Life Insurance, Disability and Annuities

[00:00:00] Paula: Hi everyone. This is Paula Okonneh, and I am the podcaster on “Chatting With The Experts”. Which is a podcast for immigrant women and their offspring. Who have moved from the native countries in Africa or the Caribbean to North America, Europe, Australia, or the United Kingdom. In this podcast, we talk about our struggles, and we also focus on the triumphs we’ve had. And today my guest is no different from that. She is a first generation American who lives in Brooklyn. And she is a wealth management professional, who focuses on life insurance, disabilities and annuities. She works with “Northeast Planning Group” and wealth management professionals. And she is licensed in 29 states. Welcome to “Chatting With The Expert”, Sharon Carter. Tell us all about yourself, because I’m excited just hearing about all your credentials.
[00:01:10] Sharon: Well, thank you. Thank you Paula. And thank you for allowing me to be here today. Yes I am a wealth management professional with “Northeast Planning Group”. It’s a firm located in New Hyde Park, New York. And again, like you mentioned, I do focus on the life insurance, disability and annuities sector. Really educating the individual, the family, you know, small business owners, about the power of protection through those vehicles. A lot of us, especially in our community, they’re not very educated or familiar about what these vehicles can do for them. And it’s just really educating them and teaching them the misconceptions that they’ve learned over the years are not gonna serve them if they really wanna create the financial future that they desire.
[00:02:00] Paula: And that’s important, protecting what you do have.
[00:02:02] Sharon: Yes.
[00:02:03] Paula: So, yeah. What do you mean when you say protecting what you do have? Because, You know, from your bio, I realize that you work, you focus on life insurance. Is it life insurance for those who have died and are leaving behind a benefit for the family left behind?
[00:02:19] Sharon: You know, Paula life insurance has evolved over the last 10, 15, 20 years. And you know, that’s how it was years ago. You know many people, I mean, growing up that’s what I thought. It was just, you know, someone got a big lump when someone died. However, there’s something called living benefits, that allows a person to use life insurance while they’re alive. And if they’re going through a life challenge, it could be in their health. You know, if they’re diagnosed with an illness, they can accelerate some of their face amount, their cash value and use the policy while they’re alive. It’s very useful. It’s very flexible in that sense. And you know, I’ve personally seen people use it and benefit from it. And that allows me to share this story with passion because I know it works.
[00:03:08] Paula: Hmm, okay. So you say you’ve seen people use it. Can you give me an example? Like I mean, if someone is in a car accident and they’re the main bread winner, they can’t work for let’s say a year.
[00:03:20] Sharon: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:20] Paula: Say they can use their life insurance.
[00:03:23] Sharon: Yeah, yeah. I knew a couple that was married, the husband was diagnosed with cancer. You know, they had small kids. The wife, the husband had a policy with living benefits. The husband, the wife, excuse me, was able to get $200,000, that allowed them to pay other medical bills. Allowed them to pay their living expenses. Allowed her to stay home and not work during that time. Because when you’re going through an illness, life doesn’t stop, you know. The bills still come, the mortgage still has to be paid, the food, the kids still want to eat. And then also too I thought about that particular couple, there was travel expenses associated with his illness. Because sometimes you have to go to a special clinic in another state, or a special facility in another. Who’s gonna pay for that? Are you gonna mortgage your home to get that money? Are you gonna go get up to the bank and ask for a loan? Not in this economic climate you’re not, you know? So we have to think about what tools and vehicles are available to us and how we can use them to implement in our lives. And like I said, to help us get where we need to be. Because life is gonna happen to each and every one of us. No one knows. I think we’ve all learned it in the last few years with COVID. So it’s better to protect what you have and what’s valuable to you, which is your family.
[00:04:40] Paula: You don’t know what you don’t know. So, you know, definitely learning some things here.
[00:04:45] Sharon: Yeah.
[00:04:46] Paula: All right. So let’s talk about disabilities. How can you say you focus on disabilities? Tell me more about that.
