Category Archives: Business Reports

By Renee Walrath

With the 2024 election drawing near, political tensions have increased and will only grow stronger over the upcoming months. Many Americans are bracing for these divisive political conversations, at home and work. 

Although there are always going to be some employees who are eager to share their opinions, a recent study found that over half of workers try to avoid having any discussion of politics in the workplace. That same survey concluded that 51 percent of workers believed that political discussions in the workplace hurt the work environment. 

While it should go without saying that the workplace is not an ideal place to have these conversations, it is unrealistic to expect discussions regarding political concerns not to crop up over the next several months. To help navigate political discourse in a professional environment, companies should be proactive in their approach. Ensure there are clear guidelines and expectations put in place to limit or eliminate any excessive political disruptions. Consider these practical recommendations to effectively navigate political conversations in the workplace. 

First and foremost, establishing clear policies or boundaries is essential. Formalizing policies set a framework of how conversations should be conducted to ensure no ostracizing of employees. 

By David M. Kopyc, CRPC

The largest wealth transfer in the history of mankind will take place over the next three decades.  It is estimated to be in excess of 80 trillion dollars.  How will the Gen X and millennials manage this type of wealth and will they be able to work through the options they will need to take to protect these assets and minimize tax liability.

This transfer of wealth will take decades to play out, so most families will have time to take action to develop a plan to maximize their wealth transfer possibly for generations to come.  It is critical to have discussions on how this wealth can be utilized for all the future events that will take place in your family’s lives (weddings, college education, charitable intent, future income sources, etc.).

Regardless how big your pot of gold may be, you need to develop an estate plan.  A simple Will and beneficiary forms are important, but most of us will probably need to have a Trust or multiple Trusts.  Probate is expensive and if you want your money to follow your bloodline, there are options and strategies to take to accomplish this.

There are too many situations with families that ended badly because there was a lack of communication between the family members. It is critical that heirs have open, honest discussions about what they would like from the estate so conflicts do not arise.  While these conversations may be difficult and uncomfortable, it’s better to have your wishes known so there is absolutely no misunderstanding.

By Sara Mannix

I belong to a group of leaders who are utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) every day to make their work more effective and more efficient in an ethically responsible way. We have used AI to create flyers, design presentations, write software code, debug code, and even create movies. And at Mannix Marketing we have built CustomGPTs that perform functions based on our own knowledge bases and rules, and we have discussed and drawn up guidelines about the ethical use of AI. 

We have reached the point where if you aren’t using AI in your work, then you are falling behind your competitors who have mastered using the latest breakthrough technology. 

The good news is that it isn’t hard to get started and become familiar with some AI tools that can make your life easier. One of the simplest ways to get started with AI is to use ChatGPT.com, a tool that can provide detailed answers in a conversation-like format (its responses build upon the questions and answers that precede them, so no need to start from scratch as a conversation is in progress, or even if you need to come back to it). Here are a few simple ways I have used ChatGPT or other AI tools to help you think about how you can use them.  

The first way most people use ChatGPT is to help them with their writing. We caution our clients not to use ChatGPT to write their website content as it is usually too generic to rank well in search engines. Instead, we recommend that you use ChatGPT to edit and refine content and brainstorm content ideas. I’ve used AI to refresh articles, inject new ideas, rewrite social media posts, and make content more concise, helping to ensure it’s engaging and up-to-date.

This past week, I had a list of client testimonials that I wanted to organize by industry. I created a list of top-level categories and asked ChatGPT to come up with subcategories for each based on my client list. Then, I asked ChatGPT to organize the client testimonials by category and subcategories. This took less than 10 minutes of back and forth with ChatGPT, and it had properly organized 200 testimonials. If done by hand, this would have taken at least three hours.

By Rob Snell

As you save for retirement, you’ll want to take full advantage of the investment vehicles available to you — and one of the best is a Roth IRA. But what sets it apart from other accounts?

Three key factors distinguish the Roth IRA:

• Tax-free earnings – When you invest in a Roth IRA, your earnings can grow tax free, provided you don’t begin taking withdrawals until you’re 59½ and you’ve had your account at least five years. If you don’t meet these criteria, withdrawals of earnings will be subject to taxes and a possible 10 percent penalty. 

• No penalties on withdrawals of contributions – You fund a Roth IRA with after-tax dollars, which means you can withdraw your contributions — not the earnings — at any time for any reason, without facing taxes or penalties. So, you could use some of your Roth IRA money for non-retirement purposes, such as helping pay for a child’s college education.

• No required withdrawals at age 73 – With a traditional IRA or a 401(k), you must start taking withdrawals — called required minimum distributions, or RMDs — once you reach 73. But this rule doesn’t apply to a Roth IRA — you can keep it intact as long as you like. You may need to tap into it for some of your retirement income, but if you don’t use it all, the remainder could benefit your beneficiaries. 

A Roth IRA does share one similarity to a traditional IRA: It can be funded with virtually any type of investment, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit (CDs) and so on.

Brian M. Johnson, MBA, CLTC

It’s no secret that Long-Term Care services such as In-Home Care, Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing can be financially devastating. Depending on the need, these costs can easily surpass $10,000-$15,000 per month.  The high cost means that not everyone will be able to get professional care. In those cases, who will provide care and what does that mean for those care providers? Today’s care environment is both a challenge for giving and receiving care. Whether by necessity or preference – care is often provided by loved ones (informal, unlicensed) at home.  

