Just Explain It: How to use Social Security for all it is worth

Social Security beneficiaries will receive a little more spending money this year. Thanks to the annual cost of living increase.

According to the Social Security Administration, the average single beneficiary will get $21 more each month ? $34 for couples. It?s not much to begin with, and some of that extra cash could end up going to things like higher Medicare premiums or just groceries.

Which brings us to today?s Just Explain it.

What?s the best strategy to maximize your Social Security check in retirement?

We spoke to Richard Johnson, Director of the Program on Retirement Policy at the Urban Institute, to help break it all down.

AARON TASK: What are some of the things you can do to maximize your Social Security retirement check?

RICHARD JOHNSON: So you want to work full-time, you want to work at least 35 years. If you don?t work ten years you don?t get anything so that?s important. Social Security only counts earnings up to a certain level. So this year it?s only earnings up to $113,700. Anything you earn above that is not taxed by Social Security, but also you are not going to earn any Social Security benefits on anything above that cap. What really matters in terms of how much Social Security benefits you get is when you choose to collect?start collecting your benefits.

What?s the best strategy to do that then? Should you wait as long as possible?

Waiting as long as possible is good. So you can start collecting as early as 62, but the full retirement age for people who are now in their 60s is age 66. If you choose to retire at age 62 instead of age 66, you?re going to get only 75% of your full benefits. But, for each year you wait beyond 66 not only do you get 100% of your benefits you get an additional 8%. So if you can hold out to age 70, you?re going to get 132% of your full benefits. By retiring at age 70 instead of age 62 you?re going to get 76% more in your monthly paycheck than you otherwise would.

What?s the best way for couples to maximize their benefits?

Well for couples it?s a little more complicated. Once your spouse has started to receive benefits, you can claim on your spouse?s record. You can then get 50% of your spouse?s benefit and then and not claim on your own. And then you?re earning this delayed retirement credit on your own benefit, then you can switch over, let?s say at age 66?at age 70, switch from this relatively small spousal benefit to this now much higher benefit based on your own earnings.

When it comes to Social Security, are there things you can do to minimize the tax bill you have to pay on your Social Security checks?

A useful tax strategy might be to take some of your 401K distributions before you start collecting your Social Security. So what you could do is delay Social Security to well into your 60s, until 67 or 68, take your 401K in your early 60s at least that way you?re not going to have to pay as much tax on your Social Security when you do start collecting.

Can you keep working while you?re collecting Social Security? Does that affect your benefits?

For people who are collecting benefits and are below their full retirement age, below 66 today, if they earn more than a certain amount their Social Security benefits will be reduced. And that threshold today is about $15,000. So for every two dollars that you earn above that level, above $15,000, they?re going to lose one dollar in Social Security benefits. However, after the full retirement age, after 66, you can earn as much as you want. It will have no impact on your Social Security at all.

I would imagine that a lot of Social Security beneficiaries are frustrated by the fact that they?re only getting an additional $21 a month, because it seems like the price of everything else is going up a lot more than Social Security. Is that a common complaint? What do you say to those folks?

It is a common complaint. But when you look at the data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is computed on a market basket of goods that workers are consuming. One concern has always been that the CPI, and thus the change in the Social Security COLA (cost of living adjustment), does not fully reflect increases in healthcare costs. Healthcare costs lately have been rising a little bit faster than average, though they have slowed down a lot in the past few years. That is one concern, but energy costs are very erratic. Older people tend to use a little bit less in energy than younger people. On average I think it works pretty well. I mean if people are concerned now, one of the bigger concerns is there?s talk about changing the way these cost of living adjustments are made that would actually bring down the increase a little bit in the future. So things might be a little worse in the future. One way to save money so Social Security doesn?t go bankrupt.

Like most retirement savings programs, decisions related to your Social Security retirement benefits should be made in advance. How and when you claim benefits will help to maximize the check you?ll receive in retirement.

