social security

The Federal Trade Commission say scams against the elderly are increasing. You have heard about the telephone calls “your grandchild is in trouble, send money now” that are not true.

But it is not only the telephone scams of various types to be concerned about. Family members account for nearly 60 percent of the cases of senior financial exploitation. Friends, neighbors and paid home care aides also can be involved in scams.

A 27-year-old Carson City woman, wanted on a felony warrant, was arrested early Sunday after giving officers the name of her roommate and then running from them early Sunday morning in the area of William and Rand streets, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

Kayla Lynn Olson was caught near Long Street and Wendy Lane at 1:12 a.m. after having jumped over fences in a foot pursuit with deputies, according to the arrest report. The woman was contacted after having crossed William Street with two others.

The following was sent to me by a friend, a retired detective, who gave me permission to submit it here. I checked his information, it's true.

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Did you receive your Medicare Handbook for 2015 yet? If you have already received yours in the mail, please turn to page 12, go down to the bottom of the page and read "Find out what you pay for Medicare (Part A and Part B)." It states that

"the premium and deductible amounts weren't available at the time of printing. To get the most up-to-date cost information, ... call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)."

I recently received an overly large mailer from PK O'Neill, a candidate for Assembly District 40. What he says is disturbing. He pontificates without solutions. He seems more concerned with cliches than real issues.

PK is not alone when making political claims. For another example, see Maizie Harris Jesse's letter “Candidates need to research lt.gov.job duties” in 17 October Nevada Appeal.

PK on the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)

If you lost money in the stock market in 2014, or if you have capital loss deductions from 2013 that carry over to 2014, look at your actual, or possible, 2014 sales of capital assets (stocks, real estate, etc) before the year is over.

Long term capital losses (from sales of items held over 1 year) are used to offset long term capital gains. If the result is a net loss, then the excess can offset short term capital gains.

Since October has become the “scary month” I thought I would try my hand at telling you a scary story. You get a call from somebody claiming to be with the IRS, telling you that you owe back taxes of $1,253.28 and must pay right away with a credit card or wire transfer or face possible bank account levy, or deportation, or loss of driver’s license, and/or arrest within the next 48 hours?

For several years now, many employers have learned to save money by hiring out of state employees to work from their homes. Let’s look at an example. A Silicon Valley High Tech company hires a highly qualified lady who lives in Nevada.

Right away, the California based company has saved money by paying it’s Nevada employee less since the Nevada employee is not subject to California Income Tax while working in Nevada.

A 23-year-old Carson City woman was arrested at 9:22 p.m. in the 2800 block of South Carson Street on a felony charge of parole violation and three misdemeanor charges including driving under suspicion of drugs after she crashed her car into the wall of a motel, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

I recently went to a special seminar on Social Security. The speaker was a retired manager with 35 years of experience working at the Social Security Administration. He went through the details of how the various benefits are computed, etc. but his observations were interesting.
Some of the information will not be new to you, but it is still interesting:

If your individual income tax return ends up with a balance to pay of more than $1,000, you may incur a small penalty for Underpayment of Estimated Tax. Form 2210 is used to compute the penalty and it is a fun form with many special rules.

The penalty is not really only about estimated tax. If you have tax withheld from wages, retirement, social security benefits, etc. and you owe more than $1,000 with your return, you may incur the penalty.

Giving your church or favorite charity is a wonderful thing to do. Getting income tax savings helps, but that is not really why you give them your time and treasure.

The stock market has been very good, most stocks moving up in price. If you have some stocks or mutual funds that have increased in value since you purchased them, maybe you could consider using some of them to make charitable gifts?

Ministers have a special tax benefit for the amount of Housing Allowance they receive. They can exclude from gross income for income tax purposes the rental value of homes furnished by churches as part of their compensation.

This is also allowed for the portion of a retired minister’s pension that is designated as a rental allowance by the national governing body of a religious denomination having complete control over the retirement fund.

Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei had added several new faces to his office staff including Bernie Curtis, who recently retired as chief of the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation.

Curtis, of Gardnerville, will serve as field representative in Amodei’s Reno office. He brings more than 36 years of experience from across Northern Nevada in law enforcement, local government and the private sector, including serving as Douglas County Commissioner.

A 20-year-old man was arrested Monday on multiple felony charges including two warrants, a Carson City sheriff's deputy said. Cahner Stephen Yews, of Gardnerville, was taken into custody at 11:16 a.m. in the area of Roop and John streets following a traffic stop.
According to the arrest report, officers stopped the vehicle, occupied by four people, because it had suspended plates.

The IRS has warned repeatedly of a massive, sophisticated telephone scam. IRS warned of this scheme last October, then Feb. 27, 2014 and again March 20, 2014.

The scam is when victims are contacted by telephone and usually told they are entitled to big refunds or that they owe money that must be paid immediately to IRS.

