Ted
Gold Meritorious Patron
It never occurred to me that the light I saw in the tunnel was a train.:confused2:
I appreciate the compliment.
Face
I can appreciate that. Yet, the train, too, was but an illusion.
The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But
- Thread starter lkwdblds
- Start date
- Status
I can appreciate that. Yet, the train, too, was but an illusion.
CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
Your sins are forgiven, my son.
Say ten WTF’s :confused2: and go and sin no more (that’s the part where I always screw up).
Father Face
PS: "Diamonds and Rust" is one of my Baez favorites.
Joan Baez, Paly (Palo Alto) High grad
writing / singing about Bob Dylan
CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
I think the third life was "family man"
FoTi
Crusader
If you had only gone here:
I hope that we are part of your team.
So much similar, the family schtick different from mine. I was an only child. Not knowing your exact age, roughly at the same time, I was eating up Vance Packard and "The Status Seekers" and "The Waste Makers" too. I had my parents take me to a lecture he gave at San Jose City College. Without your mentioning that book, I never would have even recalled that.
Starting in 6th grade, my friends and I were "reading" magazines. One, in particular, got me hooked on reading (no joke). It carried articles and stories by Hugh Hefner, Shel Silverstein, Nat Hentoff, Alan Watts, Ian Fleming, Jack Kerouac, Robert Ruark, Kurt Vonneut, Jr. and oh, so many others. As I recall, there were photo essays also.
I read all of J.D. Salinger too.
I was reading voraciously, just like you.
Because I was spoiled rotten, I got my parents to take me to movies and stage shows that I wanted to see. As a kid, I saw Cyrill Richard in "The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd," Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, Roger Miller, Maurice Chevalier, the Lennon Sisters - to name a few.
Because I was a country boy,
I went barefoot everywhere, day and night, rain or shine.
At night, before bed, I'd wash my feet off in the big laundry tub in the back porch laundry room. One night, around midnight, while reading "Lord of the Rings," I was so frightened, I took my 6 inch switchblade knife with me to the back porch to wash my feet. I was scared. Gollum was not going to catch me flatfooted.
I did paper routes from about age 12. I loved getting up at 4:30, riding my bike to the "drop," folding my papers,(listening to Russ "the Moose" Syracuse on the all night show on KYA on my Japanese transistor radio) and tossing as many papers as I could on the porches as I rode by at a fast clip. I was done by 5. On my first month's paper money, I bought a Schwinn Sierra 15 speed. I still have it. It is still a bike I ride.
By the time I was 15, I was carrying Super Beatle amps and doing sound checks on week ends. I can't sing on key, or play any kind of musical instrument that requires either hearing notes or keeping in time to a beat, but I can carry amplifiers and drive a truck.
All my life, I've been going to the beach. In junior high, I bought a bellyboard, which I still have and use.
later, I got surfboards.
Our family went on vacation every year to Yosemite. Mornings, I would do Junior Ranger Camp. During the day, we'd hike to the top of The Mist Trail, to Nevada Falls, and to Glacier Point. In the afternoon we'd swim in the Merced River (which is recently melted snow - cold). We floated down it too. We climbed all over the bases of the waterfalls. There was never any time for rest.
At night, the rocks give off the heat, that they have absorbed all day. It is a pleasant warmth. As dusk approached, we would go to the nature lectures and entertainment at Camp Curry. I'd buy books, chotchkies, and Borden's Ice Cream Sandwiches. I love (even the memory of) those ice cream sandwiches from my youth.
It was here, in Camp Curry, in the general store that I found my first Ayn Rand book, "The Virtue of Selfishness." I devoured that book. I'm still, to this day, a big Ayn Rand fan.
At nine o'clock, singers would sing "Indian Love Call" and then, someone at the base of Glacier Point (near Camp Curry) would yell up "Hello Glacier; Let the Fire Fall" Then from Glacier Point someone would yell down, "The Fire Falls." At that point, up on Glacier Point, they would slowly push burning fir bark coals over the side, making a firefall to rival the natural waterfalls of the valley.
We would sleep in camp grounds, laying on air mattresses on the ground. Bears would walk through the camps looking for food from the garbage cans. The stars were old friends to fall asleep looking up at.
and what I did growing up, my children did growing up, and now my grandchildren are on the same track. We take them to the beach (the very same beaches). We take them skiing, camping, and in a couple more years scuba diving. We took our kids to see Rex Harrison, Yul Brynner, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Goulet and loads more - live on stage. We had video tapes of all the best musicals and comedies. Music was always playing in our house on our 33&1/3 RPM LPs stereo. It was the cat's meow for the time. We just took one of our daughter in laws and granddaughter to see "Wicked." Now we have ipods playing in the car, in the office, everywhere. The hits just keep on coming with the next generation(s)
I love your stories of your life, Carmelo. Thanks for sharing.
