Archive for category: Blog

What Are the Funeral Expenses and What Is the Average Cost?

Source: Phil Graham, Founder of The Beneficiary Liquidity Plan

Funeral home expenses often include professional services (embalming, use of facilities, service, etc.), merchandise costs (urns, caskets, vaults, headstones, etc.), and cash advances (flowers, musician, honorarium, death certificates, etc.). Families should plan to spend close to $10,000 for a burial and $6,700 for cremation services. The Beneficiary Liquidity Plan® helps to ensure families can pay for these expenses at any funeral home in the future.

Are There Additional Out of pocket Expenses for the Family?

Additional expenses can include travel costs for family members, celebration of life, luncheon, property taxes, putting a house on the market, etc. The Beneficiary Liquidity Plan® will give families access to money immediately for more than just the funeral service. Please call 856-401-1101 or contact us at www.franklinplanning.com to learn more.

OPM Authorizes Emergency Leave Transfer Program for Federal Employees Impacted by Tropical Cyclone, Tropical Storm, and Hurricane Helene 

Source: OPM 

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has authorized the use of an emergency leave transfer program (ELTP) for federal employees and their families adversely impacted by Tropical Cyclone, Tropical Storm, and Hurricane Helene.

After coordinating with federal agencies to assess the impact on employees by Tropical Cyclone, Tropical Storm, and Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, OPM, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has determined that the establishment of an ELTP is warranted. The establishment of an ELTP permits employees in the executive and judicial branches, or agency leave banks established under 5 U.S.C. 6363 to donate unused leave for transfer to employees within their agency or at other agencies who are severely adversely affected or have family members who are severely adversely affected by a major disaster or emergency as declared by the President and who need additional time off from work without having to use their own paid leave. This ELTP will assist federal employees in the declared disaster areas in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Furthermore, if President Biden approves other disaster declarations because of Helene, federal employees in those areas will also become eligible for ELTP donations.

Agencies with employees severely adversely affected by Tropical Cyclone, Tropical Storm, and Hurricane Helene or their family members are in the best position to determine whether, and how much, donated annual leave is needed by their employees and which of their employees have been adversely affected by the emergency within the meaning of OPM regulations. They are also in the best position to quickly facilitate the transfer of donated annual leave within their agencies.

Agencies are responsible for administering the ELTP for their own affected employees. Employees should contact their servicing agency human resources office for further information on the emergency leave transfer program.