Social Security disability payments have been expanded to include individuals with early onset Alzheimer's. Prior to the Social Security Administration's ruling, young individuals with Alzheimer's were faced with lengthy legal battles to qualify as disabled and receive benefits. To learn move about the changes you can visit the Alzheimer's Association and the Social Security websites.
Erin
New credit card rules went into effect today. The legislation hopes to mitigate confusing credit card practices and help consumers manage their debt. Below you will find a summary of the new credit card rules moving forward:
Erin
With all the talk of Roth conversions in 2010, I’d like to bring attention to a little known consequence of doing a Roth conversion- it increases your income and therefore could trigger a higher Medicare premium. Currently, most retirees pay $96.40 for part B coverage. However, if you claim the conversion income over one and/or two years you will likely be push into a very high income bracket and therefore have higher Medicare premiums for those corresponding years. To help with your planning, see Medicare’s income thresholds and subsequent premiums below:
|
Income |
Monthly Medicare Premium |
|
|
Individuals |
Married Couples |
|
|
$85,001 to $107,000 |
$170,001 to $214,000 |
$154.70 |
|
$107,001 to $160,000 |
$214,001 to $320,000 |
$221.00 |
|
$160,001 to $214,000 |
$320,001 to $428,000 |
$287.30 |
|
$214,001 or more |
$428,001 or more |
$353.60 |
Erin
We are very pleased to announce that TD Ameritrade has arranged so our clients will receive double the amount of FDIC insurance for their cash. TD Ameritrade joint accounts will now have up to 1 million dollars in FDIC coverage and up to $500,000 in protection for individual accounts. TD Ameritrade is able to do this by adding a second bank under their umbrella. No action is needed on your part to get the extra insurance.
Erin
Mariners Church, Irvine
January 16, 2010
1p.m. - 3 p.m.
Patty Barnett Mouton, Director of Education & Public Policy, Alzheimer's Association, Orange County Chapter will discuss how to detect and treat the early signs of Alzheimer's and related disorders.
The event is offered online to those that can not attend in-person.
For event registration and details click here
You have to be careful with what you're getting yourself into when it comes to reverse mortgages. Many retirees take out reverse mortgages to generate cash to live on without having to sell their home. While this type of product makes sense for some individuals, many find themselves paying excessive fees for an unnecessary product. To help consumers navigate the world of reverse mortgages the U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued the following guidelines:
1. Explore other loan products such as home equity lines of credit & cash out refinances first
2. Reverse mortgages are generally too costly if you plan to stay in your home for less than 10 years
3. Be cautious of agents that try to sell you other products, such as annuities, in addition to the reverse mortgage
4. Consult with a counselor from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development before you commit to anything
5. If you do get a reverse mortgage, make sure the loan is insured under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) so that if the lender can't or won't continue payments, the government will.
The complete guidelines on reverse mortgages can be viewed here
Erin
The Better Business Bureau, in its consumer alert dated May 5, 2009, offers guidelines to protect yourself from imposters posing as U.S. Census workers in order to steal your identity.
The 2010 U.S. Census will require hundreds of thousands of government employees to gather sensitive information from each household occupant. You are required by law to answer their questions. Unfortunately, this is the opportune time for criminals to impersonate U.S. Census workers in order to steal your personal and financial information. The Better Business Bureau offers the following tips to protect your self against identify theft:
1. U.S. Census workers can be identified by their badge, handheld device, Census Bureau canvas bag, and will carry a confidentiality notice. Be sure to verify their badge and identification before answering any questions.
2. Census Workers will only gather address information on door to door visits. U.S. Census workers do not need to enter your home.
3. The Census Bureau will not ask for your social security number, bank account numbers, or credit card numbers. They will ask for vague financial information such as household salaries.
4. The Census Bureau will NOT email you. Official workers will only contact you by phone, door to door, or mail.
Erin
Today lawmakers announced that a deal had been reached to close California's 26 billion dollar deficit. We are anxiously awaiting the details as voting is scheduled to begin tonight. The final details of the budget will be released in the next couple of days. News reports of the deal show the largest cuts to higher education, prisons, and Medi-Cal. Primary grades will also face large cuts however federal stimulus money will help make up the difference. The cuts will be painful but necessary. The state,like our own households, can't spend beyond their means forever.
We will provide more analysis as the details of the budget are released.
Today the Orange County Register's May Housing Report reported a $30,000 rise in the OC median home price from April to May 2009. The reported gain in the median price misleads many into believing the housing market has bottomed. On the contrary, a rise in the median could signal we are headed for more price declines. An understanding of how the median is calculated and the stages of foreclosures in Orange County will help to see what the future holds.
The median home price reflects the exact mid point in a line up of all the homes sold from lowest to highest. For example, consider the 7 home transactions below. The $450,000 house that falls in the middle is the median.
$250,000- $300,000- $300,000- $450,000- $450,000- $550,000- $2,000,000
The flaw with the median is if a few pricier homes outnumber the lower priced homes one month or vice versa the median can rise or fall due to the make up of homes sold. Consider the following make up home sales:
Month 1- Seven homes sell for the following prices:
$200,000- $200,000- $250,000- $250,000 - $300,000- $500,000- $500,000 Median=$250,000
Month 2 - Seven Homes sell for the following prices:
$200,000- $250,000- $250,000- $300,000- $500,000- $500,000- $500,000 Median=$300,000
In this example the median price increased 20% in one month. This can be deceptive, though, because prices could be stagnant with the cause of the increase being due to the fact that one less home sold for $200,000 and one more home sold for $500,000. Another possibility for an increase in the median, and which is the case in Orange County, is when higher priced homes decline it attracts more buyers. So in actuality prices are falling but the median is rising. This makes perfect sense if you consider the cycle of foreclosures the market is going through.
This first wave of foreclosures from 2007 to 2008 was due to sub-prime loans which correspond to the lower tiers of the market. The large price declines at the low end spurred buying among first time buyers and investors. Inventory is declining for the inexpensive homes as the foreclosures in this category begin to tamper off. The higher end homes have yet to correct as much as the entry level homes. The delay is due to the Alt-A and Option Arm loans associated with pricier homes that are just starting to go bad. 2009 is showing record foreclosures in the upper tiers of the market. From April to May Foreclosure Radar reports California foreclosure auctions are up 75% from March to May with distressed sales increasing in the upper tiers of the market. The result is increasing price declines for larger homes. The Register reports that Orange County's pricey coastal region experienced the second to highest price drop from a year ago.
The bottom line is home prices will continue to decline with the largest drops in the higher end and a flattening out of prices in the lower end. The good news is we need home prices to return to an affordable level to diversify our local economy and sustain growth. Homes need to be affordable so enough money is left to spend on other goods and services. The positive effects of affordability returning to the market can already be seen in the rebounds in consumer discretionary spending in the last few months.
