In Brief

By Aixa M. Pascual

RETIRING? NOT SO FAST The new year may prompt you to review retirement plans. The Social Security retirement age, set at 65 for many years, will gradually increase until it reaches 67. If you were born in 1938, add two months to your work life. Born in '60? Make it two years. Says Don Blandin, president of the American Savings Education Council: "Americans who had expected to retire at 65 with full benefits will need to adjust their plans to ensure they will not have a shortfall in income."

If you were To receive 100% of your Social Security born in... benefits you need to retire at...

1937 or before 65 years 1938 65 years, 2 months 1939 65 years, 4 months 1940 65 years, 6 months 1941 65 years, 8 months 1942 65 years, 10 months 1943-54 66 years 1955 66 years, 2 months 1956 66 years, 4 months 1957 66 years, 6 months 1958 66 years, 8 months 1959 66 years, 10 months 1960 or later 67 years

Source: Social Security Administration

COUPON CLIPPING ONLINE Want a 5% rebate at BarnesandNoble.com Or a coupon for a $6.99 medium pizza, with one topping, from Pizza Hut? eSavingsCenter.com offers consumers more than 5,000 discounts on products you buy online and off--from local merchants to national retailers. You can get e-rebates of up to 25% from 100 online stores. "Internet retailers pay healthy commissions for referring sales, which we give back to the consumer," says Dinsh Guzdar, vice president of eSavingsCenter.

JUNK OR TREASURE? Before you put Grandma's silver service up for bid on eBay, shouldn't you get an idea of its worth? That's the notion behind eppraisals.com which will evaluate your antiques, furniture and collectibles. Send in a digital image and a detailed description of the object, and within two days you get an expert appraisal. The fee for the service, available in early January, is $20. "We can give you a good idea for most objects," says Leslie Hindman, founder of eppraisals and a 20-year veteran of auction houses.

--By Aixa M. Pascual