[00:04:53] Sharon: Sure. So disability, you know many people, some people believe in it and some people don’t. I mean, I’ve heard different stories. Disability really is again, is another way of protect, it’s just protecting your income. You know, if something, if you get in an accident, if you fall down the stairs and break your leg and you’re out of work for six weeks, what’s gonna happen? How long can you go without receiving your income? You know what I mean? Those are the questions that individuals need to ask. How long can I survive if I’m out of work for six weeks? How long can I pay the mortgage? How long can I buy food? Those are the things that disability help with, you know. And even, in 1999, my mom and I were in two car accidents in that same year.
[00:05:38] Paula: Wow.
[00:05:38] Sharon: And if it wasn’t for the disability policy that she had, I don’t know how my mother or we would’ve survived. Again, I’ve seen it firsthand, I’ve seen it work.
[00:05:50] Paula: Mm. Wow. Okay. But coming back again to disability. So do you have to be a certain age? Do you have to have worked at a certain, for a certain number of years or months or weeks before you can actually leverage this?
[00:06:04] Sharon: So basically it depends on the carrier that you know, that person has.
[00:06:09] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:10] Sharon: However, with most of them that I’ve seen is that there’s usually like a seven or 14 day elimination period, that means a waiting period before the benefit would kick in.
[00:06:18] Paula: Oh.
[00:06:19] Sharon: So, you know, so usually it’s pretty, you know, it’s pretty, pretty decent. Some kick in the same day the event happens. So again, it depends on the carrier that, that the person.
[00:06:29] Paula: Okay, So people need to be aware of that. They need to ask questions when you’re getting.
[00:06:33] Sharon: Correct.
[00:06:33] Paula: I mean, thanks for clearing that up. As I said, you don’t know what you don’t know.
[00:06:37] Sharon: Yes. That is correct Paula .
[00:06:39] Paula: Okay. And then you, because you mentioned, still talking about disability that you and your mom were in accidents, separate accidents it sounded like. But you were her dependent at that stage, I’m assuming.
[00:06:50] Sharon: Yeah, so basically we were both in the vehicle and we had two accidents in that same year. One was in September, 1999, I was taking her to work, at a conference, she’s a nurse. We were waiting at a red light, and a gentleman in a van came speeding and slammed into us.
[00:07:07] Paula: Oh my gosh.
[00:07:08] Sharon: And in that process when that happened, my mom grabbed for the dashboard.
[00:07:13] Paula: Mm-hmm. .
[00:07:14] Sharon: And when she did that, she tore her rotator cuff.
[00:07:17] Paula: Oh my God.
[00:07:18] Sharon: So then that, you know resulted in her having to have surgery. And was out of work for almost a year. And again, you know because, again if she did. And of course it’s accident, you know we could, you know do the auto insurance and all that stuff. And we did that. However, because there was some unethical police officer at that precinct, the car insurance didn’t pay what they were supposed to. But again, the disability insurance came into play.
[00:07:48] Paula: Wow. Wow, Wow. I mean, you learn, I’m learning something new. And especially, I’m thinking about your mom, she was a nurse at that time.
[00:07:56] Sharon: Yes.
[00:07:57] Paula: You know, so with the sort of injury she had.
[00:08:01] Sharon: She couldn’t use her arm, she couldn’t.
[00:08:03] Paula: Yes.
[00:08:03] Sharon: Well, she couldn’t. It took almost a year for her to get her arm fully all the way back up, Paula.
[00:08:08] Paula: Oh my gosh.
[00:08:09] Sharon: And that’s what we’re talking about. That’s where, again if something happens, it prevents you from doing the job that you normally do. What’s going to, like how long can you go without you know, your income?
[00:08:20] Paula: Those are questions that we need answered. Those are questions that every family needs to think about. You know, it’s not like, okay pray and then you walk out the house. You’ve gotta have these other things. Because we live in a world that things happen. That’s why the word accidents is a part of the dictionary.
[00:08:37] Sharon: Yeah.
[00:08:38] Paula: Because unexpected things happen.
[00:08:40] Sharon: They do. They do. And we’ve seen that in the last two and a half years with Covid.
