Even a one-time boost in income, from the sale of a home, for example, can raise your Medicare premiums. Photo by Flickr user kenteegardin/www.seniorliving.org.

Editors Note: Journalist Philip Moeller, who writes widely on health and retirement, is here to provide the Medicare answers you need in Ask Phil, the Medicare Maven. Send your questions to Phil.

Medicare rules and private insurance plans can affect people differently depending on where they live. To make sure the answers here are as accurate as possible, Phil is working with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). It is funded by the government but is otherwise independent and trains volunteers to provide consumer Medicare counseling in state and local offices around the country.

Moeller is a research fellow at the Center on Aging & Work at Boston College and co-author of How to Live to 100. Follow him on Twitter @PhilMoeller or e-mail him at medicarephil@gmail.com.

Ralph Tenn.: If you sell your home to move to another state to retire, does that raise the cost of your Medicare Part B for that year, and how is that fair? Why do the proceeds from your house, a one-time event, put you into a high-income category?

Phil Moeller: Descend with me deep into the weeds, or, for the anatomically inclined, bowels of Medicare and Social Security bureaucracy. Ralphs question involves what is called the Income Related Monthly Adjusted Amount. Thats IRMAA for short, although there is nothing particularly short about it.

In brief, Medicares rates for Part B (doctor and outpatient) and Part D (drug) coverages are higher for those with higher incomes. IRMAA involves Part B but Ralphs official income levels should also affect his Part D premiums, according to the SHIP counselors who provide me advice for these answers.

Social Security, which does a lot of work affecting Medicare beneficiaries (you may shudder now), looks at a persons federal tax returns to see if their income has changed and is high enough to cause a boost in their Part B and Part D premiums. There is normally a two-year lag, so the agency will look at a 2013 tax return in evaluating 2015 premiums.

Im on Ralphs side here in that one-time gains like this do distort Ralphs true income situation. Of course, IRMAA should only jack up his Medicare premiums for a single year. But still, unfair is unfair.

Ralph apparently is concerned that the sale of his home will produce a big surge in his taxable income. This is a bit surprising, in that tax laws permit a hefty tax exclusion when someone sells their last home and does not roll over the proceeds into a new home. But lets assume Ralph has done his homework here and, for whatever reason, has or will report a big rise in his taxable income tied to the sale of his home.

Excerpt from:
How can selling your home raise your Medicare premiums?

DMP has added three new Z-Wave compatible light switches to further enhance your customers' home and business automation. End users can now wirelessly or manually control overhead lighting in their home or small business using the Virtual Keypad App on smart phones or tablets.

Choose from three new light switches; replace existing light switches and keep existing wiring: Z-Wave Toggle Style Auxiliary Switch (Z-45741): The toggle switch enables control of lighting in 2-way, 3-way, or 4-way wiring configurations. Z-Wave In-Wall Dimmer Switch (Z-45742): This dimmer switch enables on/off and dim control functions of hard-wired CFL/LED and Incandescent lighting. The dimmer feature allows customers to customize the lighting output and create the perfect ambiance for any room in their home or business. Z-Wave In-Wall Toggle Style On/Off Relay Switch (Z-45740): This On/Off switch enables control of direct wire incandescent, LED, xenon, halogen and fluorescent lighting.

Other Z-Wave devices already offered by DMP include: Light and Appliance Modules: Just plug-in the Z-Wave device, then plug in a light or appliance. Turn lights on/off, or dim them. Works with incandescent and fluorescent lights. Door Locks: Keyless Entry Door locks available in Polished Brass, Satin Nickel and Venetian Bronze. Thermostats: Installs just like a standard thermostat. Provides full remote control over temperature and fan settings.

Once your customers begin using "FAVORITES" on the Virtual Keypad App, they will be able to assign multiple Z-Wave devices to a single command.

The Virtual Keypad App is downloaded to a smart phone or mobile device. It provides all the functions of the security system keypad right on the mobile device. Click below to view the latest App update.

DMP is a privately held independent manufacturer of innovative intrusion, fire, access control, network and cellular communication products that are designed, engineered, and assembled in Springfield, MO. DMP is the recognized leader in alarm communication over data networks, with products that are available through professional electronic security companies. For more information, contact Melissa Pitfield at (800) 641-4282, or visit http://www.dmp.com.

Read the original:
DMP Offers More Z-Wave Control Devices with Three New Lighting Switches

ISPreview.co.uk takes a look back at how the top fastest and largest national Mobile Broadband (3G/4G) and Home Broadband providers have performed over the last quarter. Overall Virgin Media still tops the fixed line table with an average Internet download speed of 53.20Mbps (unchanged from Q3 2014), while Vodafone delivered the best mobile performance at 13.78Mbps.

Firstly, there have been a few changes since our last quarterly update in October 2014 (here), with Eclipse Internet being removed from the list because theyve stopped selling domestic packages. On top of that weve decided to start tracking the quarterly performance of the four primary Mobile Broadband providers (note: T-Mobile and Orange are aggregated under parent Everything Everywhere).