According to “Long-Term Care in America: Americans want to age at home” and a 2020 study by AARP, 88 percent of Americans would prefer to receive ongoing living assistance as they stay at home, 70 percent of people who provide care do so out of necessity, and 21 percent of Americans are currently caregivers.  As the Baby Boom generation ages, these numbers are only going to increase.  

According to “Caregiving in the U.S., AARP, 2020,” 36 percent of caregivers report high emotional stress and more than half of caregivers report financial strain from caregiving.  This includes an end or pause to saving for their own future, taking on more debt, using personal savings and paying bills late or sometimes not paying them at all.  In a 2018 report by the Harvard Business School, it’s estimated that if a caregiver is of working age, there is a 32 percent chance he or she will have to leave the workforce all together due to their caregiving responsibilities.  If a caregiver remains employed, his or her work often suffers as they are typically tired, stressed and not able to fully concentrate on their job.

So what are our solutions?  There’s no “silver bullet” here, but there are tools that can help Americans finance their potential need for care so they’re not a burden to those they love.  

Medicare and Medicaid

Pros: It’s a government funded program.   

Cons: The system is difficult to navigate and getting more restrictive.  Medicare generally only covers acute care on a short-term basis (less than 100-days). Medicaid typically pays for care in a nursing home and requires an individual to financially qualify.  

BY DAVE KOPYC

Eventually in life we must face the reality of building out our own personal retirement plan for the golden years. We live in a society today where most of us will not have a pension benefit from our employer and we will have to take our life’s savings to create a paycheck once we lose the employer’s weekly or biweekly payment we receive in our working years.

For some of you that are reading this article it will send a chill up your spine with anxiety to think that this daunting task can be handled with great concern and respect for you, the individual that is receiving the payment and it is specific to you and your individual needs. The cookie cutter approach where you are grouped into an investment or specific type of investment program can cause you to lose some of the personal touch that you may have had during your accumulation years.

Retirement income distribution is probably the most important decision you will make in your pre- and post-retirement years. There have been many different strategies and concepts to accomplish retirement income in my 42 years of being in the financial services industry, and every strategy has pros and cons and should be specific to you and your family – no matter what the strategy may be. It is critical that 100 percent of your hard-earned assets do not go into any investment program. Diversification is your friend and low cost and flexibility follow closely behind.

For many years we have had very little opportunity in yields that are sufficient to pay your bills and protect your principal. That is not the case now and we have investments that exceed 5 percent as I write this article, and having money market accounts that are approximately the same rate with liquidity and flexibility to get to the assets. Risk assets was a choice that was selected by a lot of individuals because of the financial markets and the circumstances we were in with the Federal Reserve and the prolonged low interest rate environment. Most individuals that wanted safety and guarantees had very few choices, so they gravitated to risk assets. That is not the situation today and you need to be aware of the opportunities that exist.

By Martin Patrick, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

As we approach the start of the new year, key updates to the way you manage your business payroll are on the horizon. Here’s a closer look at four of these changes and how they will affect both employers and employees.

1. Salary Threshold for Certain Wage Protections:

On March 13, 2024, the salary threshold for certain wage protections will increase from $900 to $1,300 per week. 

Right now, employers are exempt from some requirements when employing workers in executive, administrative, or professional capacities and whose earnings exceed $900 per week.

These include paying clerical or other workers “not less frequently than semi-monthly;” obtaining the advance, written consent of employees before paying wages via direct deposit; and being guilty of a misdemeanor for failing to provide benefits or wage supplements within 30 days after they are due.

The exemption from these requirements will now apply to employees with earnings that exceed $1,3000 per week.

Employers should review their current payroll practices and make any adjustments to help ensure compliance. For example, an employer could increase employee compensation to meet the new threshold or ensure that employees below the threshold are no longer exempt from these employer obligations.

By Paul Post 

The U.S. should have no trouble weathering a mild recession if one occurs, but inflation, a national labor shortage, and skyrocketing debt coupled with high interest rates are major causes for concern.

 That’s what a leading financial analyst told more than 200 people gathered for a recent Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce event at the Queensbury Hotel.

 Ken Entenmann is senior vice president, chief investment officer and chief economist for Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Wealth Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and business management from Cornell University, an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester’s William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, and oversees more than $9 billion in assets under management and administration in trust, custody, retirement, institutional and individual accounts.

 His presentation, supported by detailed graphics, was entitled, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?: Waiting for the Imminent Recession That Has Yet to Happen.”

 “Whether we have a recession or not, I don’t think is the relevant question,” Entenmann said. “Things are slowing, but because consumer and corporate balance sheets are relatively strong, I think we’ll weather a recession. I’m concerned because I think it’s fair to say Washington right now is dysfunctional, and the likelihood that they’re going to tackle some of the bigger problems like Medicaid and Social Security is small. Therefore, I think those problems are going to linger.”

 Since 2007, national debt has more than tripled from $9 trillion to $33 trillion.

 “Then the chickens came home to roost,” Entenman said.

 While debt was growing exponentially interest rates remained low, but have since gone up 550 basis points, meaning this year’s interest payments on debt will total about $800 billion and likely reach nearly $1 trillion in the next few years, or 8 percent of the federal budget.

 “Why is that important? Because it sucks the life out of an economy when all that money is going to pay off debt,” he said.