Two people were jailed Friday on felony drug charges during an investigation that involved the Tri-County Gang Unit and the Carson City Sheriff's Office Special Enforcement Team.

Rebecca Peltier, 31, was arrested at 6:44 p.m. in the 100 block of Corbett Street in Carson City on suspicion of maintaining a drug house, and possession of methamphetamine, both felonies. A 42-year-old Reno man, Jason Leon Baker, was also arrested on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance.

A 47-year-old man was arrested Monday in the area of Arrowhead and Centennial Park Drive in Carson City for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender.

Manuel Jesus Zavala of Dayton taken into custody at 4:43 p.m. on the felony charge and three misdemeanors: driving on a revoked or suspended license, speeding and failure to appear.

A 32-year-old home care worker turned herself into the Carson City Sheriff's Office early Tuesday on a felony warrant for her arrest.

Amy Lynne Wolf of Carson City was taken into custody at 1 a.m. on March 25. A warrant was issued Feb. 27, 2014 on a charge of suspicion of fraudulent use of a credit card. A $5,000 bondable was set and she was released from jail on that bond.

In other arrests: A man jailed Sunday on felony drug and fugitive charges had an additional misdemeanor charge added Tuesday after he failed to appear in a Carson City courtroom in May 2007 on a traffic citation.

A 19-year-old Carson City man was arrested Sunday on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after a chase through a field near Highway 50 and Fairview Drive.

Hector Cervantes is being held in Carson City Jail without bail on a parole violation charge and $10,428 bail for other charges.

According to the arrest report, Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies responded at 12:31 a.m. to the 2800 block of Century Drive where there had been several people outside a home yelling and screaming. It turned out to be a large house party where several underage people were drinking.

These days it’s common to find women who balance family life with active careers. That’s why it’s important for working women to take an active role in planning for retirement.
Females retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 19 years (three years longer than males retiring at the same age), but only 45 percent of women participate in a retirement plan. Those statistics may make women feel insecure about their future, but with proper planning, women can feel more confident about their retirement years.

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A 40-year-old man is being held on more than $1 million bail after leading Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies on a pursuit through the west side of Carson City late Wednesday night, ending when he crashed a stolen vehicle he was driving into a shed and tree near the Governor's Mansion.

A 29-year-old Carson City woman and 27-year-old man were arrested Thursday, each facing two misdemeanor warrant counts for failure to appear.

The pair were arrested in the 2100 block of Airport Road at 8:05 p.m. According to the arrest report, officers with the Carson City Sheriff's Office Special Enforcement Team conducted a warrant service on the woman at the residence.

Ben Franklin once said, “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.” That might be true, but Ben wasn’t able to open an IRA back then. If he had this option, he might have felt a little more lighthearted about paying the tax man.
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are great for people looking to save money on their tax bill and boost their retirement savings at the same time. In this volatile economy, saving money is more important than ever. Plus, when the stock market is down, it could be a good time to invest.

A Carson City man was arrested Friday on suspicion of felony child abuse. Terry Ray Kilfian was arrested in the 2200 block of Roop Street at 12:19 p.m.

According to the arrest report, Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies met with the 12-year-old victim who claimed his father punched him in the face, then kicked him on the side in his ribs. The child had visible injuries to his neck, face and ribcage, according to the arrest report.

My parents are receiving Social Security payments. Should I be worried that their monthly checks will be cut and that I will have to make up the difference?

No, there are no plans to reduce benefits for current retirees. Even without any changes, current benefits are expected to be fully payable until about 2033.

I’ll be retiring in the next five to ten years. Can I expect my presently scheduled benefits to be paid to me at retirement?

Millions of workers could overlook a special federal tax credit because they don't know about it. As a result, they could miss out on up to $6,143 extra in their federal income tax refunds through the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. In 2011, on average, the credit boosted refunds for eligible workers in Nevada by $2,200.

Anybody remember the lyrics to the Wizard of Oz song about the Yellow Brick Road?

“You’re off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. You’ll find he is a Whiz of a Wiz if ever a Wiz there was. If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was the Wizard of Oz is one because. Because, because, because, because, because. Because of the wonderful things he does. You’re off to see the wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Some folks ask “just what is a medical expense” that I can deduct for income taxes? Medical expenses eligible to be deducted as itemized deductions on Schedule A of your form 1040 include amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, or paid for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body.

Nevadans should monitor their credit and debit card statements for unauthorized transactions as Target continues to monitor a security breach that has exposed data from 40 million customers nationwide, said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

“Nevadans need to be vigilant and monitor their credit and debit card statements closely, especially Target shoppers who visited the store this holiday season,” said Masto.

The Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds sent identical letters on May 31, 2013 to the President of the Senate, Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and to the Speaker of the House of Representative, Hon. John A. Boehner.