Overall the performance of the largest national fixed line Home Broadband ISPs (including the impact of related business connections) during the final quarter of 2014 has remained more or less stable, largely because there havent been any major changes in the market since Virgins double-speed upgrade began at the start of this year (this added roughly 10-15Mbps to VMs average download rate, mostly due to their dominant 30Mbps subscriber base being pushed to 50Mbps).

Meanwhile its interesting to note that the speeds for ISPs that offer up to 80Mbps Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) services, particularly BT which holds the lions share of related subscribers, have broadly tended to remain stable and that might be at least partly due to crosstalk interference becoming more of a problem (this can slow FTTC lines in busy areas). The future addition of Vectoring, which is designed to cancel out crosstalk, should have a positive impact (assuming BTOpenreach ever get around to deploying it).

The Fastest UK ISPs Average Download Speed (Megabits per second)

1. Virgin Media 53.20Mbps 2. BT 25.61Mbps 3. Zen Internet 24.22Mbps 4. PlusNet 22.64Mbps 5. TalkTalk 15.25Mbps 6. Sky Broadband 13.59Mbps 7. EE 13.52Mbps

Average Speed = 24Mbps

The Fastest UK ISPs Average Upload Speed

1. BT 7.64Mbps 2. Zen Internet 7.47Mbps 3. PlusNet 6.89Mbps 4. Virgin Media 6.43Mbps 5. Sky Broadband 3.79Mbps 6. EE (Orange) 3.19Mbps 7. TalkTalk 2.73Mbps

Average Speed = 5.45Mbps

Continued here:
The Fastest 7 National UK Home and Mobile Broadband ISPs for Q4 2014

Posted: Thursday, December 25, 2014 4:00 pm

Iowan who dresses as Santa loses home in Christmas Eve fire

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) An Iowa man who dresses as Santa Claus for charity has lost his home and all of his belongings in a Christmas Eve fire.

The Hawk Eye in Burlington says firefighters were called to a Keokuk home around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. By the time they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.

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Continued here:
Iowan who dresses as Santa loses home in Christmas Eve fire

Rodent are being blamed for a fire that ripped through a family's home on Christmas Day leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Ian Merson said he felt numb after the fire tore through the semi-rural home at Puketapu, north of Hastings, as the family sat down to Christmas dinner at a relative's house.

He and his wife built the large family home 23 years ago where they raised their two children, who were home to celebrate a yuletide season now coloured by calamity.

"There's absolutely nothing - we've got no clothes on our back and nowhere to live," Merson said.

Nothing was salvageable as smoke damage ruined everything from the Christmas tree to Lego destined for future grandchildren.

Merson said the fire was thought to have started in a bathroom fan after rodents gnawed through wiring. "The bathroom's just melted. Everything's just smoke-damaged or unsalvageable, there's nothing left.

"My kids' family home is gone and they knew every square inch of this place."

He said the catastrophe was so painful he would not let his wife inside the house because "she wouldn't be able to handle it" and said he had struggled to drive through the farm gate.

Merson, who is insured, is a roofing contractor and also runs an apple orchard from the farm.

He had to dump stock yesterday at reduced prices because he was unable to water it.

Read the original:
Family loses all in Christmas fire

JACKSON COUNTY, Wis. (WKBT) -

One firefighter was injured while putting out a Christmas day fire in Jackson County.

The firefighter suffered a finger laceration, but no one else was injured.

The Black River Falls Fire Department responded to mobile home fire on Spring Creek Road in the Township of Albion around 6:02 p.m. on Thursday.

When firefighters arrived, smoke was showing from the mobile homes window but there was no open flame. The firefighters attacked the fire from within the home and found the fire mostly running through the walls and under the floor of the structure.

Authorities say the structure and contents appear to be a total loss. The owners Benjamin and Deni Martin and their two young kids were not home when the fire started.

A cause for the fire is unknown at this time but authorities said an electric hot water heater and wiring are being looked at. The owners told the fire department they had trouble with the hot water heater earlier in the day.

The Black River Fire Department used 4,700 gallons of water to fight the fire, which took more than three hours.

The family is being assisted by the Red Cross.

The rest is here:
Mobile home a complete loss after Christmas Day fire

Fire destroyed an unoccupied Jackson County mobile home Thursday, according to the Black River Falls Fire Department.

A report of smoke coming from the home at W11404 Spring Creek Road in the town of Albion was relayed to the Jackson County dispatch center at 6:02 p.m. Firefighters found the fire running in the walls and beneath the floor of the structure, which was described as a total loss.

Owners Benjamin and Deni Martin and their two young children were not at home.

Investigators said wiring of faulty electric water heater may be the cause, as the owners said they working on it earlier in the day, according to a news release from Chief Steve Schreiber.

The family had no insurance and the Red Cross was providing assistance.

Read more from the original source:
Fire destroys Jackson County mobile home

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW) -- Mark Rogers and his family watched his home burn down Monday morning. Fire investigators say it was due to old wiring and now a neighbor who watched it all happen is concerned for her and her family's safety as well.

