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BusinessPRO

Lafayette Life's BusinessPRO helps independent financial professionals support small business owners. Presented by our Advanced Markets team, BusinessPRO offers agents educational materials to help owners better plan, protect, and grow their businesses no matter what phase of life they are in.

Watch Our Introduction to BusinessPro
BusinessPRO Planning Resources for Owners Steps: Choose a business structure, protect your business, grow your business, business maturity, wrapping up your business

Want to Explore BusinessPRO?

Explore our offerings below and contact us to learn more about contracting with Lafayette Life.
Email the Team
Three financial professionals meeting around a table

Selecting a Business Structure

Starting a new business requires careful planning. Our Advanced Markets team collaborates with agents to inform clients about the pros and cons of different business structures to help clients find the best fit. Lafayette Life agents can discuss business structures with our Advanced Markets team and access valuable content, including our popular 1040 Planning Guide to help identify strategies for clients at any phase of their business lifecycle.

Protecting Your Business

Small business owners are responsible for a large percentage, if not all, of their current and future income and net worth. This makes the growth, preservation and continuation of their businesses in the event of death, disability, or incapacity very important to them and their families. Business continuation planning is an important step to help ensure a business remains in good hands. BusinessPRO helps financial professionals learn more about protecting business owners with strategies such as:

Buy-Sell Agreements

  • Help assure the sale of a business owner’s shares in the event of the owner’s retirement, disability, or death
  • Guarantees that the owner’s family will get a fair price for the business the owner has spent a lifetime working hard to build
  • Help assure an immediate transition to future owners, allowing the business to keep moving forward

  Watch Our Introduction to Buy-Sell Agreements 

Buy-Sell Agreement Guide (PDF)

Key Person Insurance

  • The loss of a critical employee can debilitate a company. Learn how to protect against this loss to ensure its continued survival.
  • Key Person insurance helps replace lost profits, fund efforts to find and train replacements, or provide a financial reserve.

 Watch Our Introduction to Key Person Insurance

Key Person Insurance Guide (PDF)

Growing Your Business

Attracting and retaining key employees is important for small business owners to maintain a competitive edge. BusinessPRO helps financial representatives assist owners to grow their businesses by rewarding and retaining their most valuable employees with plans that can provide tax benefits and are easy to administer. Partner with us to learn more about:

Executive Bonus Arrangements

  • Also known as Section 162 Plans, these are funded through a life insurance policy to provide meaningful employee compensation that is generally income tax deductible to the business.
  • Bonus arrangements are customizable for individual employee needs.

 Watch Our Introduction to Executive Bonus Arrangements

Executive Bonus Arrangements Guide (PDF)

Split-Dollar Arrangements

  • Business purchases a life insurance policy to cover employee with premiums shared (or split) between employee and employer. Upon an employee’s death, the benefit is allocated between the employer and the employee’s beneficiaries.
  • Flexible, cost-effective incentive program to reward the long-term commitment of key employees while supporting the success of the business.

  Watch Our Introduction to Split-Dollar Arrangements 

Split-Dollar Arrangements Guide (PDF)

Deferred Compensation

  • Commonly known and structured as a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP), small business owners can create “golden handcuffs” to reward and retain top talent and ensure they stay with a business instead of leaving for a competitor in a tight job market.
  • When promised benefits are paid to an employee, the business obtains a compensation deduction so the after-tax cost of funding the benefit is much less and well worth it to keep the business running for the foreseeable future.

  Watch Our Introduction to Deferred Compensation 

Deferred Compensation Guide (PDF)

Business Maturity

As small businesses grow, retirement planning is key. Owners can work with financial professionals to establish a tax-qualified retirement plan to save on taxes, save for retirement, attract employees, and help protect the business owner from the risk of bankruptcy. By contracting with Lafayette Life, financial professionals gain access to Lafayette Life Retirement Services, a one-stop shop to establish and administer tax-qualified retirement plans. Learn more about:

Defined Benefit Plans

These pay a benefit to an employee that is guaranteed at retirement. The employer makes annual contributions to the defined benefit plan to reach a funding target.

Learn More About Defined Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Plans

These may allow contributions from employees, and the benefit they receive at retirement will be based on discretionary contributions made by the employees, the businesses, or both, and earnings throughout the years.

Learn More About Defined Contribution Plans
Financial professional meeting with business owner

Transitioning Your Business

As owners prepare to exit their business, there are numerous considerations a financial professional must address. These include maximizing the owner’s benefits in retirement, determining if the business will continue upon their departure, and how liquidating a business or transitioning it to new ownership may occur. Our Advanced Markets team can help guide agents with materials* and education for:

  • Business valuations
  • Charitable giving and benefits
  • Social Security
  • Retirement income
  • Tax considerations

Want to Explore BusinessPRO?

Contact us today at advancedmarketsteam@lafayettelife.com to learn how our team and BusinessPRO can support you.
Email the Team
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
*Upon appointment, agents can access a suite of producer-only and client-approved materials for these phases of the business life cycle.