This is NOT OK !!!!
Gold Meritorious Patron
Carmelo,
Is that "fire waterfall" thing still happening?
Nightly?
Schedule please!
How about You Tube video?
Yes, I'm too lazy to look for myself.
Is that "fire waterfall" thing still happening?
Nightly?
Schedule please!
How about You Tube video?
Yes, I'm too lazy to look for myself.
lkwdblds
Crusader
It looks like you are correct. I checked on Wikepedia and they say the three lives are:
Citizen
Communist
Counterspy
Lakey
This is NOT OK !!!!
Gold Meritorious Patron
Just Saying...............
CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
The National Park Service stopped them in 1968 after 88 years.
the youtube video isn't much (a snippet from The Caine Mutiny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2ZCl5mst10&feature=related
http://www.google.com/images?q=yose...e_link&ct=mode&ved=0CBAQ_AU&biw=1140&bih=784]
Last edited:
afaceinthecrowd
Gold Meritorious Patron
The Magic Thetan
Patron with Honors
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” Lao-tsu
When I was in 8th Grade and a Frosh in High School my older brother was living at home and commuting to college. His Major was Sociology and, after two years there, he moved away, got married and eventually earned a Masters in Sociology. The impact of these two years was huge for me. The tiny room that we shared was filled with books that I probably never would have come across in the rural small-town library I had been “haunting” for years. Books, for me, were my own personal “transporter” and “Time Machine” and, because of them, I could travel all over the world and centuries into the past and future.
During the ‘50’s there was TV show called, “I Lead 3 Lives” about a guy that was double agent for the FBI. Privately, that show was very “relative” to me as I was, more and more, leading 3 lives. One life was that of a “book worm”. By the time I was in 8th Grade my reading level, speed and comprehension tested in the 99th percentile. I read what I wanted to read at every opportunity. I would follow “lines of inquiry” in numerous subjects and the “Why’s” and “What’s” I delineated in my earlier post. Libraries were my “hollowed ground”, my “cathedral of worship”. When I was in a library, all the volumes on the shelves “spoke” to me…the feeling of “Life” and “Thought” from the books on the shelves was palpable. My personal Library has over 1,500 hardback “friends”. Although I am not able to read well or much anymore, it’s very comforting to have them around…they still “speak” to me.
Another life I was leading was that of a somewhat daredevil, mischief maker and partaker, hard-hitting jock and honors student. In many ways, I was a typical young boy…full of energy and lacking good sense. I was equally at home with, and accepted by, the “smart kids” and the “tough guys”. I rarely discussed my “library/inquiry” life with anyone…I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that…I just wanted to get along with everyone and was interested in their life and what went on in the world of others. Academically I was among "smart kids" of my class and athletically I was a pretty darn good all-around team sports player.
My 3rd life was that of the “Bad Son” that was under Lucifer’s spell and headed for Hell unless he "came to Jesus”. I did everything I could to spend as little of time as possible at that house. My parents hated each other and fought constantly. Sometimes I was their “weapon” of choice…”You’re the reason Face is turning out so bad, it’s all your fault,” etc. The “solution” that my parents had for my “evil” ways was to try and shove as much of their “Jesus” down my throat as they could, ridicule and carp at me continuously, slap my face regularly and, off and on, whip me, bare butt, with a razor stropper. The efficaciousness of their methodology served only to make me more determined than ever to never “give in", to stand my ground.
My brother’s college books were fascinating…everything from “Catcher in the Rye” to “Coming of Age in Samoa” to “The Status Seekers". Two of his books, one from his Astronomy class “The Creation of the Universe”, and one from his Comparative Religions class “The Tao Te Ching”, entranced me…befuddled me. Over the years of my “illicit” late night reading sessions I occasionally would have a feeling of “peace, uplifting 'elsewhereness' and wonderment” and I would slip outside the house and lay in the grass, gazing up into the stars, searching the Universe for answers to questions only “sensed” and not yet formulated in my child’s mind. I read the “Tao” and “Creation” several times and found many of the ideas and thoughts of Lao and Einstein to be amazingly in concert; I also knew I didn’t fully fathom the depth and breadth of what I was reading and spent many a night, looking out into the vastness of infinity, wanting so much to understand “It” all.
During the summer between 8th and 9th grade I made my “Declaration of Independence”. I was not going to be baptized when I was 14; I was not going to attend Church anymore; The next time a hand was laid on me, I was going to fight back and if that resulted in my being sent to County Juvenile Hall, so be it. My Declaration resulted in a form of “shunning”. For my daily chores I would get my 3 squares a day, a roof over my head and medical care if I got sick…anything else like my athletic equipment and insurance, clothes, etc. I would have to pay for myself. In short, I was on my own. It was sink or swim time and I took to the waters of freedom like a duck. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me and I wouldn’t trade those days—or any of my days for that matter—for anything.
