"Jews for Jesus Development Department Monthly Newsletter" David Stone, Jews for Jesus from San Francisco, California, United States for Monday, July 18, 2016

"Jews for Jesus Development Department Monthly Newsletter" David Stone, Jews for Jesus from San Francisco, California, United States for Monday, July 18, 2016
Shalom to you, our partners in ministry. It is an honor to share with you the latest news from Washington, Savvy Living, Personal Planning, gift stories, finance news, and timely articles.
There are no "asks" in this eNewsletter as it is designed totally to be a helpful service to you. Feel free to share it with others in your family or your friends. If you would like me to send it directly to them please send me their email address.
This information is put together in a way to be a help in understanding what is happening in our economy so you can use it to your best advantage. I hope this information is useful to you.
If you have any questions or I can be of assistance to you please contact me.

David Stone

Director of Donor Relations

PERSONAL PLANNER
Integrity and Initiative
Pat and Allen were talking about their three children. They are empty nesters and the three children are off making their way in the world.
Pat: "I've been thinking about our three children. They are all doing fine, but we want to make sure that the inheritance we give them helps them to be better people. The inheritance some of our friends gave to their children was substantial, but the children just didn't use it very well. In fact, when an uncle of mine passed away, the inheritance was used very poorly by his children."
Allen: "But how do we make sure that the inheritance for our children leads to a good result? We need to do some research to make sure that our plan works effectively."
Pat and Allen did their homework. They read articles and spoke with several advisors, seeking wisdom. The result of their study is an inheritance plan that helps the child to be a better person. It is summarized as the "Integrity and Initiative" or "twin I's plan."
Goals of Parents
Your primary goal as a parent is to help each child be a successful person—not just financially, but also in his or her career, family life and social status. While attorneys and CPAs are trained to help you transfer property to children, a good inheritance plan is much more than just transferring property. As Pat noted, there are many plans that are successful in transferring property but lead to a very bad result.
Yes, a successful plan transfers property. But good planning transfers it at the right time, the right way and in the right amount so that it achieves a good result. While a good result cannot be guaranteed, the "Integrity and Initiative" plan will increase the probability of that favorable result.
Time to Learn
Principle one of the twin I's plan is to spread the resources out over time. This gives children some time to learn.
Parents have usually acquired an estate over 20, 30 or even 40 years. If you ask a person of retirement age to recall their early years, they will frequently share stories about the challenges they faced. For most people of retirement age, those challenges were financial "bumps in the road" that were very educational. Without that education, they would not have been as successful in life or in their finances.
Children who will receive a substantial inheritance also need time to learn. An inheritance can be stretched over a period of time. This may enhance the overall probability that the inheritance will facilitate development of integrity and initiative.
A good "Integrity and Initiative" plan could transfer property in four ways:
1. Gifts during life
2. Principal after the parents pass away
3. Income for a period of years
4. Delayed principal
Gifts During Life
When should a parent start making gifts to children? The easy answer is as soon as the children reach the age of financial responsibility.
But what is that age? That will vary, but most children in their 30s, 40s or 50s do reach that point of maturity.
At that time, parents frequently start by making gifts using the annual gift exclusion. This exclusion amount may be gifted with no tax or reporting to the IRS. The annual exclusion in 2016 is $14,000 per child and is adjusted every two to four years.
Generally, it is better to give property rather than cash. Cash tends to be spent fairly quickly. Regular gifts of cash may result in a child acquiring a taste for expensive items that are above his or her normal lifestyle. This can lead to problems later on in life.
By making gifts of stock, land or other types of property, parents encourage children to invest and build their assets. Therefore, a good gift is a gift of property.
Principal When the Parents Pass Away
The second gift strategy is to transfer principal after both parents pass away. This can be a bequest from the estate of the surviving spouse. The principal could also be a distribution from an insurance trust that pays to the children after both spouses have passed away. The transfer of principal could be a specific property such as a home, land or securities or it could be simply a portion of the estate.
Income For a Term of Years
A very popular third option is to create a trust that pays income for a period of 15 or 20 years to the children. For larger estates this is usually a charitable remainder unitrust. The trust is funded after both parents have passed away. It pays a 5% or 6% annual income to the children. In many cases, it is very advantageous to fund the trust with an IRA or other qualified plan. The trust earns income for the family for the selected number of years. At the end of the 15 or 20 years, the trust is then transferred to favorite charities.
The combination of some principal and income for a term of years is very helpful. Parents can treat their children equally; however, there are some children who may require a longer period of time to mature in their financial management. The combination of principal and income for a period of years allows these children the time to learn better money-management skills.
Delayed Principal
The fourth concept is an additional payment of principal when the children have become more mature. Following the expiration of the payouts for the unitrust term of years, an additional amount can be distributed. This frequently is done through the "Wait a While" trust. Your attorney may have another name for that trust—the charitable annuity lead trust.
For the term of years that the children were receiving unitrust income under the third part of the plan, the charities receive the payouts from the lead trust. After the unitrust income payments have been made to children and that trust terminates, the children receive their delayed principal distribution from the lead trust.
Keys to Successful Planning
A successful "Twin I's" plan is created by understanding the four transfer options and then setting goals. These goals will frequently include a target amount for the inheritance for the children at each level. In addition, it is useful to create a total inheritance target amount per child.
For example, one parent wanted the children to receive $25,000 each year in income. Because a unitrust funded with $500,000 paying a 5% payout produces $25,000, the family decided to set up a unitrust of that amount for each child.
Over the 20 years, the trust paid more than $500,000 as income to each child with the remainder then distributed to charity.
Conclusion
Allen and Pat carefully thought through the four different options. They established the overall target inheritance number for each child. After learning about the different options, they decided to use the first three options. With a combination of gifts during life, some principal from an insurance trust when both parents pass away, plus income from a unitrust for a term of 20 years, they were able to achieve all of their objectives.
Pat concluded, "We now feel that we have a much better plan. We are not just transferring property to our children, but we have carefully thought through the ways in which the inheritance will help the children. With the combination of gifts during life, some principal, and then income for a term of 20 years, we are giving our children the best possible opportunity to develop integrity and initiative."Read More