Did you learn something? Do you have a topic you?d like explained? Give us your feedback in the comments below or on Twitter using #justexplainit.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/just-explain-it/just-explain-maximizing-social-security-retirement-benefits-214855432.html

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Torched truck investigated amid manhunt

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Thousands of police officers throughout Southern California and neighboring states hunted Thursday for a disgruntled former Los Angeles officer wanted for going on a deadly shooting rampage that he warned in an online posting would target those on the force who wronged him, authorities said.

Police issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by the fired officer, Christopher Dorner, who has military training. Among those mentioned were members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," said the manifesto. It also asserted: "Unfortunately, I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That's what this is about, my name. A man is nothing without his name."

Dorner has available multiple weapons including an assault rifle, said police Chief Charlie Beck, who urged Dorner to surrender. "Nobody else needs to die," he said.

More than 40 protection details were assigned to possible targets of Dorner. Police spokesman Cmdr. Andrew Smith said he couldn't remember a larger manhunt by the department.

The hunt spread from California to Nevada, Arizona and Mexico, said a U.S. Marshals Service official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to publicly comment.

A burned-out pickup truck reported near the Big Bear ski area at 8:35 a.m. came under investigation. TV news helicopters showed a rifle-equipped team being delivered to the area in the San Bernardino Mountains. San Bernardino County sheriff's Deputy Zach Beckum said the pickup fire was being investigated but there has been no sighting of Dorner. Beckum said local school officials decided to lock down the schools. The Bear Mountain ski resort closed its slopes and FBI agents manned a checkpoint to question drivers leaving the area.

The search for Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements, began after he was linked to a weekend killing in which one of the victims was the daughter of a former police captain who had represented him during the disciplinary hearing. Authorities believe Dorner opened fire early Thursday on police in cities east of Los Angeles, killing an officer and wounding another.

Beck detailed Dorner's alleged crimes in an unusual press conference in an underground room at police headquarters, where extra security was deployed. The chief said there had been a "night of extreme tragedy in the Los Angeles area" and that all measures were being implemented to ensure officer safety.

Police said Dorner, 33, implicated himself in the couple's killings with the multi-page "manifesto."

A Facebook post believed written by Dorner said he knew he would be vilified by the LAPD and the news media, but that "unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name."

Los Angeles police believe the manifesto posted to Facebook was written by Dorner because there are details in it only he would know.

As police searched for him, the packed Los Angeles area was on edge. The nearly 10,000-member LAPD dispatched many of its officers to protect potential targets. The department also pulled officers from motorcycle duty, fearing they would make for easy targets.

In San Diego, where Dorner allegedly tied up an elderly man and unsuccessfully tried to steal his boat Wednesday night, Naval Base Point Loma was locked down Thursday after a Navy worker reported seeing someone who resembled Dorner.

Navy Cmdr. Brad Fagan said officials don't believe he was on base Thursday but had checked into a base hotel on Tuesday and left the next day without checking out. Numerous agencies guarded the base.

Fagan said Dorner was honorably discharged and that his last day in the Navy was last Friday.

Nevada authorities also looked for Dorner because he owns a house nine miles from the Las Vegas Strip, according to authorities and court records.

Authorities said the U.S. Navy reservist may be driving a dark colored 2005 Nissan Titan pickup truck.

The hunt for Dorner led to two errant shootings in the pre-dawn darkness Thursday.

Los Angeles officers guarding a "target" named in the posting shot and wounded two women in suburban Torrance who were in a pickup but were not involved, authorities said. It's not clear if the target is a person or a location. Beck said one woman was in stable condition with two gunshot wounds and the other was being released after treatment.

"Tragically we believe this was a case of mistaken identity by the officers," Beck said.

Minutes later Torrance officers responding to a report of gunshots encountered a dark pickup matching the description of Dorner's, said Torrance Sgt. Chris Roosen. A collision occurred and the officers fired on the pickup. The unidentified driver was not hit and it turned out not to be the suspect vehicle, Roosen said.

"We're asking our officers to be extraordinarily cautious just as we're asking the public to be extraordinarily cautious with this guy. He's already demonstrated he has a propensity for shooting innocent people," said Smith, the LAPD commander.