I started doing odd jobs for neighbors and saved up enough money to buy one of those new 10 Speed bicycles. I was a good worker and was offered a job by the local butcher, cleaning up the shop several times a week after school and all day Saturday and Sunday. By the time I was 16 I could cut up a chicken in seconds, break down a side beef or hog, cut all the steaks and roasts, grind the sausage and hamburger and put together all the trays for the display cases on my own. I could run a cash register (before bar coding and automatic change machines) and handle customers with confidence and skill. I bought cool, nice threads for school and eventually had my own, pretty cool for High School, car.
I found High School to be very boring and very exciting. Most of my classes were with the same 25-30 students…the advanced College Prep crowd. I loved the sports, extra-curricular activities, student government and sang Bass in the Advanced/Madrigal Choir. I bought a Spanish guitar and got passably good on it. I did the bare minimum to get A’s & B’s but my main focus was my own personal reading, work, activities and athletics (football, basketball, baseball). The sports, activities and work not only kept me from getting in the trouble I was capable of and would have, they gave me confidence, self esteem and the certainty that I could fend for myself in this world. I was learning that, in the "outside" world, I wasn't such a "bad" person afterall.
And, I also learned that I really loved being with people, enjoyed talking with all types of people, working with people, helping people, being part of a team, doing something worthwhile and doing it well. I learned that there was a bigger world out there other than the “little world” of hypocritical Christianity and that was the world I wanted to live in, and I had my plan; get through High School, prepare to walk away and out into the world the day after graduation and somehow, someway go to college. I was going to go out into that bigger world and I was not going to ever look back. I had learned that I was not destined to be a super star but that I was a very good team player.
My quest was to find my place in this world…to find my “team”…and to find the answers to the questions I still didn’t even know how to articulate.
Face
Great story and great you, Thanks. John
The Magic Thetan
Patron with Honors
If you had only gone here:
I hope that we are part of your team.
So much similar, the family schtick different from mine. I was an only child. Not knowing your exact age, roughly at the same time, I was eating up Vance Packard and "The Status Seekers" and "The Waste Makers" too. I had my parents take me to a lecture he gave at San Jose City College. Without your mentioning that book, I never would have even recalled that.
Starting in 6th grade, my friends and I were "reading" magazines. One, in particular, got me hooked on reading (no joke). It carried articles and stories by Hugh Hefner, Shel Silverstein, Nat Hentoff, Alan Watts, Ian Fleming, Jack Kerouac, Robert Ruark, Kurt Vonneut, Jr. and oh, so many others. As I recall, there were photo essays also.
I read all of J.D. Salinger too.
I was reading voraciously, just like you.
Because I was spoiled rotten, I got my parents to take me to movies and stage shows that I wanted to see. As a kid, I saw Cyrill Richard in "The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd," Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, Roger Miller, Maurice Chevalier, the Lennon Sisters - to name a few.
Because I was a country boy,
I went barefoot everywhere, day and night, rain or shine.
At night, before bed, I'd wash my feet off in the big laundry tub in the back porch laundry room. One night, around midnight, while reading "Lord of the Rings," I was so frightened, I took my 6 inch switchblade knife with me to the back porch to wash my feet. I was scared. Gollum was not going to catch me flatfooted.
I did paper routes from about age 12. I loved getting up at 4:30, riding my bike to the "drop," folding my papers,(listening to Russ "the Moose" Syracuse on the all night show on KYA on my Japanese transistor radio) and tossing as many papers as I could on the porches as I rode by at a fast clip. I was done by 5. On my first month's paper money, I bought a Schwinn Sierra 15 speed. I still have it. It is still a bike I ride.
By the time I was 15, I was carrying Super Beatle amps and doing sound checks on week ends. I can't sing on key, or play any kind of musical instrument that requires either hearing notes or keeping in time to a beat, but I can carry amplifiers and drive a truck.
All my life, I've been going to the beach. In junior high, I bought a bellyboard, which I still have and use.
later, I got surfboards.
Our family went on vacation every year to Yosemite. Mornings, I would do Junior Ranger Camp. During the day, we'd hike to the top of The Mist Trail, to Nevada Falls, and to Glacier Point. In the afternoon we'd swim in the Merced River (which is recently melted snow - cold). We floated down it too. We climbed all over the bases of the waterfalls. There was never any time for rest.
At night, the rocks give off the heat, that they have absorbed all day. It is a pleasant warmth. As dusk approached, we would go to the nature lectures and entertainment at Camp Curry. I'd buy books, chotchkies, and Borden's Ice Cream Sandwiches. I love (even the memory of) those ice cream sandwiches from my youth.