[00:08:46] Paula: Absolutely. Absolutely. So yeah, another thing is “Annuities”. When I hear the word annuity, that I know a lot of people hear that they’re like, run, this is not for you. What do you say about that?
[00:08:59] Sharon: I’ve heard that before, Paula, I have. However, again like I said, with this climate that we’re in, you know, the up and downs of the market. One of the things I’ve really realized over the last few years, Paula, is when it comes to financial planning for retirement, or financial planning for the future. A lot of people focus very, very heavily on 401k. And I did too, I’m included in this number. However, you know, after life experience for myself and dealing with some clients now. 401ks in this climate, you know, are usually tied to a stock market and mutual funds. And we all know that market’s been going up and down. I have a client, you know, recently, you know, her portfolio, she almost lost 25%. She woke up and boom, almost 25% is gone. What do you do in that case? You know I got a call, she wanted some help and assistance and we found a great annuity for her that protects her money, right? You know, they’re in their fifties, they don’t have time to waste. Whatever they’ve accumulated they need to protect that going forward. Because they’re not 20 years old, they’re not 25. And you know, I’ve put her in a position now that, you know, her money’s going to grow. They’re not gonna lose what they’ve already accumulated. And then, you know, they have the benefit of collecting money every year for the rest of their life after 10 years. And they can access up to 10% of that money if they need to. So it’s a win-win for that client.
[00:10:42] Paula: Hmm. It’s a win-win for that client. So is there cash surrender value that goes along with their annuity? Can they, how soon can they cash it in? Because those are the things that scare people. Especially as you said, they’re in their fifties or they’re in their sixties. They don’t have the luxury of time to say, okay, right, I can start afresh. Because age is counting against them.
[00:11:03] Sharon: Correct. That is correct. So this particular product, like I said, it’s guaranteed. And for 10 years you invest your money, right? You can access up to 10% of that year, that money every year. So if you need some, you can access it, right? However, after those 10 years, then you know what you’re getting income every year till the day you die. You get a certain amount of money that’s being paid to you every year till you pass away. That is a form of income, right?
[00:11:35] Paula: That is a form of income. I think a lot of people, older people, Oh, most seasoned people, I like to say, need to hear that to be reassured. Because it is a scary world. When you know I don’t have that amount of time, I’m getting older. I mean things are changing in the world. And many, many years ago, let me backtrack it. Many years ago, people sometimes had children because they felt, Oh, when I’m old, my children would look after me. Young people of these days have their own agenda. You cannot depend upon them to say they are my insurance or my legacy. You know, you’ve gotta be prepared.
[00:12:12] Sharon: That is correct.
[00:12:12] Paula: And the only way to be prepared is to educate yourself, and that’s why we have Sharon here. One of the reasons. Well, so you know, I think we did this kind of back, I was so impressed by your credentials I went straight into that. I didn’t even ask you, so your first generation American? How come your parents came here to better themselves or they came here to, you know why are you first generation American?
[00:12:41] Sharon: So, good question Paula. So my parents migrated to the US in 1971. My dad came here in January of that year, to be specific. He came on a student visa. So he was working in construction in Barbados. And one of the gentlemen that he was working with said that, you know, he’s very good learner, doing great work, you should think about studying abroad. So he applied to a school in London, and then he applied to a school here in America. He said he never heard from the one in London, and then America came through. So he was like, well America it is. So that’s why he came here. He studied architecture. He’s an architect. He really created a great career for himself in that space. And then my mom came here in September of 1971. And she came on a vacation visa, Paula. Her sisters were already here. She wanted to see what this America was like, you know. Everybody, you know, back then in the seventies, America, America, that was, you know the thing of the time at that moment.
[00:13:44] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:13:44] Sharon: And she came here really to see what it’s about. She came here and actually got a job. She, her first job was at Honeywell here in the United States. And she ended up staying. So that’s how they got here.
[00:13:57] Paula: And here we are.
[00:13:58] Sharon: And here we are.
[00:14:00] Paula: What does England’s loss was America’s gain, right?
[00:14:03] Sharon: There you go. Right. There you go. There you go.
