The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1314049
A-4 Wednesday, December 2, 2020 The Press-Dispatch COVID-19 Continued from page 1 Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor When to claim benefits READER GUIDE Subscriptions: Change of address: subscribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. We cannot guarantee prompt change unless this is done. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Press-Dispatch., P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 or e-mail to subscribe@ pressdispatch.net. Subscription rates: One year: $35 for Pike County and all 475/476 zip codes; $38 in the state of Indiana; $55 elsewhere in the USA. Paid in advance. Subscriptions taken after noon on Friday will not receive a paper until the second edition after their subscription date. About us: Andy Heuring and John B. Heuring, Publishers Andy Heuring, Editor John B. Heuring, Adv. Mgr. Eric Gogel, Production Mgr. Monica Sinclair, Office Mgr. Cindy Petty, Adv. Sales Pam Lemond, Adv. Sales Brakston Farrar, Adv. Designer • • • Published every Wednesday by the Pike County Publishing Co. Phone: 812-354-8500 820 E. Poplar St., P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 • • • Entered in the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana – published weekly. (USPS 205-620) Contact us: Phone: ..........................................................................812-354-8500 Fax: .............................................................................. 812-354-2014 E-mail: Andy Heuring, Editor editor@pressdispatch.net Advertising ads@pressdispatch.net General News news@pressdispatch.net Circulation subscribe@pressdispatch.net Dear Rusty: I'm almost 59 and hope to retire from work- ing soon. Should I take So- cial Security as soon as pos- sible, or wait for the maxi- mum amount? Signed: Plan- ning Ahead. Dear Planning Ahead: I'm afraid there's no simple answer to your question, ex- cept "it depends." It depends on your health; it depends on your need for the money when you retire; and it depends on your life expectancy. Plus, your marital status may al- so influence your decision on when to claim. First of all, you cannot claim your Social Security retire- ment benefit until you are at least 62 years old. But if you claim at 62 your benefit will be cut by 30 percent from what it would be if you waited until your full retirement age (67). You actually have an eight- year window starting at age 62 and lasting until age 70 to claim your Social Securi- ty benefit. The earlier in that window you claim, the smaller your benefit will be. And the longer you wait to claim (up to age 70), the higher your ben- efit will be. At age 70, your benefit will reach max- imum at 24 per- cent more than it would be at age 67, and 76 percent more than it will be at age 62. Essen- tially, if you are in good health, don't urgently need the money earlier, and expect to enjoy at least "aver- age" longevity (about 85 for a man your age today), you will not only get a much higher monthly benefit, but also col- lect much more in cumulative lifetime benefits by waiting until age 70 (or as long as you can) to claim. Of course, no one knows how long they will live, but there are online tools which can assist you with es- timating your life expectancy. One relatively simple and user friendly tool is available from Social Security at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/ population/longevity.html. Conversely, if you are not in good health and don't ex- pect at least aver- age longevity, or if you urgently need the money when you retire from working, claiming earlier may also be a prudent choice. If you are married and you predecease your wife, her sur- vivor benefit will be based upon the benefit amount you are ac- tually receiving, so by wait- ing to get a higher benefit for yourself you are also enhanc- ing your wife's eventual bene- fit as your widow, should you pass before her. Be aware too that, should you decide to go back to work, until you reach age 67 you'll be subject to Social Se- curity's "earnings test" which limits how much you can earn before Social Security takes back some of your benefits (the 2021 limit is $18,960 and if that were exceeded, they'd take back benefits equal to half of the amount it was ex- ceeded by). The earnings lim- it changes annually but goes away at your full retirement age. So, these are the things you should consider in deciding when in that eight-year win- dow to claim your benefits. I cannot directly answer your question for you, but I hope the above gives you what's needed to make an informed decision on when to claim your Social Security benefits. To submit a question, visit website (amacfoundation.org/ programs/social-security-advi- sory) or email to: ssadvisor@ amacfoundation.org. 