It was here, in Camp Curry, in the general store that I found my first Ayn Rand book, "The Virtue of Selfishness." I devoured that book. I'm still, to this day, a big Ayn Rand fan.
At nine o'clock, singers would sing "Indian Love Call" and then, someone at the base of Glacier Point (near Camp Curry) would yell up "Hello Glacier; Let the Fire Fall" Then from Glacier Point someone would yell down, "The Fire Falls." At that point, up on Glacier Point, they would slowly push burning fir bark coals over the side, making a firefall to rival the natural waterfalls of the valley.
We would sleep in camp grounds, laying on air mattresses on the ground. Bears would walk through the camps looking for food from the garbage cans. The stars were old friends to fall asleep looking up at.
and what I did growing up, my children did growing up, and now my grandchildren are on the same track. We take them to the beach (the very same beaches). We take them skiing, camping, and in a couple more years scuba diving. We took our kids to see Rex Harrison, Yul Brynner, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Goulet and loads more - live on stage. We had video tapes of all the best musicals and comedies. Music was always playing in our house on our 33&1/3 RPM LPs stereo. It was the cat's meow for the time. We just took one of our daughter in laws and granddaughter to see "Wicked." Now we have ipods playing in the car, in the office, everywhere. The hits just keep on coming with the next generation(s)
I love it. Makes me want to jump into the magic of my growing up with my small town bookie father, Big Johnny Raff, and my wonderful mother Beatrice (Bea Happy) Pratt Rafanello, and my Will Rogers wisdom toting Grandpa Plenny Pratt, and on and on, first as an only child with my American flier trains, erector sets, and my jobs - fixing radio's and TV's for Pop's gambling clients, cutting grass using pop's gas and lawnmower and "forgetting" to cut our grass. The Saturday afternoon cliff hanger serial movies at the Carberry theater. Pop and Sachmo playing craps in the living room with a bunch of other stogy cigar smoking Italians, and on and on. Thanks for the memories. I can hardly wait to write "The Johnny Raff Chronicles" The Early Years. love John
The Magic Thetan
Patron with Honors
What Feels Good to Me
Thank you for your answers to my questions.
Thank you for the love and support.
I will be posting my chronicles on my web site in the not to distant future for those of you who are interested.
From now on I will only post on the old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973 Thread, and I will boldly say whatever I want to say. If I revise something it will be because I want to boldly communicate more clearly.
I have also decided to only read and respond to the replies that make me feel good. I know it’s a selfish attitude, but as I only want to feel good, I have decided to do it anyway.
I am an excellent, auditor, counselor, spiritual guide, life coach, supporter of your dreams and a good friend to have. So if any of you want my services, please E-Mail me at [email protected]
As always, I wish you all that you wish for yourself.
Love, John
Thank you for your answers to my questions.Thank you for the love and support.
I will be posting my chronicles on my web site in the not to distant future for those of you who are interested.
From now on I will only post on the old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973 Thread, and I will boldly say whatever I want to say. If I revise something it will be because I want to boldly communicate more clearly.
I have also decided to only read and respond to the replies that make me feel good. I know it’s a selfish attitude, but as I only want to feel good, I have decided to do it anyway.I am an excellent, auditor, counselor, spiritual guide, life coach, supporter of your dreams and a good friend to have. So if any of you want my services, please E-Mail me at [email protected]
As always, I wish you all that you wish for yourself.Love, John
Big Farmer
Patron with Honors
I think this is the best way to go John. This is the thread where you'll find like minded people.
I may not be one of them but I can still lurk and enjoy the majority of the well written and thought provoking posts.
Glad you decided to hang around
SweetnessandLight
Crusader
Har!!!
LOL!!! Seriously!!!
I loled at Lakey's "Beaverettes" and the Jr. Beaver Lickers, too!
Hey guys, I'm going to be attending a conference for a couple days and so probably won't be online for a bit...never fear, I'll be back!
LOL!!! Seriously!!!
I loled at Lakey's "Beaverettes" and the Jr. Beaver Lickers, too!
Hey guys, I'm going to be attending a conference for a couple days and so probably won't be online for a bit...never fear, I'll be back!
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SweetnessandLight
Crusader
CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
from Kiplinger.com
Secrets to Maximizing Social Security
by Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Despite a temporary shortfall, the nation's primary retirement system continues to pay full benefits. We show you how to make the most of yours.
It's official: High unemployment and a resulting decline in payroll-tax collections have taken a toll on the Social Security program. Benefits will exceed revenues for the first time in 2010 -- six years ahead of previous projections -- according to the Social Security Trustees' 2010 report released Thursday. But the nation's vital retirement program is expected to slip back into the black -- at least temporarily -- when the economy recovers, before posting increasingly larger deficits as more baby-boomers reach retirement age.