[00:14:05] Paula: Oh okay. All right. Like a lot of immigrants I’ve heard who said, Well, you know, even though we are first generation America. Once we walked into the door of our houses, we became, or we were in little, whatever the country their parents were from, you know?
[00:14:20] Sharon: Yeah.
[00:14:20] Paula: Did that apply to you? You know like, they would tell you, like in this house you’re in Barbados. When you go out the door, you could be an American, but in this house you’re
[00:14:29] Sharon: Bajan.
[00:14:29] Sharon: Yes, that is true, that is true. You know, discipline in the Caribbean is different from discipline in America. When you’re disciplining your children. And in my case, in our house, it was discipline like Barbados. So yes, that did apply to us.
[00:14:47] Paula: Oh boy. Oh boy. All right. So you went to high school here.
[00:14:51] Sharon: Yes.
[00:14:51] Paula: You know, were you, did you always want to go into finance or was that something that you know just happened?
[00:14:58] Sharon: No, you know, that’s a good question. When I left high school, started college, my undergrad was in political science. My intention was to be a lawyer. That was what I was thinking. I actually, you know, got the LSAT book and was, you know, and all that stuff. And then I had a conversation, I guess a heart to heart with my grandmother. And she says, You know, you’re not a very good liar, Sharon. I don’t know if you’re gonna make it in that field. She was very frank kind of person. So Kind of, you know, took to heart what she said. And you know, after getting my undergrad, I decided to get my MBA in finance. So I was working in accounting after college and I was like, you know what, to go far in this industry, I’m probably definitely going to need an MBA. So that’s why I returned to school.
[00:15:41] Paula: Okay. And I can hear from the enthusiasm in your voice, no regrets.
[00:15:46] Sharon: No, no regrets.
[00:15:48] Paula: Well, something we talked about before coming on air, or on podcasts, on audio. Was you know how in our community we don’t really understand the power of money. And you know, all the, or how money can be used. We tend to, you know believe that you know, if you have money, whether it’s good, but you’re going to spend it. So you spend it on things that you like, things that you want for your children. Of course, we have a lot of extended families, so we help our family members to better themselves. But we don’t understand that money can be a vessel, right? A tool.
[00:16:25] Sharon: It’s a tool.
[00:16:26] Paula: It’s tool. It’s a tool.Yeah. And so, I’m so happy that you went into finance, because you’re serving your people. You’re serving a lot of people by, you know, being able to educate them on the tools, on why money is a tool. Which we talked earlier on about life insurance, about disability, and about annuities, you know? And there’s something you said that, coming back again to life insurance, is that if you ensure your phone, why won’t you ensure your life?
[00:16:59] Sharon: It’s true, Paula. I mean many of us, including myself, we all have insurance on our cell phones. However, not everybody has insurance on their lives. They don’t have the protection in place to protect what they’ve worked so hard to accumulate, right?
[00:17:13] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:13] Sharon: So, you know, you’re more, much more important than your phone. You’re much more important than your phone.
[00:17:20] Paula: Thank you, say that a third time.
[00:17:22] Sharon: You are much more important than your phone.
[00:17:26] Paula: Sure.
[00:17:26] Sharon: Right. So we have to think about the disconnect, where’s the disconnect? Why do you see your phone as more valuable than your life you know? And again it’s back to the mindset that we have about life insurance. You know, I’d grown up, I heard all kinds of conversations. Well, they just take your money and all. They take your money and you not get. No, no, no, the money that you pay into it is yours. And if you have a cash value accumulation policy, that is your money that you can access for whatever reason that you need.
[00:18:00] Paula: If you have a cash value policy in place, that’s your money. A lot of our people don’t know that. They also don’t understand that, you know, as you said, life insurance is not to make sure that you are dead, that you are, someone inherit it. It’s to protect you.
[00:18:20] Sharon: Yeah.
[00:18:21] Paula: It’s to protect you.
[00:18:22] Sharon: Medical costs are through the roof now, Paula. They are through the roof.
[00:18:27] Paula: Yes.