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SAVVY LIVING

Great Gadgets for Aging Golfers
Can you recommend any products that can help older golfers? I love to play golf, but at age 74, I have hip and back problems that make bending over to tee up or pick up the ball difficult. And I have arthritis in my thumbs that makes gripping the club a problem.
There are actually a wide variety of nifty golf accessories and adaptive equipment that can help older golfers who struggle with injuries, arthritis or loss of mobility. Here are several products for different needs.
Bending Substitutes
The game of golf requires a lot of repetitive bending and stooping that comes with teeing up the ball, repairing divots, marking the ball on the green and retrieving a ball, tee or club on the ground.
For teeing up the ball without bending over, consider one of the Northcroft Golf Tee-Up devices. These are long-handled tools (1.5 to 3 feet long) that have trigger-style handgrips and a jaw that holds the ball and tee for easy placement. They cost between $69 and $72 and are available at NorthcroftGolf.com. For other tee-up solutions, see the Tee Pal ($55, TeePalPro.com) and Joe's Original Backtee ($15, UprightGolf.com).
NorthcroftGolf.com and UprightGolf.com also offer a variety of stoop-proof ball pickup accessories, divot repair and magnetic ball marker products ranging between $5 and $12.
If you just want a great all-around golf picker-upper, consider the Graball GrabAll Jaw - sold through Amazon.com for $10 for a package of two. It attaches to the handle end of your putter and chipper and is designed to pick up golf balls, flagsticks, putters and green side chippers.
Gripping Aids
To help alleviate your golf club gripping problem, there are specially designed golf gloves and grips that can make a big difference.
The best gloves are the Bionic Golf Gloves (BionicGloves.com) that have extra padding in the palm and finger joints to improve grip. The Power Glove (PowerGlove.com) is another option, which has a small strap attached to the glove that loops around the club grip to secure it in your hand. These run between $20 and $30.
You can also get oversized grips installed on your clubs. This can make gripping the club easier and more comfortable and are also great at absorbing shock. Oversized grips are usually either one-sixteenth-inch or one-eighth-inch larger in diameter than a standard grip and cost around $10 per grip. You can find these grips and have them installed at your local golf store or pro shop.
For a grip-and-glove combination fix, consider the Quantum Grip (QuantumGrip.com) that incorporates Velcro material recessed in the golf club grip and a companion golf glove that has matching Velcro material in the palm. These cost $20 per grip, plus $35 per glove.
Vision Helper
If vision problems make finding the ball difficult, Chromax golf balls (ChromaxGolf.com) can make a big difference. These are reflective colored golf balls that make them appear larger and brighter. They cost $10.50 for a three-pack.
Ergonomic Carts
There are also ergonomically designed golf carts that can help you transport your golf clubs around the course. If you like to walk, the Sun Mountain Sports Micro-Cart, V1 Sport Cart or Reflex Cart are great options. These are three and four-wheeled, lightweight push carts that fold into a compact size for easy transport. Available at SunMountain.comfor $200, $210 and $230.
For severe mobility loss, the SoloRider specialized electric golf cart (SoloRider.com) provides the ability to play from a seated or standing-but-supported position. Retailing for $9,450, plus a $550 shipping fee, this cart is lightweight and precisely balanced so it can be driven on tee boxes and greens without causing any damage. Federal ADA laws require that all publically owned golf courses allow them.