Dorner is wanted in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence. They were found shot in their car at a parking structure at their condominium on Sunday night in Irvine, authorities said.

Quan, 28, was an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton. Lawrence, 27, was a public safety officer at the University of Southern California. There was disbelief at three college campuses, Fullerton, USC, and Concordia University, where the two met when they were both students and basketball players.

Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.

Quan's father, a former LAPD captain who became a lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press Wednesday night.

Randal Quan retired in 2002. He later served as chief of police at Cal Poly Pomona before he started practicing law.

According to documents from a court of appeals hearing in October 2011, Dorner was fired from the LAPD after he made a complaint against his field training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans. Dorner said that in the course of an arrest, Evans kicked suspect Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic with severe dementia.

Richard Gettler, the schizophrenic man's father, gave testimony that supported Dorner's claim. After his son was returned on July 28, 2007, Richard Gettler asked "if he had been in a fight because his face was puffy" and his son responded that he was kicked twice in the chest by a police officer.

Early Thursday, the first shooting occurred in Corona and involved two LAPD officers working a security detail, said LAPD Sgt. Alex Baez. A citizen pointed out Dorner to the officers who followed until his pickup stopped and the driver got out and fired a rifle at them, officials said. One officer's head was grazed by a bullet.

Later, two officers on routine patrol in neighboring Riverside were ambushed at a stop light by a motorist who drove up next to them and opened fire with a rifle. One died and the other was seriously wounded but was expected to survive, said Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz.

Diaz said news organizations should withhold the officers' names because the suspect had made clear that he considers police and their families "fair game."

Dorner's LAPD badge and an ID were found near San Diego's airport and were turned in to police at early Thursday, San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick said.

___

Associated Press writers contributing to this report include Jeff Wilson, Bob Jablon, Greg Risling and John Antczak in Los Angeles and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/massive-manhunt-ex-cop-accused-killing-3-175229179.html

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Iran airs images allegedly extracted from US drone

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's state TV has broadcast footage allegedly extracted from the advanced CIA spy drone captured in 2011, the latest in a flurry of moves from Iranian authorities meant to underline the nation's purported military and technological advances.

Iran has long claimed it managed to reverse-engineer the RQ-170 Sentinel, seized in December 2011 after it entered Iranian airspace from its eastern border with Afghanistan, and that it's capable of launching its own production line for the unmanned aircraft.

After initially saying only that a drone had been lost near the Afghan-Iran border, American officials eventually confirmed the Sentinel had been monitoring Iran's military and nuclear facilities. Washington asked for it back but Iran refused, and instead released photos of Iranian officials studying the aircraft.

The video aired late Wednesday on Iranian shows an aerial view of an airport and a city, said to be a U.S. drone base and Kandahar, Afghanistan. The TV also showed images purported to be the Sentinel landing at a base in eastern Iran but it was unclear if that footage meant to depict the moment of the drone's seizure.

In addition, the TV also showed images of an Iranian helicopter transporting the drone, as well as its disassembled parts being carried on a trailer.

In another part of the video, the chief of the Revolutionary Guard's airspace division, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that only after capturing the drone, Iran realized it "belongs to the CIA."

"We were able to definitively access the data of the drone, once we brought it down," said Hajizadeh.

He described the Sentinel's capture as a huge scoop for Iran, saying that at the time, Tehran did not rule out a possible punitive U.S. airstrike over the drone.

Iranian officials have accused the U.S. of stepping up its espionage activities against Iran as part of intensified Western efforts to force Tehran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, a key aspect of its disputed nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran may be trying to develop atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

In an attempt to embarrass Washington, Iran has claimed to have captured several American drones, most recently in December, when Tehran said it seized a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone ? a less sophisticated aircraft ? after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials said there was no evidence that the latest claims were true.

The latest Sentinel footage came as the U.S. tightened sanctions to pressure the Iranian government to limit its nuclear program and restrictions on institutions that Washington says are stifling political dissent and censoring speech.