[00:18:27] Sharon: And mostly if something happens to be. I mean, right now I have a family member going through something very similar.
[00:18:34] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:34] Sharon: You know, and medical costs have accumulated and accumulated. Where is this money coming from? You know, are you gonna wipe out your life savings to pay for a medical expense?
[00:18:46] Paula: Right?
[00:18:47] Sharon: I think not, you know? I think not.
[00:18:49] Paula: Yeah. Yeah. People need to put that in perspective. And you know, and that’s something that needs to be discussed so that, you know, we can pass that on to our younger generation. Because what they don’t know, as I said before, they don’t know. And it’s up to us to teach them, to educate them, to make them be aware. So that they in turn can start understanding that this is a tool. It’s not for consumerism. It’s not for just to go and buy stuff. It’s to learn how to use it properly. To ensure that you have a future, and your children, your offspring have a future too.
[00:19:27] Sharon: Correct. It’s about where can you put your money to grow better for you, You know? Whereas, you know, some carriers that I write for, they have, they get over 5% return on their whole life policies. If you put your money in the bank, you’re not gonna get that return right now Paula. Not with the current way that the economic climate is. So instead of putting, you know, $150 in a bank account, why don’t you open a policy and put it over there? You’re gonna get a greater return there anyway, right?
[00:19:57] Paula: Yes, absolutely.
[00:19:59] Sharon: So, you know let’s, again it’s where can you get the most value for your dollar?
[00:20:06] Paula: “ROI”, Return On Investment.
[00:20:08] Sharon: Exactly.
[00:20:09] Paula: Well, you know, a lot of us don’t think that an insurance company can do that for us. We think more of stocks. We think more of
[00:20:18] Sharon: Mutual funds.
[00:20:19] Paula: Mutual funds. Can you explain? Yeah. You know, tell us more about that. Because I don’t think too many people, my generation for one, know that.
[00:20:27] Sharon: Well and that’s a good point Paula. See stocks and mutual funds they’re great. And I have nothing against, you know, I don’t invest in stocks personally. And it is not because of that I don’t want to, It’s just again, I really didn’t see anybody doing it growing up. So I don’t have the, I guess the knowledge or the full belief that, you know, whereas with life insurance I’ve seen or real estate I’ve seen. Things that are more tangible I’ve seen. However, with stocks and mutual funds, there’s no protection for the downside. However, with life insurance or even annuities, there’s protection for the downside. You know, with index universal life policies, there’s something called a “floor”. That means the money you put in, if the floor is zero, it would never go below what you’ve invested. Whereas with, again back to my client, 25% of her 401k was gone. Because 401ks, again, they don’t have protection for the downside. But annuities do. So again, it’s with financial planning and really gearing up for the future and preparing for the future. I’m a big believer in diversification of your assets.
[00:21:44] Paula: Yeah.
[00:21:44] Sharon: You know, put some here, put some there. You have to put your money in different vehicles that can work for you, in case when if one vehicle goes down, you’ve got protection on this side. You know what I mean?
[00:21:55] Paula: Yes, absolutely. I mean, many years ago, of course our parents’ generation weren’t so financial savvy. But we used to hear this, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
[00:22:05] Sharon: That’s it.
[00:22:05] Paula: It’s still is relevant today.
[00:22:07] Sharon: That’s, that’s it Paula, old age, that old age wisdom .
[00:22:11] Paula: Yes. Old age from our grandmothers.
[00:22:13] Sharon: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:22:14] Paula: You know?
[00:22:15] Sharon: Yeah.
[00:22:19] Paula: You’re such an amazing guest. So before we wrap up, I know you are an avid reader.
[00:22:26] Sharon: Yes.
[00:22:26] Paula: And again we said, you don’t know what you don’t know. So can you share some books or some resources with my guests so that they can, you know, learn something. Because we learn, or we should be open to learning something new every day. Education is more than just going to school. Sometimes education is a change of your mind. Mindset changes, you know.
[00:22:49] Sharon: That’s very.
[00:22:50] Paula: So, any books that you can recommend?
