Aging showed that:

  • 45% of Americans worry that they or their spouse will someday require long-term care.
  • 67% are concerned that long-term care poses the greatest threat to their standard of living during retirement.
  • 86% feel that providing long-term care is a major problem in the United States.

    • Back to top

    Pension / Tax Reform

    The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 represents the largest single tax cut in two decades. The act includes a wide range of tax-cut provisions, many of which will be phased in gradually. Tax changes in the package include:

  • An across-the-board reduction of previous marginal income tax rates.
  • The creation of a new 10 percent income tax rate bracket.
  • “Marriage penalty” relief.
  • A reduction in – and eventual repeal of – estate taxes.
  • Higher IRA and employer-sponsored plan contribution limits.

    • This seminar highlights some of the major provisions in the new tax law and can be used as a guide for understanding the act from a “big-picture” perspective. Because of the breadth and complexity of this new legislation, however, it is recommended that you consult with your tax and financial professionals to determine how the tax law changes will affect you individually.

    ING does not offer legal or tax advice. Please consult your attorney or tax advisor before making a tax-related investment/insurance decision.

    Back to top

    Estate Planning

    Estate planning is the process that allows employees to express their wishes concerning their assets and their dependents. Everyone has an estate, and everyone should have an estate plan. If one is not developed, the state has a plan for you. Estate planning is too important to try to do by oneself. It should involve financial professionals and a qualified attorney. An attorney should prepare all legal documents.

    The following topics will be discussed in this seminar:

  • Components of your estate
  • Estate planning objectives
  • Providing for family members
  • Incapacity concerns
  • Distribution of an estate
  • Direct transfer
  • Joint ownership
  • Trusts
  • Probate
  • Estate shrinkage
  • Income taxes
  • Gift and estate taxes

    • ING does not offer legal or tax advice. Please consult your attorney or tax advisor before making a tax-related investment/insurance decision.

    Back to top

    Asset Allocation

    Investment professionals will tell you, one of the most important investment decisions you'll ever make is how you divide your dollars among different asset types.

    Asset allocation is the scientific process of creating a portfolio by selecting the most effective combination of investments to meet the specific needs and goals of an individual investor. The term "asset allocation" is a common sight in investment literature and regularly – even casually – referred to in the media. Despite this prevalence, asset allocation is a concept that can leave many investors feeling puzzled.

    This seminar is designed to help you understand the basics of asset allocation as well as suggest steps on how you can incorporate it properly in your investment planning.

    The following concepts are discussed:

  • The trade-off between risk and return
  • An explanation of the three primary asset classes
  • The effect asset allocation can potentially have on your portfolio
  • A discussion on how to apply asset allocation to your portfolio
  • to top

    • These seminars are intended for your education only. ING does not offer legal or tax advice. For complete details regarding your individual situation, please consult your financial, tax, and legal advisors.

     

    © 2002 - 2009 ING North America Insurance Corporation

    Insurance products issued by ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company. Financial planning and securities offered through ING Financial Advisers, LLC (member SIPC), One Orange Way, Windsor, CT 06095-4774, or other broker/dealers with which it has a selling agreement.