Among the expanded measures announced Monday by the Treasury Department is a move to deny Iran access to revenue garnered from its oil exports. Under the latest sanctions, Iran would only be able to use revenue from its oil sales in a country that purchased its crude ? now mostly big Asian economies such as China and India ? which would significantly limit its access to the money.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-07-Iran-US%20Drone/id-4cb642e1499a4e30ae4dc4c103965162

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Super Bowl tops ratings; outage highly viewed, too

NEW YORK (AP) ? As it does nearly every year, the Super Bowl will almost certainly stand as the most-watched television event of 2013. This year, the Blackout Bowl wasn't too far behind.

CBS prevailed upon the Nielsen Co. to estimate how many viewers watched the Baltimore Ravens' victory over the San Francisco 49ers while excluding the 34 minutes in the third quarter where the game was stopped because of a partial power outage in the Superdome. The game was seen by an average of 108.7 million people, down from the last two years but still ranking as the third most-watched show in U.S. television history.

Leaving aside the outage period, which came at a time the Ravens had a big lead, was likely CBS' attempt to nudge the viewership to a historically high level.

Yet few people were interested in tuning out. Nielsen said 106.6 million watched the power outage delay, which was basically extended scenes of first half highlights and players stretching to keep warm.

CBS dominated the week's non-football programming, too. In a positive sign for Fox, its new drama "The Following" was the most-watched scripted show on ABC, NBC or Fox last week, Nielsen said.

Skewed by Super Sunday, CBS averaged 28 million viewers in prime time for the week (13.6 rating, 22 share). Fox was second with 6.2 million viewers (3.7, 6), ABC had 4.7 million (3.1, 5), NBC had 3.9 million (2.6, 4), the CW had 1.6 million (1.0, 2) and ION Television had 1.2 million (0.8, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with 3.6 million (1.9, 3), Telemundo had 1.2 million (0.6, 1), UniMas had 750,000 (0.4, 1), Estrella had 210,000 and Azteca had 120,000 (both 0.1, 0)

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.2 million viewers (5.9, 12). ABC's "World News" was second with 8.3 million (5.6, 11) and the "CBS Evening News" had 6 million viewers (3.9, 8).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: Super Bowl XLVII: Baltimore vs. San Francisco, CBS, 108.69 million; "Super Bowl Power Outage," CBS, 106.56 million; "NCIS," CBS, 22.07 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 17.76 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 17.3 million; "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 15.78 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 15.71 million; "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 13.8 million; "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.7 million; "Blue Bloods," CBS, 11.5 million.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox and My Network TV are units of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

___

Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-05-Nielsens/id-95a88be780224e20b2737e32996895a0

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Review: Microsoft Surface Pro

The Surface Pro looks like a tablet, but it's not a mobile device. It's a portable device.

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New kind of extinct flying reptile discovered

Feb. 4, 2013 ? A new kind of pterosaur, a flying reptile from the time of the dinosaurs, has been identified by scientists from the Transylvanian Museum Society in Romania, the University of Southampton in the UK and the Museau Nacional in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

The fossilised bones come from the Late Cretaceous rocks of Sebe?-Glod in the Transylvanian Basin, Romania, which are approximately 68 million years old. The Transylvanian Basin is world-famous for its many Late Cretaceous fossils, including dinosaurs of many kinds, as well as fossilised mammals, turtles, lizards and ancient relatives of crocodiles.

A paper on the new species, named Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis has been published in the online journal PLoS ONE. Dr Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton's Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group, who helped identify the new species, says: "Eurazhdarcho belong to a group of pterosaurs called the azhdarchids. These were long-necked, long-beaked pterosaurs whose wings were strongly adapted for a soaring lifestyle. Several features of their wing and hind limb bones show that they could fold their wings up and walk on all fours when needed.

"With a three-metre wingspan, Eurazhdarcho would have been large, but not gigantic. This is true of many of the animals so far discovered in Romania; they were often unusually small compared to their relatives elsewhere."

The discovery is the most complete example of an azhdarchid found in Europe so far and its discovery supports a long-argued theory about the behaviour of these types of creatures.

