With all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it is easy to put off or even forget a few things until after the beginning of the year. Not withdrawing funds from your IRA, if you have required minimum distributions, could be costly. For those over the age of 70½ who have not yet taken the annual required minimum distribution from their IRAs for 2015, you must do so before December 31st. If you miss this deadline, you face a tax penalty that amounts to 50 percent of what you should have been withdrawn.
An article in the December 8, 2015 issue of the Pittsburgh Post gazette stated that Fidelity Investments, based in Boston, reported that as of Nov. 27, the majority — nearly 60 percent — of the company’s more than 800,000 IRA customers who are supposed to take required minimum distributions for the tax year 2014 had yet to take the full amount from their Fidelity IRAs.
Make sure that you put this item on your to do list and have a happy holiday.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

As if it was not hard enough to figure out Medicare open enrollment, now you need to watch out for scammers that want to prey upon your confusion. According to the Federal Trade Commission website there are at least four new scams:

 
1. Someone calls and says you must join their prescription plan or you’ll lose your Medicare coverage. This is not true. The Medicare prescription drug plan is voluntary and does not affect your Medicare coverage.

2. Someone calls or emails claiming they need your Medicare number to update your account, get you a new card, or send you Medicare benefit information. Do not give them any information. If you are concerned contact Medicare directly on your own.

3. Someone claiming to be a Medicare plan representative says they need “to confirm” your billing information by phone or online. Do not give them any information. Plan representatives are not allowed to ask you for payment over the phone or online.

4. You receive an offer for free medical exams or supplies. This is most likely a trick to get your personal information.
Protect your identity and personal information. Do not give any information to an unsolicited caller or email request.

 
* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Medicare’s open enrollment period is October 15 – December 7. Your existing Medicare health and drug plans can make changes each year to things like cost, coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in their networks. The open enrollment period is when all people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year to better meet their needs.

 
If you have a Medicare health or prescription drug plan, you should review the materials that your plans sends you each year at this time, like the “Evidence of Coverage” (EOC) and “Annual Notice of Change” (ANOC). If your plans are changing, you should make sure that your plan will still meet your needs for the following year. For example, verify that your physicians and pharmacy are still covered by your plan. If you are satisfied that your current plan will meet your needs for next year and it’s still being offered, you don’t need to do anything.

 
* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

The Federal Trade Commission has hundreds of calls about a new scam in which people received calls from fake ‘court officials’ about jury duty. In the calls, scammers claimed to be court officers, accused people of skipping jury duty and said they had to pay a fine immediately or face arrest.
The scammers take several approaches at trying to separate you from your money. People reported that some scammers acted like ‘nice guys.’ They offered to ‘review the file’ or said ‘you have a clean record’ and could just ‘make things right’ by paying the fine with a reloadable card. Others took the ‘mean guy’ role. They berated people for ignoring their mail, claimed to be holding an arrest warrant, and told listeners ‘don’t you dare hang up until you buy that reloadable card and read me the code.’ A few extra-greedy scammers told people the first reloadable card ‘didn’t go through’ and demanded a second payment.
The National Center for State Courts says court officers will never call or email you and require payment for failing to appear for jury duty. If you get a summons for jury duty and don’t go, you might get a letter telling you to come to court on certain date to explain why you missed jury duty. If someone asks you to pay a fine for missing jury duty, hang up and call your local court or law enforcement department.

To learn more about this and other scams, go to the web site for the Federal Trade Commission.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that its Board of Governors approved a rulemaking item to help firms better protect seniors and other vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. The proposal would allow a firm to place a temporary hold on a disbursement of funds or securities and notify a customer’s trusted contact when the firm has a reasonable belief that financial exploitation is occurring.
The proposal would amend FINRA’s customer account information rule to require firms to make reasonable efforts to obtain the name and contact information for a trusted contact person upon opening a customer’s account.
In addition, the proposal would create a new FINRA rule permitting firms to place temporary holds on disbursements of funds or securities, from the accounts of investors aged 65 or older where there is a reasonable belief of financial exploitation. The proposal would also apply to investors 18 and older if they have mental or physical impairments that render them unable to protect their own interests and there is a reasonable belief of financial exploitation.
This new FINRA rule would not create a duty to place temporary holds on disbursements. Rather, it would provide firms with a safe harbor when they exercise discretion in placing temporary holds on disbursements.
FINRA plans to issue a Regulatory Notice soliciting comment on this proposal within the next several weeks.
On April 20, 2015, FINRA launched a toll-free senior hotline – 1-844-57-HELPS – to provide older investors with a supportive place to get assistance from knowledgeable FINRA staff related to concerns they have with their brokerage accounts and investments. To date, FINRA has received over 1500 calls on issues including how to find information on their brokers, calls from children of deceased parents trying to locate assets or having difficulty moving assets from a brokerage firm, concerns from seniors ranging from routine poor service complaints to routine sales practice issues at firms, and fraud raised by a senior and/or child on behalf of senior investors.
For more information go to FINRA.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Saturday, September 26, 2015 is National drug take back day. The California Medical Association (CMA) is encouraging the public to turn in unused or expired medication for safe disposal. On this day, hundreds of locations throughout California will be accepting and properly disposing of unused prescription drugs, including controlled substances. Proper disposal of unused prescription drugs helps prevent abuse and keeps pharmaceuticals out of landfills and waterways.
This one-day event will provide patients with free, anonymous collection of unwanted and expired medicines. During previous Take Back events over the past five years, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons, of drugs were collected nationwide.
In addition to providing a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposal, the event also aims to educate the general public about the potential for abuse of these medications.

 
According to the CMA:

-Most abused prescription drugs come from family or friends. You can help by properly disposing of your unused medications!

-Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse.

-Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken
without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision.

-The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends – and the home medicine cabinet.

-Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or
illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply.

-Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment. Take back programs are the best way to dispose of unused and expired medications.

-Hundreds of collection sites in California will be able to accept all medications, including controlled substances, on September 26, 2015. For a collection site near you visit the Drug Enforcement Agency website or call (800) 882-9539.

-Other facilities collect some medications (non-controlled substances) throughout the year. For a collection site near you visit Cal Recycle.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.