The problems with those paper stock certificates

By HELEN HUNTLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2000

Q. I bought stock at a brokerage firm and two months later have not received the stock certificate. I can barely read the receipt from the brokerage firm. I've called several times and the broker no longer wants to speak to me. What should I do?

A. Unfortunately for you and other investors who like them, paper certificates are going the way of the dinosaur. They can be lost, stolen or forgotten, and they make it a lot more inconvenient to buy or sell shares. As we went through the conversion to year 2000, holding a stock certificate might have made you feel more secure, but in the long-run there is no more reason to do that than there would be to hold a certificate for your mutual fund shares or the money you have in your checking account.

The delay in getting your certificate may be the fault of the transfer agent rather than the broker, but the broker should still take your calls. I suggest you work your way up the chain of command. Call or write the branch manager, then the president of the brokerage firm. If you still don't get satisfaction, complain to the Florida Division of Securities at (800) 848-3792. Keep notes documenting the time and date of each call, with whom you spoke and what the person said.

Q. We just received our church budget for the year and I noticed that the senior pastor gets $27,609 in salary and $31,531 in housing allowance. The associate pastor has a higher salary and a smaller housing allowance. (Our church does not have a manse.) How does this division affect taxable income, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes? I am a retired engineer and I never received any tax breaks like this. All my household expenses are paid from after-tax funds. It seems out of line to be able to shelter 53 percent of a person's income under the guise of "housing allowance."

A. Ministers pay no income tax on housing allowances, although they do pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on this money. Ministers are expected to keep records to show that their housing-related expenses were at least as much as any allowance they received.

This break is worth at least 15 percent of the amount of the housing allowance -- $4,730 in your senior pastor's situation. Another nice benefit is that mortgage interest and property taxes are still deductible as itemized deductions even though they were included in the housing allowance.

While this is a good deal for ministers, it also is a good deal for churches. Because of these breaks, your church is able to give your ministers higher after-tax compensation at a lower cost to the church.

When it comes to tax law, what is "fair" or "out of line" is in the eye of the beholder. If you think the law should be changed, talk to your representatives in Congress, who are the ones responsible for it. Just don't take it out on your pastors. They are entitled to take the tax breaks the law gives them.

Q. In the early 1970s, my ex-husband and I invested in a mutual fund called Hamilton Fund. Unfortunately, I've lost track of all my paperwork and how to contact them. I've tried doing a search on the name with nothing coming up, but if the name changed, I have no idea what it would be.

A. By now whatever money you had in this fund should have been turned over to the unclaimed property office in the state where you were living when you last had contact with the fund. Check with that state and, just to be sure, any states where you or your ex-husband have lived since then. In Florida, the number to call is (888) 258-2253.

I cannot find any record of a fund by that name, but it could have merged with another fund or changed its name. The reference desk at the public library might be able to assist you with a search.

Online money map

Want to be sure you won't become the victim of an investment scam? Use the Internet to learn about scams, how they work and what you can do to avoid them. Stop by the North American Securities Administrators Association site (http://www.nasaa.org) and click on "investor education."

-- Helen Huntley writes about investing and markets for the Times. If you have a question about investments or personal finance, send it to On Money. We'll try to answer those we think are of greatest reader interest. All questions must be submitted in writing, but readers' names will not be published. Send questions to Helen Huntley, Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or to huntley@sptimes.com by e-mail.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.