The Press-Dispatch

April 22, 2020

The Press-Dispatch

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A-4 Local Wednesday, April 22, 2020 The Press-Dispatch Dougglass SERVICE & STORAGE AMERICA WANTS TO WORK! I N G O D W E T R U ST Driveway art These two worked on some driveway art on this Petersburg driveway while quarantined on a Saturday afternoon. Pictured are: Gracie Hill, 12, in the foreground and Elizabeth Hill, 13, in the background. Contributed photo. Obituaries Social Security Matters Social Security for children and younger wife Dear Rusty: I am 59. My wife is 48 and has been a stay at home mom for 15 years. We have chil- dren aged 13, 10, and 5. I know it makes sense to delay the start of bene- fits, but I understand that it's more complicated when small children are involved. Does it make sense for me to begin re- ceiving benefits at 62 so I can also collect more for the children? Signed: Old- er Father. Dear Older Father: Yes, the issue is more complicated when children are involved. Here's why: If you claim your own Social Security (SS) at age 62, your minor children would be able to receive child benefits, and your wife would also be able to receive "child- in-care" benefits, even though she is not yet age-eligible for regular spouse benefits. Usually, a minor child is en- titled to 50 percent of the parent's full retirement age (FR A) SS amount, and a younger care-giving wife is entitled to the same. But when there are multi- ple dependents collecting on the same worker's record the Family Maximum applies. The Family Maximum limits the amount of total benefits which can be received by the family to 150 per- cent to 188 percent of the worker's FR A benefit amount. Social Security determines the Family Maximum for each individual case with a complex formula that uses your "primary insur- ance amount" (or "PIA," the amount you get at your FR A). Your PIA is broken into four parts and a different percentage of each part is taken and summed up to arrive at your Family Maximum. Then your PIA is subtracted from the Family Maximum amount and the remain- der is equally divided among your minor chil- dren and wife. Once a mi- nor child turns 18 (or 19 if still in high school) that child no longer receives benefits and the Family Maximum is recomputed, with the new amount equally divided among the remain- ing dependents. When your youngest child turns 16, your wife will no longer be eligible for child-in-care benefits. But there's more to consider. By taking your benefit at age 62, it will be cut by 30 percent from what it would be if you waited until your full retirement age to claim, and that re- duction is permanent. Plus that re- duced benefit will mean your wife's benefit as your widow, should you pre-decease her, would be less than it might otherwise be if you waited un- til later to claim. Until you reach your full retire- ment age, you will also be subject to Social Security's "earnings test" which limits the amount of money you can earn before Social Security takes back some of your benefits. The limit for 2020 is $18,240 and if you ex- ceed that amount, SS will take back benefits equal to half of the excess over the limit. They take back those benefits by withholding your SS until they recover what you owe because you exceeded the limit. And, if your benefits are withheld because you exceed the earnings limit, your chil- dren and wife will not get their ben- efits for any month(s) that your ben- efits are withheld. FYI, the earnings limit increases by about 2.6 times in the year you reach your FR A and no longer applies once you reach your FR A, but any dependent benefits not paid because you exceeded the earn- ings limit are lost and cannot be re- covered. So, as you can see, there are many things you should consider. If you will be retired from working at age 62 and don't need to worry about the earn- ings limit, then claiming then, along with the dependent benefits, could be a prudent choice. But if you will continue to work and earn a signifi- cant salary, you might very well find that the benefits you and your depen- dents lose due to the earnings limit will overshadow any advantage you might gain by filing at that time. And, you might also find that the perma- nent cut in your own benefit because you claimed early, along with the re- duction to your wife's future survivor benefit amount, will make claiming at age 62 less attractive. Easiest way to pay your property taxes The Pike County Court House remains closed to the public through May 4, due to the Covid 19 virus. The Pike County Treasurer's Office is asking the taxpayers to fol- low these guidelines when paying their taxes: • The easiest way to pay is through the mail. Put your payment coupons, check/ money order, and a self-ad- dressed, stamped envelope in an envelope and mail it to Pike County Treasurer, 801 Main Street, Petersburg, IN 47567. With the huge amount of mail we are re- ceiving, it will take us quite a bit of time to work our way through it, so, don't call us asking why your check has not cleared. • We have provided a drop box outside the entrance to the Court House. The drop box will be available dur- ing working hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It will be emptied every evening and brought inside. All payments will be processed the following morning. If you are paying with cash, be sure to have the correct amount as we will not be able to provide you with change. If you need a receipt, you must provide us with a self-addressed stamped envelope. • To pay on-line, Go to: www.enoticesonline.com/ index.php/pik • To pay over the phone with a credit/debit card, Di- al 877-690 -3729 with a Jcode of 2485. Anyone wanting a Prides Creek slip, enclose a short note requesting a slip, with your payment. GAB sponsors EVERFI Financial Bee literacy challenge German American Bank is spon- soring the EVERFI National Finan- cial Bee to encourage students in 7th to 10th grades in southern Indiana and Kentucky to participate in the first-of-its-kind nationwide financial literacy challenge. The National Fi- nancial Bee is an online course de- signed to equip students with mon- ey management skills. The five- day challenge features a short dai- ly digital financial lesson. A fter all five challenges have been complet- ed, students have an opportunity to write a short essay to share a finan- cial dream of theirs and how they plan to get there. Winners of the National Financial