Savvy Living is written by Jim Miller, a regular contributor to the NBC Today Show and author of "The Savvy Living” book. Any links in this article are offered as a service and there is no endorsement of any product. These articles are offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends and may not always reflect this organization’s official position on some topics. Jim invites you to send your senior questions to: Savvy Living, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.Read More

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YOUR PLAN
Deferred Gift Annuity

Several years ago Larry and Allison invested $30,000 in what they believed to be an attractive stock. It turned out to be a very wise decision, because the value of the stock increased to $100,000 a few years later. Though they were not in need of additional income at the time, the couple decided to cash in on this growth and began considering selling the stock.
Allison: We had had a good year and were looking for ways to maximize deductions and reduce what we owed in taxes. At the same time, we had been exploring the best way to make a gift to our favorite charity.
Larry: Allison and I were both age 50 at the time, in good health and still working. And though we didn't really need extra current income, we were planning to retire at age 65 so we were always interested in smart retirement planning. Our goal was to be able to live comfortably and travel in our motorhome to visit friends and family.
Allison: I remember when we met with a gift planner. He explained the benefits of setting up a deferred gift annuity. Instead of selling, we could give our stock to our favorite charity and receive an immediate charitable tax deduction. Plus, when we turn 65, the deferred gift annuity would make annual retirement income payments to us for our lifetime.
Larry: We decided to set up the deferred gift annuity. And we experienced first hand each of the benefits Allison mentioned: we received a charitable tax deduction and tax savings immediately. And now that we're retired, we receive income each year that helps make our retirement travel possible. On top of all of this, the deferred gift annuity makes a portion of the income payments we receive tax free.
*Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your gift annuity benefits may be different, you may want to click here to view a color example of your benefits.Read More

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WASHINGTON NEWS

No Tax on Olympic Medals
With a unanimous voice vote, the Senate on July 12 passed the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act (S. 2650). The bill was cosponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The bill excludes the value of Olympic medals and other prizes from federal taxation. It has been sent to the House of Representatives for passage.
Thune stated, “Our Olympic and Paralympic champions dedicate their lives to training to compete on the world stage, making numerous sacrifices for themselves and families along the way. They put in all of that time and hard work for the opportunity to earn a medal, and if they are successful, the pride of bringing it home. Having this bill signed into law would mean victorious athletes from Team USA won’t have to worry about a new tax burden and instead can focus on the warm welcome and congratulations from a grateful nation.”
Sen. Schumer continued, “Our Olympian and Paralympian medalists should be worried about breaking world records, not breaking the bank, when they earn a medal. After a successful and hard fought victory, it is just not right for the United States to welcome these athletes home with a victory tax. I am hopeful that this bill will earn strong bipartisan support and quickly become law.”
Editor’s Note: The Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals that will be awarded this August may have very substantial collector’s value. In addition, the United States Olympic Committee also pays monetary awards to winning athletes. Both the value of the medals and the awards will be tax exempt under this bill. Passage in the House is expected to occur prior to the start of the Olympic Games on August 5.Read More

