Month: August 2023

Business Report: Care For The Long Term

August 7, 2023

Brian M. Johnson, director, business development, Advisors Insurance Brokers. Courtesy Advisors Insurance Brokers

Brian M. Johnson, MBA, CLTC

When it comes to where and how you live, and what you do with your money, you want the freedom of choice and confidence that you’re making the right decisions.

The same is true with your long-term care strategy, helping you set the stage for the future and the legacy you have planned.

Long-term care is quite simply assistance with simple everyday tasks, even as simple as eating or getting dressed. The need for care could arise from an accident, illness, cognitive impairment, or the aging process. You may never need it.

But, the best time to start thinking about it is before the need arises and while you’re still able to take control. Many Americans work hard, save diligently for retirement, yet fail to address the single biggest risk to their portfolio and families: extended healthcare.

When it comes to long-term care, do not be swayed by common misconceptions such as:

• “It won’t happen to me.”

People unrealistically downplay their personal risk. Seventy-nine percent of people put off discussions about long-term care, but 98 percent of financial professionals say they have clients who have needed it. In fact, being healthy presents even a higher risk of needing long-term care services than someone who is managing chronic a condition.

• “Medicare or Medicaid will cover me.”

Business Report: Are You On Path To Retirement Readiness?

August 7, 2023

Nathan Gage, retirement plan advisor, Capital Bank.

By Nathan gage

One of the highlights of my role as a retirement plan advisor is also one of the most challenging—helping to make sense of the very abstract retirement planning process.

There is a seemingly endless list of obstacles standing in the way of figuring out if you are on the path to retirement readiness. When will you retire? How long will your retirement last? What will your monthly budget in retirement be? How will your tax rate in retirement compare to today? How will your investments fair over the next couple of months, years, or decades?

The list of unknown variables could go on and, if you are not careful, may stand in the way of making wise decisions. In fact, for some, the uncertainty can lead to the worst possible decision—inaction.

Realizing that complexity can be paralyzing, simplifying the retirement planning process encourages savers to take the steps needed to get on the right track.

One way to help frame the process is in terms of the three main decision points that savers face as they save for retirement. First is how much to save. Next is how to make those contributions, choosing between pre-tax and Roth. The final decision is how to invest their retirement savings. Armed with an understanding of the key questions, we can take a closer look at the main decision points.

How much should you save for retirement? On the surface, this seems like a simple question. In practice, though, getting an accurate answer to this question is quite complex. There are some widely used rules of thumb. One is to set aside 15% of your pay for retirement.

Business Report: Still Fighting The Fed

August 7, 2023

Kenneth J. Entenmann, chief investment officer at NBT Wealth Management.

by Kenneth J. Entenmann, CFA

One of the oldest Wall Street adages is “Don’t Fight the Fed.”

In general, it means when the Fed is raising interest rates, accept that they are and adjust accordingly. The most of the first half of 2023, the markets have not followed that guidance, constantly rejecting the Fed’s every move. The market convinced itself that the Fed’s rate hikes would cause a recession, unemployment would spike, and inflation would come crashing down. The Fed would have to capitulate on its tightening policy activity.

Money flowed into money market and fixed income funds. Money market funds with 5 percent annual yields were attractive and bonds were back. Everyone loved bonds. Yet, year-to-date, the aggregate bond index is up only 2.46 percent. That would be considered good if a recession did in fact occur, but it did not, at least not yet. Equities are supposed to be toxic heading into a recession and most of Wall Street entered 2023 significantly underweight. Six months into the year, the S&P 500 index was up 9.65 percent and the NASDAQ was up over 30 percent. So much for the hated asset class.

The economy continues to lumber on. No recession, but languishing growth. Manufacturing is clearly in recession. Housing is coming to life; the housing shortage is overwhelming higher mortgage rates; the consumer sector remains on fire. A mixed bag, but not a recession.

The employment market continues to be dysfunctional. In June, the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent. The non-farm payrolls were 209,000, less than the 240,000. Importantly, the average hourly earnings were 0.4 percent, higher than expected. It is good news that the payroll numbers have returned to a more sustainable level around 200,000.

Chick-fil-A In Clifton Park Opens To Large Crowds; Operator Eager To Help Community

August 7, 2023

This Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in Clifton Park, the first in Saratoga County. In celebration the company donated $25,000 to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

By Ann Donnelly

Saratoga County’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened on July 20 in Clifton Park Center, with long lines going out the door.

Before this, fans could only get the iconic chicken sandwich if they were flying out of Albany Airport or traveling to Massachusetts or other parts of New York state.

Chick-fil-A, Inc. selected Scott Payne as the independent franchised owner/operator of Chick-fil-A Clifton Park Center, 304 Clifton Park Center Road.

“After serving in the Marine Corps for nearly two decades, I was looking to continue serving in a purpose-driven role,” said Payne. “So I pursued the path of becoming a Chick-fil-A operator. From 2015 to 2022, I had the honor of serving as the operator of Chick-fil-A Purcellville in Loudoun County, Va. During this time, I learned the ins-and-outs of the business from a great group of seasoned operators while also discovering the many ways in which Chick-fil-A supports its local community.”

Payne is looking forward to living and doing business in the area.

‘Dr. Dan’ Sooriabalan Opens Private Practice In Malta Office; Handles All Patient Care

August 7, 2023

Dr. Danushan Sooriabalan—known as Dr. Dan to many of his patients—charges a monthly fee directly, so patients do not need insurance in order to cover the cost of care.

By Jill nagy

Dr. Danushan Sooriabalan—known as Dr. Dan to many of his patients—expects his new “direct primary care” practice to give him more time with patients and less with paperwork.

Patients will pay a fixed monthly fee, the amount depending upon their age, for unlimited access to his care.

The doctor, an internist, has been in practice since 2007. He did his internal medicine residency at Albany Medical Center, including a year as head resident, was a hospitalist at Glens Falls Hospital for 10 years, and was part of the Hudson Headwaters practice group.

In May, he set out on his own with an office at 2452 Route 9 in Malta.

He said after his first six weeks, he had 87 patients. He aims for a maximum of 300.

Most of his new patients are from Malta, Clifton Park, Saratoga and other nearby communities. He made no attempt to bring patients from his prior practice “out of respect for my previous employers,” he said.

While he expects to hire a nurse in the near future and uses a third-party company for billing, everything else is “do it myself.”

New Owner Of Saratoga Winery In Milton Says Changes Will Be Subtle Ones, Not Major

August 7, 2023August 8, 2023

Anne Brill and her husband, Andrew, bought the Saratoga Winery, where she was once GM.

Correction Applied August 8, 2023

By Christine Graf

After almost three years of serving as general manager of Saratoga Winery, Anne Brill has assumed ownership of the business.

She and her husband, Andrew, purchased the winery from Rich and Tara Nimmo for $1.4 million on June 15.

Saratoga Winery is located at 462 Route 29 in Milton, just 10 minutes west of downtown Saratoga Springs.

The winery’s tasting room serves handcrafted wines made on the premises with New York state grapes. They also serve local craft beers, spirits from Saratoga Courage Distillery, and cocktails. Food offerings include wood-fired pizzas, appetizer, salads, and sandwiches.

Brill grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met her husband while they were both students at Skidmore College. After graduating, they settled in Chicago but chose to get married in Saratoga.

“We came back to look at venues in 2011, and this was in the height of the economic turn down,” she said. “But Saratoga was still thriving, and we were amazed and impressed by how much the town had grown. In 2014, we decided we wanted to live here full-time.”