There will still be plenty of reserve funds to continue paying full benefits for nearly 30 years. But without reforms, the trust fund is projected to run dry around 2037, when tax revenues will be sufficient to pay only about three-fourths of promised benefits. "The sooner action is taken, the more options will be available and the fairer reforms will be to our children and grandchildren," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in response to the trustees' report. Reform proposals include raising the retirement age for full benefits to 70, changing the formula for calculating annual inflation adjustments of benefits, and lifting the cap on the amount of wages -- currently $106,800 -- subject to Social Security taxes.
The idea of guaranteed income for life that keeps pace with inflation holds fresh appeal in an era of disappearing pensions and erratic stock-market returns. There's also a growing awareness of the value of working longer and waiting to collect Social Security benefits until normal retirement age or later, when they are worth more. But over the past few years, savvy Kiplinger's readers have also learned that there are a few clever -- and perfectly legal -- little-known strategies to time the collection of your retirement benefits that can immediately boost your household income by thousands of dollars a year and provide larger benefits later for your spouse or minor children when you die. Married couples and parents of minor children who wait until normal retirement age to collect benefits can employ some of these strategies to boost their overall income.
Strategy 1 : File and Suspend
You can boost household income immediately and provide for a larger survivor benefit later by using this "file and suspend" Strategy: File for your retirement benefits so your spouse or dependent children can collect their benefits based on your earnings record, then immediately suspend your own benefits and delay claiming them until they are worth more at an older age. Your benefits will increase by an additional 8% for each year you delay collecting beyond your normal retirement age, up until age 70.
The Strategy works best if one spouse has substantially higher lifetime earnings than the other. Older workers, whether married or single, who have dependent minor children can also take advantage of it. That's exactly what Lucia Cruz, a trust-company employee from Hollywood, Fla., plans to do when she turns 66 next year.
Cruz, who describes herself as "happily divorced" for the past 30 years, adopted twins Patricia and Alicia in 2002. Each of the girls, now 11, will be entitled to a monthly benefit worth up to half of Cruz's when she starts to collect Social Security. But she wants to keep working and delay collecting her own benefits. If Cruz uses the file-and-suspend Strategy, each of her daughters will receive about $800 per month until they turn 18. And by waiting until 70 to collect her own benefits, Cruz will receive approximately $2,250 per month instead of the $1,640 she would get if she were to begin claiming benefits at 66.
Strategy 2: Collect Some Now, More Later
Another Strategy is to collect half of your spouse's benefits now and delay collecting your own benefits until later, when they will be worth more. It works best for two-career couples.
Al Fry, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who works part-time at an athletic club, was delighted to read a recent Kiplinger's article about the advantages of restricting your Social Security claim to spousal benefits only. Back in 2006, when he turned 62, Fry visited the Social Security office near his home in Fairfield, Cal., and was told -- correctly -- that he had to claim the highest benefit available to him, whether based on his own work record or based on the earnings of his wife, Sandra. The SSA said he could not limit his claim to spousal benefits only. But that rule changes once you hit the magic age of 66 (or a bit older if you were born after 1954), when you can get more creative with your benefit-collection strategies.
Fry hightailed it to his local Social Security office a month before his 66th birthday -- and this time got the answer that he wanted. Limiting his claim to spousal benefits based on Sandra's earnings as a library assistant for nearby University of California at Davis, Fry will receive $472 per month for the next four years, boosting their household income by more than $5,600 a year.
And by delaying his own retirement benefits, he'll receive about $2,100 per month when he turns 70, compared with $1,500 had he started collecting them at 66. At that point, Sandra can step up to a larger spousal benefit, which will be worth half Fry's amount, minus 25% because she collected her benefits early at 62. But if Fry dies first, Sandra will receive a survivor benefit equal to 100% of the monthly amount Fry collected during his lifetime, as long as she is at least normal retirement age at the time.
Strategy 3: Retirement Do-Over
Some retirement decisions are irreversible, but many retirees are delighted to learn that choosing when to start collecting Social Security benefits is not one of them. If you are already receiving benefits, you can take advantage of an obscure provision that allows you to repay your benefits, interest- and penalty-free, and then reapply for a bigger monthly check at an older age.
Maybe you decided to collect early out of fear that you wouldn't live long enough to collect full benefits. But now that you've made it to 70, you may regret your decision and wish you had held out for a bigger monthly check. In order to get one, you must first file IRS Form 521 ("Request for Withdrawal of Application") at your local Social Security office.
