Founded in 1926 by Gus S. Wortham, American General Life Companies is one of the first multi-line insurance companies in the United States. Today, American General is part of the American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and provides insurance products for individuals and businesses.

Their range of products for individuals includes life insurance, health insurance, long term care insurance and annuities. Below is an overview of the products offered by American General Life Companies:

As mentioned elsewhere on the site, Glenn Daily is one of the top fee-based financial planners in the country.

He is also very generous with his time/thoughts and he publishes frequently.

Glenn published an outstanding piece that discusses and analyzes the decision about whether to convert to a Roth IRA.

What is the best resource for information about the new Roth IRA conversion rules that went into effect this month?

In January 2010, many investors who had previously been prevented from considering a Roth IRA conversion because of income limits will be able to consider converting to a Roth IRA.

Asset manager Charles Schwab recently published a useful list of tips that are worth considering in light of the Roth IRA conversion opportunities.

Much of the content naturally focuses on tax considerations and differences between traditional and Roth IRAs.

Source: Charles Schwab

Income limits on Roth IRA conversions are set to go away in 2010.

This opens-up an opportunity for many to benefit from the tax advantages associated with the Roth IRA.

Conversion may also make sense as a hedge against the distinct possibility of tax increases and higher tax brackets for future retirees.

That said, the Roth IRA also happens to be an enormously efficient vehicle if there is a bequest motive or desire to pass assets to heirs:

The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 ("TIPRA") will allow for the conversion of a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA regardless of income.

This is meaningful information for many people who in the past had been prevented from converting to a Roth IRA because of income limits.

In a very worthwhile article, MarketWatch columnist Robert Powell provides answers to twelve frequently asked questions surrounding Roth IRA conversions. 

Source: MarketWatch

A good article from Investment News on the use of calculators for Roth IRA conversion calculators.

Deciding whether to convert to a Roth IRA is fairly complex.  There are a number of variables that come into play such as tax rates, investment returns, inflation rates, etc.

Faulty assumptions for any one of the factors will produce faulty results and possibly poor decisions.

Free, web-based calculators are often less robust than those used by financial advisors.

Horace Mann was founded in 1945 and was originally called Illinois Education Association Mutual Insurance Company. Horace Mann is an insurance holding company which offers insurance and investment products and services to individuals through its subsidiaries: Horace Mann Life Insurance Company, Horace Mann Insurance Company, Teachers Insurance Company and Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance Company. The company is primarily focused on providing insurance products to K-12 school teachers, administrators and other public school employees and their families.

Gleaner Life Insurance Society is a company that has, since 1894, offered its clients financial advising and planning through the use of life insurance, annuities, IRAs, and other benefits. As a fraternal beneficiary society, Gleaner Life has been owned and governed by its members who are dedicated to making a difference for individuals and the communities in which they live and serve. Products offerings include: