09-13-18 Columns

How can life insurance help you? You may not be aware of it, but September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. Of course, you probably recognize, at least in a general sense, the importance of life insurance, but do you know the various ways in which it can help you? Life insurance can play a sizable role in your ability to achieve some important financial goals, such as these: Helping your family maintain its lifestyle – If you are married and have young children at home, you and your spouse may need to work. If you were no longer around and your earnings were gone, could your family still afford to live as they do now? Adequate life insurance can help them preserve their lifestyle. Helping your children continue their education – Even if you weren’t planning to foot the entire bill for your children’s college education, you still might be doing what you can, such as contributing to a 529 education savings plan. If your income was lost, could your family still afford to continue these contributions? With enough life insurance, you can improve the chances that your children will at least get some financial help for college or vocational training. Helping your survivors pay off debts – Are all your debts paid off? If not, you could be leaving your family on the hook for some of them, such as credit cards and car loans – not to mention your mortgage. Also, as uncomfortable as it may be to consider it, funeral and burial costs can easily run into the thousands. The proceeds of your life insurance policy can help pay down debts, handle your final expenses – and relieve your family of costly burdens. Helping your spouse build resources for retirement – It’s almost impossible for most of us to save too much for retirement. Your spouse may already have some retirement accounts, such as a 401(k) and an IRA, but will these be enough to sustain a long retirement? Through life insurance, you can potentially add significant amounts to your spouse’s retirement assets. As we’ve seen, you can accomplish a lot with life insurance. But how much do you need? If you want the appropriate amount of coverage, you should consider a variety of factors. How much do you earn? How much does your spouse earn? How many children do you have? How old are they? How much do you owe on your home? By answering these and other, similar questions, you can arrive at a coverage level that’s suitable for your needs. Also, keep in mind that those needs will change – for example, if your children are grown and you’ve downsized your living arrangements, you may require less insurance than at earlier times in your life. Life Insurance Awareness Month is a good time to remind yourself of the importance of insurance and of the need to own the correct amount. So, review your coverage soon – after all, you can’t predict the future, but you can still prepare for it. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones is a licensed insurance producer in all states and Washington, D.C., through Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., and in California, New Mexico and Massachusetts through Edward Jones Insurance Agency of California, L.L.C.; Edward Jones Insurance Agency of New Mexico, L.L.C.; and Edward Jones Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, L.L.C.

Stopping Chronic Wasting Disease Michigan has adopted new regulations and laws to help stop the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) — a deadly neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose. CWD poses a serious threat to our deer population and a hunting industry that supports Michigan outdoor recreation and contributes over $2 billion annually to our economy.

To date, over 31,000 deer in Michigan have been tested for CWD, and it has been confirmed in 60 deer. There is no cure, and an infected deer can live with CWD for years and spread it through contact with other animals. The rules include limits on lures, restrictions on transporting deer carcasses in some counties, and a ban on baiting and feeding in an expanded 16-county CWD Management Zone that includes nearby Ottawa, Kent and Calhoun counties.

People can begin hunting deer in Indiana reduction zones on Sept. 15 and as a part of our state’s liberty and early antlerless hunts on Sept. 22-23. I want to remind area hunters that the law now prohibits hunters from bringing certain parts of an animal carcass from out of state. The law was enacted to guard against exposing Michigan’s deer to CWD brought in from out-of-state sources.

For more information on CWD, visit www.michigan.gov/cwd. Hunting guides, featuring all current rules and regulations, can be found at www.michigan.gov/hunting. I encourage hunters to help stop this devastating disease, preserve our wild game population and protect our hunting heritage by having their deer checked. Check stations can be found at www.michigan.gov/deercheck.

As always, I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback on the important issues facing Michigan. You can contact me at 517-373-6960.

Remembering 9/11 We must never forget Most of us remember the terror we felt on September 11, 2001, at the events at World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and on a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Like most of you, I can still feel the raw emotion I felt that day while witnessing the pain and destruction that took nearly 3,000 innocent lives. Even before the dust had settled, first responders rushed in to help the survivors, performed countless acts of heroism, and comforted the loved ones of those lost.

I also remember how our nation came together in a show of support and solidarity – united to help by sending trained personnel, food, and prayers to those in the affected areas.

We have rebuilt and learned from this tragedy. We restored the Pentagon, added the Flight 93 National Memorial as part of the National Park Service in Pennsylvania, and the One World Trade Center stands in Lower Manhattan as a symbol of American resilience.

It is important to honor the lives lost on September 11th and the many brave men and women who fought and continue to fight the war on terror.

We must never forget. Even after 17 years, let us remember that we are all friends, neighbors, and Americans.

To learn more information on important legislative issues, please visit my website: upton.house.gov or call my offices in Kalamazoo (269-385-0039), St. Joseph/Benton Harbor (269-982-1986), or Washington, D.C. (202-225-3761).

Combating PFAS In the past year, the Legislature has taken a number of proactive measures to identify and address chemical contamination in Michigan. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals widely used throughout the United States since the 1950s. They can be found in products such as firefighting foams, food packaging and cleaning products. We now know the chemicals easily transfer through soil into groundwater. We took action to secure $60 million to help local families affected by PFAS contamination and allow the state to respond quickly and effectively to future reports of contamination. Some highlights include: Funding to conduct a statewide study of PFAS levels in public water supplies. The $1.7 million survey is the first of its kind in the nation. In addition to public water systems, 461 schools that operate their own wells will be considered priority testing sites under the program. Roughly 75 percent of the state’s drinking water comes from public systems. The goal is to complete this statewide study by the end of 2018. Funding for up to 18 experts dedicated to providing testing, monitoring and technical assistance at sites across Michigan where PFAS have been found in groundwater. This will help ensure the state can respond quickly to reports of PFAS contamination, provide the testing needed to confirm and address contamination. About $1.5 million dedicated to improving the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s water testing laboratory, which was not equipped to test for PFAS. Upgrading the state’s lab will give Michigan families timely, reliable results. These actions have helped make Michigan the national standard when it comes to PFAS contamination and I promise you we will not take our foot off the gas.

Infant Safe Sleep The month of September is Infant Safe Sleep Month and a good time to recognize that infant deaths due to unsafe sleep are a leading cause of death among babies less than one year old in Michigan. From 2010-2014 there were 712 sleep-related infant deaths or a rate of 1.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. Sadly, Berrien County has a sleep-related infant death rate of 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births – far greater than the overall rate in Michigan. Sleep-related infant deaths are those where the sleep environment was likely to have contributed to the death, including deaths due to SIDS, SUIDS, and suffocation. Babies can easily suffocate while sleeping in adult beds, sharing a bed with an adult or child, sleeping on furniture, and sleeping with pillows, cushions, and blankets. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants: Sleep in a safety-approved crib, bassinet, or portable crib with a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet; sleep on surfaces separate from adults or other children free of blankets, pillows, or toys; be placed on his or her back for sleep every time. Besides safe sleep practices, other factors that may decrease the risk of sleep-related infant death include: breastfeeding, pacifier use at sleep time, and caregiver avoidance of smoking, alcohol, and illicit drug use while caring for an infant. Other recommendations include encouraging supervised “tummy time” to help your baby build strong neck and shoulder muscles. Also, make sure everyone caring for your baby knows these guidelines, including babysitters, friends, and family members. There are many resources available to the general public, parents, families, professionals, and caregivers of infants. Parents, professionals, and more can visit www.michigan.gov/ safesleep for more information.