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FINANCES

Stocks - JPMorgan's Earnings Exceed Forecasts

JPMorgan's Earnings Exceed Forecasts
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) announced its quarterly earnings on Thursday, July 14. The nation's largest bank surpassed expectations and delivered better-than-expected revenue and earnings for the second quarter.
JPMorgan reported revenue of $25.21 billion in the second quarter. This was a 3% boost from last year's second quarter revenue of $24.53 billion.
"JPMorgan Chase continued to perform well in all of our major businesses," said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. "We saw strong underlying performance with record consumer deposits (up 10%), credit card sales volume (up 8%), merchant processing volume (up 13%) and broad core loan growth (up 16%)—particularly in mortgage and commercial real estate."
While net income in the second quarter fell to $6.20 billion from $6.29 billion a year ago, on an earnings per share basis profit rose to $1.55 a share compared to $1.54 a share in the same quarter last year. This was well above the $1.43 per share predicted by analysts.
Despite investors' concerns, JPMorgan has stayed resilient and optimistic in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union. JPMorgan's CFO, Marianne Lake, noted on Thursday that the bank sees Britain's exit as "a political and economic challenge, but not a financial crisis." Following the vote, the bank reported record currency trading activity, which was helped in large part by its bond and fixed income divisions. JPMorgan's trading division is up 13% year-over-year, while its fixed income market grew by 35%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) shares ended the week at $64.18, up 3% for the week.
Delta Changes Course
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) announced its second quarter earnings on Thursday, July 14. The airline company reported an increase in earnings, helped by a 17% decline in jet-fuel prices, but announced plans to cut back its flight capacity to the U.K following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
Delta announced revenue of $10.45 billion, down 2% from last year's second quarter revenue of $10.70 billion. This was below the $10.48 billion in revenue expected by analysts.
"The Delta people again delivered another quarter of solid profitability, superior operational performance and great customer service, continuing to strengthen our brand and our foundation for the future," said Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO. "As we look to the remainder of the year, the large year-on-year savings driven by lower fuel are largely behind us and it is important to achieving our long-term financial targets that we get unit revenues back to a positive trajectory."
Delta announced earnings of $1.55 billion, or $2.03 per share. Last year at this time, the airline reported earnings of $1.49 billion, or $1.83 per share.
Delta, the second ranked airline by traffic, announced on Thursday that it plans to reduce its flight capacity from the U.S. to U.K. by 6% due to the drop in the British pound and economic uncertainty in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. The airline company plans to increase its overall carrying capacity by 1% in the fourth quarter, which is half of its original projected increase. Delta, among other U.S. airline carriers, has experienced a decrease in passenger revenue, an overabundance of capacity and continued airfare pressure in recent months. On Thursday, Bastian stated, "While admittedly we have done a poor job forecasting when unit revenues will turn positive, we're working hard to achieve our goal hopefully by the end of the year."
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) shares ended the week at $39.98, up 6 % for the week.
YUM's Earnings Appeal to Investors' Appetites
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM), owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands, announced quarterly earnings on Wednesday, June 13. The company reported slightly lower revenue, but a jump in profit, causing stocks to rise more than 4% in after-hours trading.
Yum reported that revenue for the second quarter was $3.01 billion compared to $3.10 billion in the second quarter last year. The figure missed the $3.09 billion revenue mark predicted by analysts.
"This is a transformational year for our company as we remain on track to finalize the separation of our China business with a targeted completion date around October 31, 2016, ultimately creating two powerful, independent, focused growth companies," said Yum Brands CEO Greg Creed. "Given our strong first-half results and current trends in China, I'm pleased to raise our full-year core operating profit growth forecast to at least 14% from 12% previously."
The company reported net income of $339 million, surpassing last year's second quarter earnings of $235 million. Adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter were $0.75, up from $0.69 per share a year ago.
Yum operates nearly 43,000 restaurants around the globe. While second quarter sales in China surpassed expectations, sales in the U.S., specifically at Taco Bell, disappointed investors. Last year in the second quarter, sales for the Mexican fast-food giant rose 6%, compared to a 1% decline this year. Creed blamed "challenging industry conditions" for the slowdown, but analysts also point to competition from other companies like McDonalds, whose revamped menu and all-day breakfast offerings have attracted many fast-food consumers.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) shares ended the week at $87.49, up 2% for the week.
The Dow started the week of 7/11 at 18,161 and closed at 18,516 on 7/15. The S&P 500 started the week at 2,132 and closed at 2,162. The NASDAQ started the week at 4,976 and closed at 5,029.Read More