Dr Gareth Dyke, Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Palaeontology, based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton says: "Experts have argued for years over the lifestyle and behaviour of azhdarchids. It has been suggested that they grabbed prey from the water while in flight, that they patrolled wetlands and hunted in a heron or stork-like fashion, or that they were like gigantic sandpipers, hunting by pushing their long bills into mud.

"One of the newest ideas is that azhdarchids walked through forests, plains and other places in search of small animal prey. Eurazhdarcho supports this view of azhdarchids, since these fossils come from an inland, continental environment where there were forests and plains as well as large, meandering rivers and swampy regions."

Fossils from the region show that there were several places where both giant azhdarchids and small azhdarchids lived side by side. Eurazhdarcho's discovery indicates that there were many different animals hunting different prey in the region at the same time, demonstrating a much more complicated picture of the Late Cretaceous world than first thought.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. M?ty?s Vremir, Alexander W. A. Kellner, Darren Naish, Gareth J. Dyke. A New Azhdarchid Pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of the Transylvanian Basin, Romania: Implications for Azhdarchid Diversity and Distribution. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e54268 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054268

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/T9iYst9TdIw/130204111548.htm

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Video: Insider Trades That Made Execs Millions

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Windows Phone 7.8 hands-on: cosmetically yours

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when Microsoft declared that fairly fresh (and costly) Windows Phone 7 devices like the Nokia Lumia 900 would never taste its latest WP8 wares. To assuage hurt feelings and keep legacy phone owners within throwing distance of the latest devices like the Nokia Lumia 920 or HTC's 8X, Redmond introduced Windows Phone 7.8 (version 7.10.8858), which started arriving via Zune on January 31st. It was likely hoping that the upgrade would tide legacy owners over until their contracts expired or boredom set in, at which point they'd get a new device packing WP8 -- including not-too-costly models like the $249 (contract-free) Lumia 620. So the question is, will the 7.8 bone thrown at WP7 handset owners prevent them from looking at the greener Android or iOS grass across the fence? We've got a Lumia 610 here that was otherwise collecting dust, so head after the break to find out our thoughts.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Z1SYKYcSJQY/

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Simple Self Defense for Women Featured on Daytona Live TV Show ...

Related eBooks

Interview of Tracy Vega Simple Self Defense for Women Featured on Daytona Live TV Show 2011. Simple Self Defense for Women? takes a unique approach to self-defense. It is designed specifically for women who want to know How to Simply Escape an Attack, NOT Stay and Fight. For more information about Simple Self Defense for Women please visit www.simpleselfdefenseforwomen.com

Related Reading:

The SAS Self-Defense Handbook

Essential self-defense training from the elite British SAS.

Barry Davies is one of the most widely respected experts on the techniques and training of the elite British Special Air Service (SAS). In The SAS Self-Defense Handbook, Davies reveals the self-defense techniques of the SAS. The handbook is fully illustrated with nearly 130 photographs and illustrations that explain how to properly use your body and use everyday objects such as desktop items and cigarette lighters to protect yourself. Learn how to avoid physical attacks from humans and animals, and handle those confrontations that cannot be avoided. 83 color and 39 black-and-white illustrations

Source: http://www.jackiesbazaar.com/womensinterests/self-defense/simple-self-defense-for-women-featured-on-daytona-live-tv-show-2011

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Steve Fairchild, ex-CSU Rams coach, hired as Virginia coordinator

Steve Fairchild. (The Denver Post)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.???Virginia has hired former Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild to be its offensive coordinator.

Fairchild replaces Bill Lazor, who resigned earlier this week to take a job on Chip Kelly's staff with the Philadelphia. Eagles.

Fairchild, a Colorado State graduate, coached the Rams from 2008-2011. He was 16-33 in his first stint as a head coach after a long career as an assistant.

Before that he had spent two seasons as offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills. After being fired by CSU, he returned to the NFL last year to work as an offensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dp-sports/~3/FRQuakspaeE/steve-fairchild-ex-csu-rams-coach-hired-virginia

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