Your retirement benefits will stop almost immediately, and if your spouse receives benefits based on your work record, his or her benefits will stop, too. Then the SSA will send you a letter telling you how much you need to repay (including any spousal benefits). That process may take several weeks or even months. Once you repay the benefits -- which can top $100,000 -- you can reapply for a higher payment based on your current age.
Note that when your benefits stop, so do the automatic deductions that cover your Medicare premiums. You'll have to pay the Part B premiums yourself -- currently $110.40 per month for new beneficiaries who enroll in 2010 -- until your Social Security benefits resume.
Hank Phillips of Pottstown, Pa., decided that the do-over Strategy had his name written all over it after he watched the stock market's bumpy ride diminish the savings that he and his wife, Deirdre, accumulated over a lifetime. "The do-over Strategy was unaffected by the stock and bond markets, and it had guaranteed income backed by the U.S. government," says Phillips, 70. "It included benefit increases based on cost-of-living adjustments and had a death benefit for my wife in the event that I die first."
The former marketing manager started receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, and after years of annual cost-of-living adjustments, his monthly benefit had increased to about $1,675. But that's substantially less than the more than $2,800 per month he could have collected if he had waited until age 70. Although he had to repay more than $142,000 in benefits that he and Deirdre, 68, had received over the years, Phillips felt it was a bargain compared with what it would cost to buy an immediate-payout annuity with annual cost-of-living increases from an insurance company.
As an added bonus, you can claim an itemized deduction or tax credit -- whichever is more beneficial -- for taxes you paid on past Social Security benefits in the year you repay them (see IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, for details).
It took about six months from the time Phillips filled out Form 521 until he began receiving his new, higher benefit -- an increase of $1,175 per month over his previous amount -- plus a check for three months of retroactive benefits dating back to his 70th birthday. Despite the delays and hiccups along the way, Phillips says it was worth the effort to increase their monthly benefit by 160%, with built-in cost-of-living adjustments -- no matter how long he and Deirdre live.
Secrets to Maximizing Social Security
by Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Despite a temporary shortfall, the nation's primary retirement system continues to pay full benefits. We show you how to make the most of yours.
It's official: High unemployment and a resulting decline in payroll-tax collections have taken a toll on the Social Security program. Benefits will exceed revenues for the first time in 2010 -- six years ahead of previous projections -- according to the Social Security Trustees' 2010 report released Thursday. But the nation's vital retirement program is expected to slip back into the black -- at least temporarily -- when the economy recovers, before posting increasingly larger deficits as more baby-boomers reach retirement age.
There will still be plenty of reserve funds to continue paying full benefits for nearly 30 years. But without reforms, the trust fund is projected to run dry around 2037, when tax revenues will be sufficient to pay only about three-fourths of promised benefits. "The sooner action is taken, the more options will be available and the fairer reforms will be to our children and grandchildren," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in response to the trustees' report. Reform proposals include raising the retirement age for full benefits to 70, changing the formula for calculating annual inflation adjustments of benefits, and lifting the cap on the amount of wages -- currently $106,800 -- subject to Social Security taxes.
The idea of guaranteed income for life that keeps pace with inflation holds fresh appeal in an era of disappearing pensions and erratic stock-market returns. There's also a growing awareness of the value of working longer and waiting to collect Social Security benefits until normal retirement age or later, when they are worth more. But over the past few years, savvy Kiplinger's readers have also learned that there are a few clever -- and perfectly legal -- little-known strategies to time the collection of your retirement benefits that can immediately boost your household income by thousands of dollars a year and provide larger benefits later for your spouse or minor children when you die. Married couples and parents of minor children who wait until normal retirement age to collect benefits can employ some of these strategies to boost their overall income.
Strategy 1 : File and Suspend
You can boost household income immediately and provide for a larger survivor benefit later by using this "file and suspend" Strategy: File for your retirement benefits so your spouse or dependent children can collect their benefits based on your earnings record, then immediately suspend your own benefits and delay claiming them until they are worth more at an older age. Your benefits will increase by an additional 8% for each year you delay collecting beyond your normal retirement age, up until age 70.
The Strategy works best if one spouse has substantially higher lifetime earnings than the other. Older workers, whether married or single, who have dependent minor children can also take advantage of it. That's exactly what Lucia Cruz, a trust-company employee from Hollywood, Fla., plans to do when she turns 66 next year.
Cruz, who describes herself as "happily divorced" for the past 30 years, adopted twins Patricia and Alicia in 2002. Each of the girls, now 11, will be entitled to a monthly benefit worth up to half of Cruz's when she starts to collect Social Security. But she wants to keep working and delay collecting her own benefits. If Cruz uses the file-and-suspend Strategy, each of her daughters will receive about $800 per month until they turn 18. And by waiting until 70 to collect her own benefits, Cruz will receive approximately $2,250 per month instead of the $1,640 she would get if she were to begin claiming benefits at 66.
