The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1220193
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, March 11, 2020 A- 5 Birthdays $20 CASH Affordable Adjustments BOWLING CHIROPRACTIC CENTER chiropractic SCHEDULE TODAY! 812-254-0246 312 East Main Street, Washington • BowlingChiropractic.com Is it TIME for your next eye exam? 8–7 . Mon. 8–noon . Tues. 10–7 . Wed. 8–5 . Thur. 8–5 . Fri. Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th Street, Petersburg (812) 354-9400 EDRINGTON CARD SHOWER Donald Edrington, for- merly of Pike County, will be turning 85 on March 19. Cards may be sent to: 826 N. Polk Drive, Oakland City, IN 47660. Social Security Matters Will taking my benefit early affect my widow? Dear Rusty: My hus- band is 70 and has been tak- ing Social Se- curity for sev- eral years. His benefit is $2,100 per month. I am 60 and will turn 61 in March. I have very little built up and my expected SS benefit at my full retirement age is $1,163 and $ 829 if I choose to take it at age 62. We are comfortable with our cur- rent income, but the bene- fit at 62 is enticing. I want to know how taking it at 62 would affect my situa- tion if my husband prede- ceases me. Would I then be able to exchange my bene- fits for his? Please advise— Signed: Planning Ahead. Dear Planning: Tak- ing your own SS benefit early (before your full re- tirement age) won't affect the amount of your sur- vivor benefit should your husband predecease you. The only thing that would affect your survivor ben- efit is the age at which you claim it. So yes, you could claim your own ben- efit first and then switch to your survivor benefit lat- er without hurting your eventual survivor benefit. If you have reached your full retirement age (FR A) when your husband pass- es, your survivor benefit will be 100 percent of the amount your husband is receiving at his death, in- stead of your own small- er benefit. But if you take the survivor benefit before your FR A, it will be actuar- ially reduced according to the number of months prior to FR A it is claimed. To be clear, if your husband were to pass before you reached FR A, you have the option to wait until your FR A to claim the survivor bene- fit (so you can get 100 per- cent of his benefit). In other words, you could continue to collect your own benefit until your survivor benefit reached 100 percent at your FR A (a sur- vivor benefit reaches maxi- mum at FR A). Be aware, though, that there is an- other consid- eration if you claim your own SS bene- fit before you reach your full retirement age. If you are still work- ing and claim your bene- fit before your FR A, you'll be subject to Social Securi- ty's "earnings limit" which, if exceeded, will cause SS to take back future bene- fits equal to 50 percent of the amount you exceeded the limit by (the 2020 lim- it is $18,240, but it chang- es annually). If you have substantial earnings from working, that could mean you will go some number of months without bene- fits (depending upon your earnings level). In the year you reach your FR A (but prior to your FR A) the earnings limit goes up by 2.6 times and the penalty is less, and once you reach your FR A there is no lon- ger an earnings limit. But, I want to make sure you're aware that collecting ear- ly and exceeding the earn- ings limit will affect your benefits. If you go months without benefits because you exceeded the earnings limit, SS will give you time credit for those months when you reach your FR A, which will result in a small increase in your own SS benefit at that time. But the bottom line is that collecting your own Social Security benefit ear- ly will not affect your even- tual survivor benefit. Only the age at which you claim it, if earlier than your FR A, will affect the amount of your survivor benefit. And, by the way, your FR A as a widow is 4 months less than your normal FR A because SS takes two years off of your birth year to deter- mine your "widow's FR A." PETERSBURG CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE 118 W Pike Ave., Petersburg • 812-354-8851 FREE COMMUNITY SOUP SUPPER WEDNESDAY March 18 4:00-5:30 PM SOUP AND DESSERTS SERVED Parking in rear ALL ARE WELCOME! Alec Frederick, Dalton Goselee and Sam Henson (l to r) placed in the Indiana chapter of the Nation- al Tolling and Machining Association contest recently. They were awarded scholarships and machining- related merchandise. Three students place in the tooling and machining contest Three Pike Central stu- dents placed in the Indi- ana chapter of the National Tooling and Machining As- sociation's 17th Annual High School Machining competi- tion at Greenwood. Students were able to compete in either Precision Machining or CNC Mill. Alec Frederick placed third in CNC Mill and re- ceived a $500 scholarship to Vincennes University, a toolbox and machinist tools valued at $500. CNC Mill contest consist- ed of measurement, calcu- lations, plotting points and writing a CNC program. Dalton Goslee placed sec- ond and received a $1000 scholarship to VU, a tool- box and machinist tools val- ued at $1000. Sam Henson placed third in the Precision Machining competition. He received a $500 scholarship to VU, a toolbox and machinist tools valued at $500. The Precision Machin- ing competition consist- ed of a written theory and shop math test, measure- ment, mill, lathe and surface grinder exercises, a submit- ted resume and mock inter- views. Thirty-five students com- peted from 11 schools, in- cluding four from Pike Cen- tral High School. The in- structor at PCHS is Mark Scott. INTMA is a precision manufacturing trade asso- ciation for those who have interest in the field. The In- diana chapter consists of over 28 regular, associate and educational members located throughout India- napolis and surround areas. Its mission is to help Indiana manufacturers be success- ful through support, educa- tion, networking, informa- tion, programs and services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Indiana leads the nation in manufac- turing job growth over the past year. Boy Scouts collect food donations for Somebody's Place Petersburg Boy Scouts went around Petersburg on Satur- day collecting food donations to be taken to Somebody's Place. The prior Saturday they put out grocery sacks on every door in town. People were asked to fill the sacks with non-perishable food items. In all, they col- lected three grocery carts full of items and delivered them to Somebody's Place. Above is the group of Scout and adults who participated in the food drive.