Stay-at-home-Mom Victoria Braddock watched as the Rogers' family watched their home and new car they bought the day before, deteriorate. Braddock says she's concerned now because her family had trouble in the past with electricity.

"We've also had some light switches that were not working because of the wiring, once again it wasn't a big deal to us because we had multiple switches so we could just use another one," said Braddock.

Now, everything to do with electricity has become a big deal to the Braddock's. Electrician Ray Johnson says a flame can spark with the misuse of any circuits, but especially in homes built in the 1950s all the way up to the 1970s.

"If you overload a circuit it's a fire hazard if you have drop cords don't use multiple drop cords just one drop cord," said Johnson

Johnson adds overloading a circuit is easier to do in an older home because it likely doesn't have regulators. In newer homes regulators help maintain the circuit breaker so they don't overheat.

"Yea that doesn't seem like a major problem but as a result it could be," said Braddock.

Braddock adds they plan to contact their landlord about an inspection to make sure everything is up to date. It's a lesson she wants her family to learn so that what happens across the street doesn't happen to them.

Have information or an opinion about this story? Click here to contact the newsroom.

Read the original post:
Neighbor's of Rogers' family are concerned about their home too

By Noel Lyn Smith

nsmith@daily-times.com @nsmithdt on Twitter

Lottie and Robert Augustine pose for a portrait on Dec. 17 at their new home in Aztec. (Jon Austria The Daily Times)

Editor's note: The Daily Times' "Rewind" series revisits stories we have reported on over the past year. To read more "Rewind" stories, go to daily-times.com.

AZTEC Members of a local family who lost their home in March are celebrating Christmas in a new home, thanks to people who donated more than $7,000 to help them in their time of need.

on March 30, winds blew the roof off Lottie Augustine's three-bedroom, single-wide trailer near County Road 6893 in Waterflow.

The trailer was damaged beyond repair, with electrical wiring and insulation exposed, and the San Juan County Fire Department deemed it unhabitable. It was demolished in April.

The family was left homeless but after receiving help from the community, its members are now living a two-bedroom, single-wide trailer in Aztec.

"It's a beautiful trailer, it's a beautiful home," Augustine said while glancing at her living room.

After seeing the damage, Augustine said she wondered where her husband, Robert, and their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren would live.

Read more:
Local family members are back on their feet, thanks to donations from the community

Frank Azack doesnt bother to lock his door anymore.

Theres nothing to take, he chuckled. The house is totally empty!

Standing in the echoey, gutted remains of the tiny structure in Toms River that he and his wife used to call home, its easy to see what he means. The walls are gone, leaving exposed pipes and wiring; the floor is warped, and theres still evidence of mold in some places. For Azack, its a depressing sight.

The insurance company told me that I should have the floors ripped out, put new beams in, replace the plywood, clean out the crawlspace, and repair any cracks with epoxy adhesive, he said. Like putting a Band-Aid on it, you know? Its not going to work.

Not going to work because theres a crack in the foundation, and the house is slowly sinking into the ground. Essentially, its a total loss. Azacks insurance company finally acknowledged as much, cutting him a check in mid-2013 for $74,000 dollars, 82 percent of the structures value. But town officials initially said his losses were much less. It took Azack another year to get a letter from Toms River, declaring his home substantially damaged.

Every time I called downtown, Id get put to a different department, I got hung up on. Call Engineering. Call Planning. Call Zoning. I kept getting put all over the place, Azack recalled. Nobody would give me a solid answer. And I just needed a letter stating how much damage I have. We dont have those letters. Thats what I was told.

The reason this matters is because after Sandy, the state of New Jersey gave priority to grant applicants who submitted substantial-damage letters from their towns, showing their homes had lost more than 50 percent of their value. While Azack was calling around, trying to get that document, the grant deadline passed, so he lost out on up to $150,000 he desperately needed to rebuild his home.

For all the homeowners whove successfully navigated the complicated recovery process, sorting through mountains of paperwork, making countless trips backs and forth to meet with their housing advisors, and spending hours on the phone with government bureaucrats, all to earn a spot in line for aid, its hard to know just how many people are in situations like Azack.

Of the nearly 9,000 New Jersey residents whove received preliminary approval so far through the states largest grant program, fewer than 300 have gotten funding and completed construction on their homes. Among themultitude of reasonswhy Sandy aid has taken so long, for some storm victims, obtaining this elusive document from their towns was part of the problem. Looking back, critics say theres plenty of blame to spread around, from municipal officials uncertain of their duties to the state for not clarifying grant requirements from the outset to the feds for failing to mandate training for the local floodplain managers responsible for issuing these letters. In some cases, it appears that attempts by bureaucrats to control the process and manage the flow of applications actually made things more confusing and left homeowners twisting in the wind.

The Department of Community Affairs has resolved to eventually provide funding for all grant applicants, including those who were unable to obtain substantial-damage letters, but the added delays have been difficult and stressful, and many residents will likely still fall through the cracks. Whatever lessons can be drawn from this experience, for some unfortunate homeowners, those lessons come too late to help.

See the original post here:
The Piece of Paper Standing in the Way of This Man and His Home