IRENE HOLLISTER, ALAMEDA, CALIF.

The bank’s Ready Checks are written against your Visa card’s credit line. An attorney at the Federal Reserve said such purchases are disputable, just as if you had put them on your credit card. You can stop payment under certain circumstances.

When NEWSWEEK called John Russell of Bank One, he agreed that the bank had erred and said your complaint would be investigated. As for the bum info, he said, “We’ll readdress that matter with our people, so that no one else makes that mistake.”

So . . . four weeks after this conversation, I called back to hear what I thought would be a happy ending. Silly me. The bank had made nice to me, then forgotten about you. As I was saying, who’s training people at Bank One? Fortunately, NEWSWEEK’S second call got action. Your $7,020 payment, plus $961.34 in finance charges, were reversed. But if you hadn’t written, the bank would have forced you to pay without even evaluating your case.

Q: A few months ago I learned that I am terminally ill with cancer. My divorced mother is 70 and has a low income. At my husband’s suggestion, I put her name on my $25,000 Individual Retirement Account (which is invested in two mutual funds), a $10,000 stock account and a $10,000 savings account. I want her to pay as few taxes as possible. Can she add my IRA to an IRA that she has in her name already?

NAME WITHHELD

You’ll be glad to hear that you’re adding little or nothing to your mother’s tax bill. Beneficiaries owe no inheritance tax on any money they’re left. Your accounts will throw off some taxable income, in the form of interest, dividends and IRA withdrawals. But no federal income tax will be due for 1996 if your mother’s gross income is $7,550 or less; and she’d pay only 15 percent on gross income up to $31,550 (assuming a standard deduction).

She cannot merge your IRA with hers but that makes no difference. IRA money isn’t taxable until withdrawn. She can put off her first withdrawal until the end of the calendar year following the year of your death, if your IRA allows it, says attorney Carol Weiser, of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, in Washington, D.C. After that, she can spread the withdrawals over her life expectancy. Consider selling those stocks. Your mother might not want to manage them.

Q: My husband is on long-term disability. His employer provided a free policy that covered half his salary. We paid $9.04 a week to cover the other half. Disability income is tax-free when you buy your own coverage so we thought we’d pay taxes on only half. But my husband’s employer says the premium came from his pretax earnings, which makes all of the income taxable. Is there any way to change this?

RITA THIEME, UPTON, MASS.

The company could have priced the extra disability coverage in after-tax dollars. But that would have increased its cost and fewer workers might have chosen to buy it–maybe even you. The way to get maximum participation is to keep the coverage cheap. In terms of social policy, that’s all to the good. You know firsthand that fate can finger anyone. Thanks in part to the policy’s low price, you’re one of the people who were prepared.

Q: I’m nearly 64 and would like to retire in a year. I have a small . pension but don’t trust social security to come up with the goods. How much would it cost to buy a guaranteed annuity paying $1,000 a month for life? Where are the best (and safest) places to apply? Should I hedge my bet with a variable annuity?

MARGARET PIGGOT, HAINES, ALASKA

I asked for annuity prices from The Annuity Shopper ($20 for a single issue; call 800-872-6684) and from Term Quote (800-444-8376; free quotes, in hopes you’ll buy your annuity there). To get $1,000 a month today, a 65-year-old woman would have to pay $141,100 to Jefferson-Pilot Life; $146,404 to GE Capital Assurance; $146,996 to Penn Mutual, or $150,795 to First Colony. All are rated A+ or better by A.M. Best. These costs change as interest rates do. To find the best rate for this kind of annuity, shop when you’re ready to buy, not before. The older you are when payments begin, the more monthly income your savings will buy.

A variable-pay annuity is an interesting thought. You’d get a monthly income that rises and falls with your underlying investment, which should be in stocks. Over, say, 20 years, your average income should go up. Life-insurance planner Glenn Daily of New York City suggests that you get the prospectus for Fidelity Income Advantage (800-544-2442) for its excellent explanation of how variable annuities with current payments work.