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 /margeshallmark Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 9-5; Friday 9-6 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 /margeshallmark /margeshallmark /margeshallmark /margeshallmark /margeshallmark Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Wednesday, Thursday Wednesday, Thursday Wednesday, Thursday Wednesday, Thursday Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 9-5; Friday 9-6 and Saturday 9-5; Friday 9-6 and Saturday 9-5; Friday 9-6 Boxed Christmas Cards & Christmas Gi Wrap BUY ONE 1/2 PRICE specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials specials $5 SAVE HURRY! 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Limited time o er! arrivals individual & sets Save $20 Snowman Bell Choir Musical Bell Set Set of 4, Multiple Colors Reg. $149 with purchase of TWO Keepsake Disney ornaments 207 S. 7th St., Petersburg • 812-354-8793 Monday-Friday 9 to 5; Saturday 9 to Noon Christmas Open House Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Friday, Dec. 4 9am-5pm Saturday, Dec. 5 9am-2pm ❄ Christmas Decor ❄ Table Arrangements ❄ Wreaths ❄ Grave Saddles ❄ Saddles in Pots ❄ Christmas Gifts ❄ Ornaments ❄ Snowmen ❄ Candleberry Candles Refreshments Fresh Flower by Order for Funerals or Any Occasion New Owner: Chella Stenftenagel Drawing for $25 Gift Certifi cate Grave Saddles Saddles in Pots Saddles in Pots Christmas Gifts Candleberry Fresh Flower Fresh Flower Fresh Flower Fresh Flower Fresh Flower $25 Gift Certifi cate Designers: Angie Carter, Jane Reed, Sandy Tichenor Mon. - Fri. 9:30am-5:30pm • Sat 9:30am-3pm 816 E. Main St., Petersburg • 812-789-3046 * Purchase 2 pieces of Brighton jewelry, get a third piece of equal or lesser value FREE. In store stock only. Limited time only. Limited Time Offer! - Holiday - Bereavement - Gifts FLORAL fresh arrangements * BUY 2 GET 1 FREE * Purchase 2 pieces of Brighton BUY 2 BUY 2 FREE Bell ringing season has started Boy Scout Ayden Young and Betsy Travelstead ring bells at the Petersburg Dollar General Store on Saturday morning for the Salvation Army. This is the biggest fundraiser event of the year for the Salvation Army. Volunteers are needed for both bell ringing locations in Petersburg, which are Petersburg Hardware and Dol- lar General. Anyone wanting to volunteer can call Cal Biddle at 812-582-2385. They ring at both stores on Fri- day and Saturday through Christmas. No injuries in scary I-69 crash No one was injured last Friday afternoon in a scary crash on I-69. Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Buck Seger said James w. Heowener, 34, of 1267 E. Lake Minnis Court, Petersburg, had pulled to the side of I-69 because he was having trouble with his vehicle. When he pulled back onto I-69, he did not see Whitney Weilbrenner, 29, of Indianapolis, driving north. Sgt. Seger said Weilbrenner swerved hard to the left to avoid hitting Heowener's pickup truck, but lost control. Her 2003 Honda Odyssey went across the passing lane and struck the guardrail and then went back right across both lanes, hitting the other guardrail before coming a stop. The accident caused an estimated $2,500 to $5,000 damage, but no one was injured. contact with that individu- al and they don't have the manpower to handle the in- creased volume. Statewide cases and deaths are dropping from their peak. New cases in one day hit an all-time high in Indiana at 8,284 on Nov. 3. That fell sharply to 4,283 on Nov. 28, but climbed back up to 5,508 on Nov. 30. Deaths for a day peaked at 69 on Nov. 23, but fell sharp- ly to 25 on Nov. 30. Hospitalizations have con- tinued to climb at an alarm- ing rate. On April 13, they peaked at 1,799, then started falling. By June 26 that was down to 595. But then hospi- talizations started a steady climb through the late sum- mer months, hitting 1,019 on Oct. 4. But then they took a steep increase, doubling to 2,001 by Nov. 5. They have continued to increase and were at an all-time high of 3,381 on Nov. 30. Despite the steep increase in hospitalizations, there is still 71 percent of the state's ventilators available. How- ever, 45.7 percent of the state's Intensive Care Unit beds are in use by COVID patients and 30 percent by non-COVID patients, leav- ing just 24.2 percent of the ICU beds available in Indi- ana. TESTING SITE HOURS CHANGE Pike County's testing site is changing their hours. They will open and close an hour earlier on Tuesday and Wednesday. The site, located on the parking lot of the Pe- tersburg Moose, will now be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday and Wednes- day from 3 to 6 p.m., Thurs- day and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Testing is free. Anyone wanting to be tested can go online and fill out a reg- istration and then go to the drive-thru testing site. Peo- ple are asked to not get out of their vehicles. Pam Cosby, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the Pike County Health Dept., said they are hop- ing delays in getting test re- sults will be resolved soon. She said the state testing lab has been overwhelmed with nearly 80,000 tests a day statewide. PressDispatch.net/ Subscribe net edition • Exclusive Video • All color photos • Search current and back issues with Add NETedtion to your paper subscription for just $5