Strategy 2: Collect Some Now, More Later
Another Strategy is to collect half of your spouse's benefits now and delay collecting your own benefits until later, when they will be worth more. It works best for two-career couples.
Al Fry, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who works part-time at an athletic club, was delighted to read a recent Kiplinger's article about the advantages of restricting your Social Security claim to spousal benefits only. Back in 2006, when he turned 62, Fry visited the Social Security office near his home in Fairfield, Cal., and was told -- correctly -- that he had to claim the highest benefit available to him, whether based on his own work record or based on the earnings of his wife, Sandra. The SSA said he could not limit his claim to spousal benefits only. But that rule changes once you hit the magic age of 66 (or a bit older if you were born after 1954), when you can get more creative with your benefit-collection strategies.
Fry hightailed it to his local Social Security office a month before his 66th birthday -- and this time got the answer that he wanted. Limiting his claim to spousal benefits based on Sandra's earnings as a library assistant for nearby University of California at Davis, Fry will receive $472 per month for the next four years, boosting their household income by more than $5,600 a year.
And by delaying his own retirement benefits, he'll receive about $2,100 per month when he turns 70, compared with $1,500 had he started collecting them at 66. At that point, Sandra can step up to a larger spousal benefit, which will be worth half Fry's amount, minus 25% because she collected her benefits early at 62. But if Fry dies first, Sandra will receive a survivor benefit equal to 100% of the monthly amount Fry collected during his lifetime, as long as she is at least normal retirement age at the time.
Strategy 3: Retirement Do-Over
Some retirement decisions are irreversible, but many retirees are delighted to learn that choosing when to start collecting Social Security benefits is not one of them. If you are already receiving benefits, you can take advantage of an obscure provision that allows you to repay your benefits, interest- and penalty-free, and then reapply for a bigger monthly check at an older age.
Maybe you decided to collect early out of fear that you wouldn't live long enough to collect full benefits. But now that you've made it to 70, you may regret your decision and wish you had held out for a bigger monthly check. In order to get one, you must first file IRS Form 521 ("Request for Withdrawal of Application") at your local Social Security office.
Your retirement benefits will stop almost immediately, and if your spouse receives benefits based on your work record, his or her benefits will stop, too. Then the SSA will send you a letter telling you how much you need to repay (including any spousal benefits). That process may take several weeks or even months. Once you repay the benefits -- which can top $100,000 -- you can reapply for a higher payment based on your current age.
Note that when your benefits stop, so do the automatic deductions that cover your Medicare premiums. You'll have to pay the Part B premiums yourself -- currently $110.40 per month for new beneficiaries who enroll in 2010 -- until your Social Security benefits resume.
Hank Phillips of Pottstown, Pa., decided that the do-over Strategy had his name written all over it after he watched the stock market's bumpy ride diminish the savings that he and his wife, Deirdre, accumulated over a lifetime. "The do-over Strategy was unaffected by the stock and bond markets, and it had guaranteed income backed by the U.S. government," says Phillips, 70. "It included benefit increases based on cost-of-living adjustments and had a death benefit for my wife in the event that I die first."
The former marketing manager started receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, and after years of annual cost-of-living adjustments, his monthly benefit had increased to about $1,675. But that's substantially less than the more than $2,800 per month he could have collected if he had waited until age 70. Although he had to repay more than $142,000 in benefits that he and Deirdre, 68, had received over the years, Phillips felt it was a bargain compared with what it would cost to buy an immediate-payout annuity with annual cost-of-living increases from an insurance company.
As an added bonus, you can claim an itemized deduction or tax credit -- whichever is more beneficial -- for taxes you paid on past Social Security benefits in the year you repay them (see IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, for details).
It took about six months from the time Phillips filled out Form 521 until he began receiving his new, higher benefit -- an increase of $1,175 per month over his previous amount -- plus a check for three months of retroactive benefits dating back to his 70th birthday. Despite the delays and hiccups along the way, Phillips says it was worth the effort to increase their monthly benefit by 160%, with built-in cost-of-living adjustments -- no matter how long he and Deirdre live.
CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
Now is the time to buy Real Estate
Condos that cost less than cars
from Money Magazine
Les Christie, staff writer, On Monday August 2, 2010, 4:15 am EDT
The housing bust has made owning a home a lot more affordable -- but in some places, prices are extraordinary; you can buy a nice condo for less than the cost of a new family car.
Some cities have dozens of attractive condominium listings selling for $50,000 or $25,000. There are some selling for less than a new Toyota Corolla. And these are not derelict hovels in crime-ridden communities: These homes are often in move-in condition and located in nice neighborhoods.