[00:22:53] Sharon: Yes, I do. First off, I love anything, John Maxwell. One of my favorite books from him is “Failing Forward”. And I highlight that book because, you know, most of us in life have failed in many years, we’ve made mistakes. We’ve made multiple mistakes. Or learning lessons, I like to call them. We’ve had learning lessons, right? And if we don’t take the time to reframe how we view failure, that will hinder us. And that book is a very good tool on helping an individual reframe failure.
[00:23:27] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:28] Sharon: So that’s a, one of the why I highlighted that book. Another book that I love is, “No Matter What” by Lisa Nichols. It’s really a book that I love. It’s about determination, perseverance. Really, that having that mindset, no matter what, I am gonna succeed. I really love that book. Also to “The Fourth Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruez. That’s a very good book. And I like that book because, one of the agreements is about not taking things personal. And Paula being a woman of color. Being a first generation American. Being a daughter of immigrants. When I worked in corporate America, I really experienced a great deal of challenges. One of the key things I learned is though, is you’ve really got to get to a place where your mindset is you don’t take things personal. Because at the end of the day, whatever a person says or does to you is really not about you. It’s more about them.
[00:24:24] Paula: Sure.
[00:24:25] Sharon: And that book is such a great tool for anyone, whether young or old, to help reframe your mind and your thinking on when people, you know, do things that get you upset or do things or say things that hurt you. You know, and not allowing that to take it personal. Cause if you take it personal every single time, you’re gonna have a hard time in this life. You’re gonna have a real , a real hard time.
[00:24:50] Paula: Yeah, that’s so true.
[00:24:52] Sharon: So, and then another good book is “Tax Free Retirement” by Patrick Kelly. That is a great informational book about life insurance for those who really wanna dive into. That’s a great place to start. And then I do have some YouTube links that I will share with you so you can share with your audience.
[00:25:12] Paula: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:13] Sharon: About using life insurance for real estate investing. Using life insurance for education. Using life insurance, again while you’re life.
[00:25:21] Paula: Wow, that sounds very beneficial. You know, using life insurance for education, for real estate.
[00:25:27] Sharon: Yes.
[00:25:27] Paula: How many of us knew that. Not too many.
[00:25:30] Sharon: No, not too many. Yeah, not too many.
[00:25:33] Paula: Sharon, where can we find you online. So that even though we have all these resources, we can reach you directly?
[00:25:38] Sharon: So you can find me on LinkedIn “@SharonCarterMBA”. You can find me on Instagram, “@IamSharonPCarter”. And you can find me on Facebook at “Sharon the resource”.
[00:25:49] Paula: I like that. Sharon the resource. It says it all.
[00:25:52] Sharon: There you go. That’s my goal, to be a resource .
[00:25:54] Paula: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. About helping people. We help our people. By helping people, we help ourselves, you know?
[00:26:01] Sharon: That is correct, correct. You know, and as you light somebody else’s path, you’re lighting yours at the same time.
[00:26:07] Paula: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. We can’t change if we are not making changes, right?
[00:26:11] Sharon: Right. That’s exactly true.
[00:26:13] Paula: Oh my gosh. I’m so sad that this has to come to an end. But you know folks, we’ve given you all the resources on how you can get in touch with her. Sharon has shared her the resources and books that she’s read that has helped her, and I’m sure helped some of her clients. And so if you also, my awesome listeners. If you would love to be a guest on “Chatting With The Experts”. Or you know, of someone whose mom immigrated from the Carribean or Africa and now live in North America or Europe or England or any part of the UK or Australia. Please head over to my website, which is “www.chattingwithexperts.com”. Go to my contact page and drop me a note. And if you really have love what you heard please go to “Apple Podcasts”, “Google Podcasts”, or wherever else you listen to podcasts and click subscribe, and also follow us. And if you love what you heard which as I know you did, drop us a note telling us how much you enjoyed Sharon Carter’s episode. I know I enjoyed it and I’m sure you did too. Thank you, Sharon.
[00:27:23] Sharon: Thank you, Paula. Thank you again.
[00:27:25] Paula: This has been absolutely amazing. That’s one of my favorite words. Amazing.