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Bonds - Retail Sales Push Yields Higher

Retail Sales Push Yields Higher
U.S. benchmark Treasury yields hit their highest peak in three weeks on Friday following the release of upbeat economic data. U.S. government data indicated an increase in consumer prices, retail sales and industrial production, causing some investors to regain hopeful speculation that the Fed may consider a rate increase before the year is over.
Friday's report revealed retails sales rose 0.6% in June and consumer prices increased 0.2% due to rising costs of medical care, gasoline and rent. Sales growth was helped in large part by sales at home and garden stores as well as online merchants.
While yields were hurt in the wake of the terrorist attack in Nice, France on Thursday, they rebounded quickly on Friday morning following the report's release. The benchmark 10-year yield rose 4.5 basis points to 1.575%, climbing to its highest level since June 24.
"Over the last week or so we've gotten stronger-than-expected data across the board," said Dan Mulholland, head of Treasury trading at Credit Agricole in New York. "It's weighing on the market now that the flight-to-quality trade fades."
Friday's data coupled with the better-than-expected June employment report has caused some investors to revive speculation that a rate hike from the Fed is still a possibility this year. Fed-fund futures, used to gauge the Fed's policy positions, indicated that the odds of a rate increase by December have increased to 37%.
"For the most part, economic fundamentals appear to be solid," said Patrick T. Harker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Wednesday when he was asked about the Fed raising rates this year. "Personal income growth has been healthy, job growth continues—albeit with some volatility—at a healthy pace, and there has been a modest increase in equity prices and continued steady growth in home prices."
The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 7/11 at 1.59%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield was 2.30%.Read More

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CDs and Mortgages - Mortgage Rates Remain Low

Mortgage Rates Remain Low
Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, July 14. The report indicated that interest rates are holding steady as the 30-year fixed rate mortgage continues to hover near its record low of 3.31% set in November of 2012.
The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.42% this week. This represents a slight increase from last week when it averaged 3.41%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.09%.
This week, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.72%. This was lower than last week when it averaged 2.74%. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.25% one year ago.
"We describe the last few weeks as A Tale of Two Rates," said Sean Becketti, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. "Immediately following the Brexit vote, U.S. Treasury yields plummeted to all-time lows. This week, markets stabilized and the 10-year Treasury yield rebounded sharply. In contrast, the 30-year mortgage rate declined after the Brexit vote, but only by half as much as the 10-year Treasury yield. This week, the 30-year fixed rate barely budged, rising just one basis point to 3.42%. This pattern suggests that mortgage rates are likely to remain low throughout the summer."
Based on published national averages, the money market account finished the week of 7/11 at 0.54%. The 1-year CD finished at 1.11%.Read More

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Thank you for your interest in planned giving. To access any of our resources, please go to our website.
Your Brother in Yeshua (Jesus),
David Stone
Jews for Jesus
Our mailing address is:
Jews for Jesus
60 Haight Street

San Francisco, California 94102, United States
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