What's New in Small Business Benefits Plans for 2002Written by Tony Novak
This is a great year if you are self-employed or work for a small business. A number of new money-saving strategies are available to cut income taxes, medical costs, insurance costs and investment fees. PPO BENEFITS EXPANDED - All U.S. short term medical plans now offer option of utilizing a nationwide Preferred Provider Network (PPO) for discounts and claim processing. The PPO network is PHCS, recently listed as highest rated private PPO plan by Consumer Reports Magazine (Oct. 2001). Previously this benefit was only available on more expensive permanent health plans but now is attached to most affordable health insurance plans. This means that there is no longer any need to manually submit claims when using a participating provider. Claims are automatically submitted by participating provider. This also means that members will receive a cash savings from their health plan even if total medical expenses do not ever reach policy deductible. This is an optional feature; policies still cover services from all medical providers nationwide and in Canada. MSA INVESTMENT OPTIONS EXPANDED - Self-directed Medical Savings Account plans with balances over $1000 may now be invested in virtually any investment same as a self-directed IRA account. There are literally thousands of investment possibilities for every plan participant. MSA health plans are now available in most states, but they are priced attractively to only about 40% of small businesses nationwide. THE FIRST NO-FEE 401(k) PLANS - Thanks to most recent tax law changes combined with cost efficiency of Internet-based financial service providers, now any business can offer a 401(k) at no cost to either employer or plan participants. Even sole proprietors are eligible. In most cases small businesses with other types of retirement plans – especially SEP, SIMPLE, SARSEP – should now consider switching to a 401(k). These plans utilize entirely online account administration giving 24/7 access to your investment account.
| | FOCUSWritten by Jean R. Charles
Are you looking back with regret at all of things you did not accomplish in past year? Instead of doing that, look forward to what you will accomplish in this new year, by being focused. Focus is one of most important ingredients in successful goal achievement.Formulate your goals. “Begin with end in mind”, Steven Covey. If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know when you get there? When you focus you see what is important and you can concentrate on it. What you focus on will expand – if you focus on negative you will see more negatives. Race car drivers are trained to never look at wall, or that’s where their vehicle will go. Focus on your positive outcomes and don’t be distracted by negatives. Optimize your resources. Focus concentrates your attention, making you much more effective at accomplishing your goals. It reduces impact of distraction and energizes your performance. Think of light as it is normally scattered – it illuminates. When light shines through a magnifying glass, rays become more focused and generate enough energy to start a fire. Clarify your intentions. Think of what happens to image as you set a camera properly. It goes from a fuzzy blur to a crystal clear picture. Clearly focusing on your goals gives a vision over long term. Focus frees you to take natural and progressive steps to achieve your goals. You can be responsive to your environment and make choices in moment. Focusing on a clear vision defines a direction without dictating path.
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