"Not to sound like a salesman, but there are some real bargains out there," said Kevin Berman, a broker with Bankers Realty Services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The housing bust has taken down the national median home price by about 23% since 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). But condo have fallen even further, down about 25%.
In Sacramento, Calif., condo prices have fallen 59% from what they averaged in 2007, according to NAR. Miami condo prices have plunged 65%, and in Las Vegas they are off 66%.
Prices of individual units are down even more. One condo in Deerfield Beach, Fla., that sold for $115,000 five years ago now lists for $25,000. That's a drop of nearly 80%.
Much of these price drops can be attributed to over development during the boom. Much of that came in Sand State markets such as Las Vegas Miami and Phoenix, where prices for all properties are have fallen precipitously.
Berman has a one bedroom condo in one of these areas with a listing price of $15,000. He said it needs a little work, and it's in a community that doesn't allow you to rent out the property,, but still, $15,000?
"It's great for a vacation property or a retirement home," he said.
Another of his listings is in North Miami, about three miles from the beach. It's a 900-square foot, one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath with a community swimming pool, central air and assigned parking that costs just $23,450. That's less than a fully loaded new Camry.
In Las Vegas, there are more than 200 condos listed for $30,000 or less. A two-bedroom, two-bath condo with a covered patio in North Las Vegas can be had for just $30,000.
Of course, condo owners have other expenses, particularly maintaining the grounds and common areas, but these tend to be quite low. And the property taxes are also often modest.
Plus, if these housing markets ever rebound, there's even likely to be some price appreciation for these homes. You can't say that about a new car.
Condos that cost less than cars
from Money Magazine
Les Christie, staff writer, On Monday August 2, 2010, 4:15 am EDT
The housing bust has made owning a home a lot more affordable -- but in some places, prices are extraordinary; you can buy a nice condo for less than the cost of a new family car.
Some cities have dozens of attractive condominium listings selling for $50,000 or $25,000. There are some selling for less than a new Toyota Corolla. And these are not derelict hovels in crime-ridden communities: These homes are often in move-in condition and located in nice neighborhoods.
"Not to sound like a salesman, but there are some real bargains out there," said Kevin Berman, a broker with Bankers Realty Services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The housing bust has taken down the national median home price by about 23% since 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). But condo have fallen even further, down about 25%.
In Sacramento, Calif., condo prices have fallen 59% from what they averaged in 2007, according to NAR. Miami condo prices have plunged 65%, and in Las Vegas they are off 66%.
Prices of individual units are down even more. One condo in Deerfield Beach, Fla., that sold for $115,000 five years ago now lists for $25,000. That's a drop of nearly 80%.
Much of these price drops can be attributed to over development during the boom. Much of that came in Sand State markets such as Las Vegas Miami and Phoenix, where prices for all properties are have fallen precipitously.
Berman has a one bedroom condo in one of these areas with a listing price of $15,000. He said it needs a little work, and it's in a community that doesn't allow you to rent out the property,, but still, $15,000?
"It's great for a vacation property or a retirement home," he said.
Another of his listings is in North Miami, about three miles from the beach. It's a 900-square foot, one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath with a community swimming pool, central air and assigned parking that costs just $23,450. That's less than a fully loaded new Camry.
In Las Vegas, there are more than 200 condos listed for $30,000 or less. A two-bedroom, two-bath condo with a covered patio in North Las Vegas can be had for just $30,000.
Of course, condo owners have other expenses, particularly maintaining the grounds and common areas, but these tend to be quite low. And the property taxes are also often modest.
Plus, if these housing markets ever rebound, there's even likely to be some price appreciation for these homes. You can't say that about a new car.
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CarmeloOrchards
Crusader
sheetrock and fire
There was a pan of french fries on a stove in an apartment. Then it was left for "just two seconds."
The apartment above this apartment didn't have any damage other than smoke and some melted blinds. Ditto the next door neighbors.
Sheetrock is an excellent fire barrier.
Look where the sheetrock has been pulled off. The studs look uncharred. The sheetrock contained the fire long enough that the other apartments weren't harmed.
When the fire marshall or building codes inspector looks at your apartments, and says "fix that hole in the ceiling (or) wall," this is why.
Same is true in your house.
There was a pan of french fries on a stove in an apartment. Then it was left for "just two seconds."
The apartment above this apartment didn't have any damage other than smoke and some melted blinds. Ditto the next door neighbors.
Sheetrock is an excellent fire barrier.
Look where the sheetrock has been pulled off. The studs look uncharred. The sheetrock contained the fire long enough that the other apartments weren't harmed.
When the fire marshall or building codes inspector looks at your apartments, and says "fix that hole in the ceiling (or) wall," this is why.
Same is true in your house.
SweetnessandLight
Crusader
What is sheetrock, anyway? Is it the same thing as drywall?
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