Retirement

No. You are allowed to re-characterize your Roth IRA to a conventional IRA up until the final due date of the income tax return. This means the due date plus extensions translate from April 15th to potentially Oct 15th.

No. You may re-characterize your Roth IRA to a conventional IRA by filing an amended return. You would file IRS Form 1040X with Form 8606. This would enable you to get a refund on the Roth conversion payment amount you already paid with the original 1040 income tax return.

Yes. The IRS lets you make changes from Roth IRAs to regular IRAs and back, more than once. After you re-characterize a Roth IRA to a regular IRA, you can convert it again but not until the following year, or thirty days later, whichever takes longer.

A defined benefit pension plan is a major type of pension plan in which an employer promises a specified monthly benefit on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending on investment returns. The most common type of formula used is based on the employee’s terminal earnings. Under this formula, benefits are based on a percentage of average earnings during a specified number of years at the end of a worker’s career. In the private sector, defined benefit plans are typically funded exclusively by employer contributions. For very small companies with one owner and a handful of younger employees, the business owner generally receives a high percentage of the benefits. In the public sector, defined benefit plans often require employee contributions.

The website is http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pgm/survivors.htm.
To apply for your Survivor's Social Security benefits or Retirement benefits, call 1-800-772-1213. The hours of use are between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
After answering some questions, a completed application will be mailed to the applicant for their signature and possible copies of additional required documents, such as marriage certificate or divorce papers.

You need to fill out Form SS-5-FS, which can be obtained either from your local CPA or from the Social Security Administration.
The SSA website is http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/ In addition to using the SSA website, you can call SSA toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

You should contact the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration of the Department of Labor (PWBA). To find out the location of your local office, call 202-219-8776 or write to the US Department of Labor, PWBA, Division of Technical Assistance and Inquires, Room N-5625, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. , Washington, D.C. 20210.

If your child's stock was sold through a custodial account and the tax information statement incorrectly reflects your Social Security number instead of your son's Social Security number, you should fill out IRS Form W-9 which is the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.
Circle your child's name and his Social Security number on the form. Submit the corrected form to the financial institution that issued the incorrect statement. Instruct them to correct the information on the account and reissue you a corrected tax information statement.

There was be no COLA in 2011. Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2012.
The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012.
Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2011.
According to officials, the average monthly check for the elderly will increase $43 to $1,229. For the disabled, it will rise $39 to $1,111.