Carol Schmidlin Renews Membership with the Financial Services Institute

/in /by

FSI Advocates for Main Street Americans’ Access to Objective, Affordable Financial Advice

 Carol Schmidlin of Franklin Planning LLC announced she has renewed membership with the Financial Services Institute (FSI) in Washington, D.C. FSI advocates for Main Street Americans’ access to objective, affordable financial advice, delivered by a growing network of independent financial advisor members. 

“I am proud to renew my membership with FSI, an organization that works hard every day, to protect my clients’ access to quality financial advice,” said Ms. Schmidlin “FSI helps educate elected officials and regulators on what Americans need from financial advisors and how the industry works with clients to secure their financial futures. They also help ensure that I can continue to offer my clients the advice they need.”

“We are very pleased to have Ms. Schmidlin renew their membership,” said FSI President & CEO Dale E. Brown. “Our advocacy is only as effective as our engaged members. And conscientious advisors like Ms. Schmidlin help bring real-life experience to our efforts. We plan to continue to work closely with Ms. Schmidlin as we advocate for independent financial advisors and the hard-working clients they serve.”

Ms. Schmidlin’s practice offers the following:

  • Income Planning
  • Investment Management
  • Social Security Planning
  • Investment Planning for Accumulation Phase & Distribution Phase
  • The Money Cycle and Bucket Planning
  • Health & Long-Term Care Planning
  • Tax Planning
  • Estate Planning
  • Insurance Needs
  • Pension Maximization

Franklin Planning’s mission is to provide the ultimate client experience. As an independent financial advisory firm, we take our role as your fiduciary very seriously. One size does not fit all, and we seek to fully understand your individual needs and goals, and then custom tailor a plan to meet them.

Ms. Schmidlin has been an independent advisor for 25+ years and is affiliated with JW Cole

More information on Franklin Planning can be found at www.franklinplanning.com

About the Financial Services Institute (FSI): The Financial Services Institute (FSI) is the only organization advocating solely on behalf of independent financial advisors and independent financial services firms. Since 2004, through advocacy, education and public awareness, FSI has successfully promoted a more responsible regulatory environment for over 80 independent financial services firm members and their 130,000+ affiliated financial advisors – which comprise over 45% of all producing registered representatives. We effect change through involvement in FINRA governance as well as constructive engagement in the regulatory and legislative processes, working to create a healthier regulatory environment for our members so they can provide affordable, objective advice to hard-working Main Street Americans. For more information, please visit financialservices.org.

 

TSP Performance Disappoints in February: Year-to-Date Returns Still Positive

/in /by

After dismal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) performance in 2022, 2023 started the year off with a bang. TSP performance in January 2023 flipped from what it was in January 2022. All TSP Funds showed a positive return to start off the year.

Looking at the February 2023 returns seems familiar and feels like a return to the inflation-influenced days of 2022.

With the exception of the G Fund, all of the TSP Funds had a negative return in February. Over the past 12 months, all of the TSP Funds, with the exception of the G and L Income Funds, have a negative return. The exceptions are the G Fund with a 12-month return of 3.33%, and the L Income Fund with a 12-month return of 0.74%. Click HERE to read more.

 

New Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) Regulations

/in /by

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final regulation on November 16, 2022, to support enhancing stability and flexibility in the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) by amending when abbreviated underwriting is offered to prospective enrollees and finalizing rules for the suspension of applications for coverage. This Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) provides details about the key provisions in the final regulation. Click HERE to read full letter.

Keeping Your Retirement Plans Close to the Vest

/in /by

I know it’s early in the year. However, I’m also aware that some of you are already thinking about retiring. Good for you!

Because planning ahead is a crucial step in assuring that your transition from employment to retirement is smooth, you need to make sure that you avoid any last-minute bumps in the road. Fortunately, OPM has an excellent pamphlet called Thinking About Retirement, which you can download from their website at http://opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-11.pdf.

In it they recommend that you begin planning a year or more in advance. However, even if you need to compress your schedule to less time than that, the advice they give is still sound.

Although you’ll eventually have to go to your servicing personnel office, for the time being you can shield your intentions from outside view by downloading the forms you need from OPM’s website. For CSRS, you’ll need a Standard Form 2801, Application for Immediate Retirement; for FERS a Standard Form 3107. You can download either of them by going to www.OPM.gov, clicking on Forms, then clicking on Standard Forms and scrolling down to the right form number. Click HERE for full article.

Many Forms Now Obsolete, Don’t Use Them, TSP Says

/in /by

The TSP has issued a notice to agencies, but applying to account holders as well, saying that many of the forms it traditionally used—whether submitted hard copy or electronically—are now obsolete and should not be used.

In most cases those transactions now must be made through the My Account section of tsp.gov as a result of the revised operating system that the TSP launched last summer (and which many account holders say continues to be balky and problematic).

Transactions “using old forms will not be processed. We are also asking for your help in removing all old forms because if a participant submits an obsolete form, they will not hear back from us, and we are unable to process their transaction,” the TSP told agencies.

“New TSP forms are no longer generic and are now barcoded for individual participants,” it added, and agencies should recycle any remaining paper copies and remove links to the prior electronic versions from their websites. Click HERE to read full article.