Good Friday morning! Raeanne, bon voyage. I am so glad you got that package in time LOL! Have fun. John, see the effect you have on women! Sounds like you were the perfect gentleman. Good luck sleuthing, I mean babysitting! Hopefully they pay more for babysitting than .50 an hour that I was paid years ago. LOL Maddie, I am still trying to figure out how I can pull NYC off in December. I am in on the exchange too. Besh, have you given any thought to NYC? Good job on Dee's package BJ! Have fun at your planning party tonight. Planning is the key. Dee, enjoy all those lovely gifts! What a fun package to receive. Speaking of planning I have my carriage club's planning meeting tomorrow night. This is where we plan all the events for 2008. It's a pot luck (ugh) but I plan on being prepared for good eating with what I bring. I have to get a photo of this but will share so you can imagine what I am seeing: About 2 miles from my house is a lovely farm with big fields on both sides of the road and a lovely antique colonial home. The fields host flocks of sheep all summer and fall. On my way home Halloween evening someone had delivered to both fields huge piles of pumpkins for the sheep to eat. So I am driving along taking this all in. The sheep, some with black faces, eating from these huge piles of pumpkin, the setting sun filtering through the trees giving off this warm cast of oranges and golds through the leaves and a old man (presumably grandfather) standing next to this tow headed boy who is petting one of the sheep through the fence. It was all too beautiful. I will try to get a photo of the sheep and pumpkins but I doubt I the camera will ever be able to capture what is in my mind's eye. I hope you can imagine it.

It's hard to know without more info. If your husband has "substantial earnings" as defined by SS (see link below), it seems that he can take the pension benefit without it affecting his SS benefit. But for the money involved, it would be a good idea to consult with a lawyer who specializes in pension benefits law. This is a very complicated area and really requires the services of a specialist. Here is a link that might be useful: Windfall Elimination Provision

Hi Mona, Thanks for that info. I can't seem to navigate through the SS website and was having concerns about how part time work would affect my benefits. This job market is making me consider early retirement. I was let go last year at the time of my 61st birthday. Unemployment has helped me make is so far but will run out in August. I had some addiional money coming in from a retirement account but foolishly used it to start a real estate business that failed thanks to this ugly economy. Now I'm facing living on SS income alone. I'm scared. Linda

When my husband retired we cashed in his VIP (IRA) and it didn't affect his soc sec, it was not earned that year. We did get billed by soc sec for his separation pay, but that was a mistake on their part and our accountant took care of it.