Bee will receive a total of $20,000 in college schol- arships. Students can register for the course by visiting www.germana- merican.com/the-national-financial- bee/. Parents are welcome to regis- ter on behalf of their child and are welcome to take the course too. The course can be taken at your own pace starting as early as Thursday, April 16 -April 30. Students eligible for the essay contest must submit their es- say by May 8. During each day of the challenge, participating students will gain new skills to create a per- sonalized financial decision-mak- ing framework that they can apply to their lives now and in the future. Topics include spending and saving, credit and debt, employment and in- come, investing, and insurance. "In usual circumstances, our bankers would be volunteering in school classrooms to teach financial literacy. We were searching for an impactful digital alternative which doesn't interfere with the students' e-learning courses from their re- spective schools," states Jane Bals- meyer, Senior Vice President of Mar- keting at German American Bank. "When we learned about EverFi's National Financial Bee, we thought it would be a great fit for students and parents at this time. We encour- age students to take the course with the intention to gain financial knowl- edge to help them in their futures. We hope it drives some interesting dinner-table conversations for fam- ilies to discuss important financial topics." "Across the country, families are facing unprecedented uncertainties and challenges. Parents are dealing with the loss of income or are adjust- ing to working from home, while stu- dents are trying to continue their studies outside of the classroom," said Ray Martinez, founder, and president, EVERFI. "We've always been committed to helping students increase their financial literacy, and during this historic time we are also working to help parents feel secure and help students stay engaged. The National Financial Bee is a fun way for students to compete with their peers while social distancing." Visit www.germanamerican.com/ the-national-financial-bee/ to learn more and register for the National Financial Bee. ANDREW JAMES DODD Andrew James Dodd, 24, of Petersburg, passed away Sunday, April 19, 2020. He was born in Jasper on April 7, 1996, to Marlana Bledsoe and Brian D. Dodd. He was a 2014 graduate of Pike Central High School and had attended Vincennes University. He was employed at Farbest Foods, Inc. in Vin- cennes. He had a kind heart. He loved music and play- ing his guitar, and building things. He especially loved visiting family. Surviving are his moth- er, Marlana Barber (Dustin Galloway), of Petersburg; his father, Brian D. Dodd, of Brownstown; brothers, Ja- cob Barber, of Petersburg, and Gabe Dodd, of Deck- er; sisters, Ashton Barber, of Evansville; Betheny Bar- ber, of San Diego, Calif., and Evey and Cora Dodd, of Decker; maternal grand- parents, Bobby Dean and Darlene Bledsoe, of French Lick; an uncle; several aunts; and cousins; as well as Ja- son Barber, of Pike Coun- ty, Heidi Hinkle, of Decker, and Karen Dodd, of Brown- stown. Preceding him in death are his paternal grandpar- ents, Jean Dodd and John Dodd. Due to the State Mandate regarding COVID-19, pri- vate services will be held. Memorial contributions may be made to PAWS of Peters- burg and may be sent to PO Box 63, Petersburg, IN 47567. Additional obituaries on page B-4. DOR stops $275K in attempted fraud in single day Fraud attempts have increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a single day, April 8 DOR's fraud team identified and stopped $275,000 in individual tax refund fraud. In addition, the team identi- fied several tax preparers who were targeted by fraudsters and assisted by putting preventive measures in place to safeguard their informa- tion. "Regardless of the time of year or volume of attempts made by scam- mers, DOR is 'business as usual' for our best-in-class identity protection and fraud prevention team," said DOR Commissioner Bob Grennes. "Unfortunately, while Hoosiers are dealing with the current health cri- sis, bad actors are attempting to in- crease their scam activity including refund fraud. We advise all custom- ers to be extremely vigilant when it comes to securing their personal or financial information. "The entire DOR team cares deep- ly about serving Hoosiers, and this is a time when we have doubled down on our commitment to serve." DOR's tax fraud program has stopped more than $140 million in fraud since its inception in 2014 by detecting fraud before tax returns enter the financial system, resulting in less fraudulent refunds being pro- cessed and paid. The most common form of tax fraud occurs when an in- dividual or business entity willful- ly and intentionally falsifies infor- mation on a tax return to limit the amount of tax owed. For more information regarding DOR's tax fraud program and how to prevent or report tax fraud, visit dor.in.gov/4792.htm. For more information regarding how to prevent falling victim to ID theft and ways to identify ID theft, visit dor.in.gov/4794.htm. Customers with tax questions are encouraged to call the Customer Service team at 317-232-2240, Mon- day through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT. PACE offering energy assistance PACE is still accepting ap- plications for Energy Assis- tance, which provides a fi- nancial benefit for a house- hold's heat source. The non-profit recogniz- es people may find them- selves seeking services due to losing their job or other unexpected situations. The application and necessary forms are on their website, PaceCA A.org/Energy-As- sistance. For more specif- ic details, call 812-882-7927 ext. 2. Energy Assistance man- ager Lisa Ritterskamp said, "While anyone can apply at this time, if a household in- dicates that there has been a drastic change in income due to the sudden loss of earnings within the three months prior to applica- tion, the family might be el- igible. Examples of drastic loss may include, but are not limited to, business closing, company downsizing, or lost employment income due to a medical condition that pro- hibits employment." During this time, PACE recognizes that some in- dividuals who have never needed to seek assistance before might be facing fi- nancial hardships. Families are encouraged to reach out to PACE and see if you quali- fy for this or other services.

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