If you couldn’t work, could you maintain your lifestyle? Consider the following...

• 48% of mortgage foreclosures are caused by disability whereas only 3% are caused by death. Disability Insurance Resource Center
• Seven out of ten people between the ages of 35 and 65 will become disabled for three months or longer. Senate Finance Committee, 1998.
• 61% of all workers are not protected in short-term disability benefits in the privatized industry. U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005
• In the year 2000 it was found that 82 % of people do not have long-term disability insurance or believe their coverage is inadequate. The Consumer Federation of America and The American Council of Life Insurers, 2000
• For a 32 year-old a serious disability of 90 days or longer is 6 1/2 more times likely than death. Disability Insurance Resource Center
• Fifty percent of consumers have three months or less of their living expenses saved. Guardian Insurance & Behavior Study

According to Guardian Disability Insurance, as medical technology improves, your chances of surviving an illness or accident increases. Suffering a disability is more likely than being in an auto accident, dying or having a fire in your home.

One out of seven employees will be disabled for five years or more before retirement. Commissioners Disability Table, 1998.

What are the chances of becoming disabled? According to Disability Insurance Resource Center:

• Every 19 seconds someone is injured in an auto accident
• Every 17 seconds someone is injured at work
• Every 4 seconds someone is injured in some form of accident

To address this important issue, The American College, the nation’s leading financial services educator, will sponsor, National Financial Awareness Day on Tuesday, March 6, 2007. This national initiative is designed to enhance consumers’ financial security. This year’s theme focuses on the importance of disability income protection.

As part of the event, financial advisors across the country will open their practices on a pro bono basis to in an effort to answer consumer questions, offer individual counseling and sponsor informational seminars on financial security issues. Activities associated with National Financial Awareness day are being offered as a free public service. www.TheAmericanCollege.edu