The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1479543
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, September 21, 2022 D-5 Court Report Surviving spouse benefits explained Social Security Matters CRIMINAL DOCKET Pike Circuit Court Jacaris Hobson charged with pos- session of cocaine between 10 and 28 grams, a level 4 felony. Dezarae Dawn Coulson charged with possession of meth, less than five grams, level 6 felony; operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance in body, class C misdemeanor and posses- sion of marijuana, a class B felony. Cody Michael Cross charged with re- sisting law enforcement with a vehicle, level 6 felony; possession of meth, less than 5 grams; reckless driving, driving at an unreasonable high speed endan- gering safety, a class C misdemeanor; maintaining a common nuisance. SMALL CLAIMS Pike Circuit Court Hoosier Accounts Ser vice sues Lacy Hurt on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Ser vice sues Sum- merLee Miskell on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Ser vice sues Kelly L. Davis on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Ser vice sues Justin C. Lindley on complaint. Kevin Vore sues D & C Auto on com- plaint. Medical and Professional Collection Ser vices Inc. sues Christina D. Matting- ly on complaint. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Roy S. King charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C mis- demeanor. Darby L. Hape charged with violation of driving conditions a class C misde- meanor. Deanna Funk charged with posses- sion of marijuana, class B misdemeanor. Timothy W. Meyer charged with bat- ter y resulting in bodily injur y, a class A misdemeanor; resisting law enforce- ment, intentional forcibly resisting, a class A misdemeanor. CIVIL DOCKET Pike Circuit Court Midland Credit Management Inc. sues Taylor Clark for civil collection. Midland Credit Management Inc. sues Tasha Cox for civil collection. Professional and Business Collections sues Tiffany and Kenneth Har vey for civil collection. 2022 Personal property taxes on mo- bile homes and businesses. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Diallo E. Maddox charged with speed- ing. Brenda M. Shreve charged with driv- ing while suspended. Darrell L. Kennedy charged with speeding. Nathaniel W. Kates charged with speeding. Bradley J. Hawthorne charged with seat belt violation. Christopher Flaugher charged with speeding. Dylan W. McCarter charged with seat belt violation. Hannah K. Evans charged with seat belt violation. Alexander L. Korthaus charged with speeding. Mariah Stone charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Eric R. Hedinger charged with speed- ing. Cole W. Parks charged with seat belt violation. Darby L. Hape charged with speeding. Veronica Oceloti charged with speed- ing. Ter vely Alouidor charged with open alcoholic beverage container while driv- ing and speeding. Daniel Crockett charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Makayla S. Camden charged with speeding in a school zone. Casey O'Brien charged with seat belt violation. Richeal D. Wagler charged with disre- garding a stop sign. Te'Airra A. Dickerson charged with unlawful possession of tobacco or elec- tric cigarette. Damian M. Brannon charged with un- lawful possession of tobacco or electric cigarette. Tina M. Heichelbech charged with speeding. Lukman A. Okunade charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Matthew W. Corn charged with speed- ing. Terr y E. Jones charged with speeding in a school zone. Joeseph D. Jones Jr., charged with fol- lowing too closely. Caleb T. Charkosky charged with speeding Kyra Nicole West charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Luke W. Peters charged with speed- ing in a 55 zone. Michael K. Clark charged with speed- ing. Melissa J. Hardcastle charged with speeding; driving while suspended. David K. Beck charged with failure to register an off-road vehicle. Michale E. Larger charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Josey K. Wright charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Roland X. Biggs charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Adrianna G. Gabhart charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Abigail A. Mosqueda charged with speeding in a 70 zone. James East charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Br yce W. Martin charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Halee A. Gillum charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Michael t. Bisnett charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Jason W. Woolsey charged with speed- ing in a 70 zone. Matthew J. Priddy charged with speeding in a 70 zone. James J. Cox charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Emmanuel Dareus charged with speeding. Liya Gebru charged with speeding in a 70 zone. Hector F. Leiva Ramirez operating a motor vehicle with a false plate belong- ing to another vehicle; operating a vehi- cle with expired plates; no valid drivers' license. Herman P. Small III charged with un- lawful hunting of migrator y birds. By Rusty Gloor Dear Rusty: If I file at age 63 what percentage does my wife receive if I die? Does this percent- age change if I wait to file closer to my full retirement age? And what does my wife receive if I die before I file for my benefits? Signed: Plan- ning Ahead. Dear Planning: When you file for your own Social Secu- rity benefit will affect the sur- vivor benefit your wife is enti- tled to as your widow. If you claim at age 63, her benefit as your widow will be based on your age 63 amount. If you wait longer to claim your own Social Security, your own benefit will be higher and so will your wife's entitlement as your sur vivor. In other words, your wife's benefit as your widow will be based on the amount you are receiving when you die, and the longer you wait to claim your own So- cial Security, the higher your wife's sur vivor entitlement will be. Exactly how much your wife will get monthly as your widow depends also on her own age when she claims her sur vivor benefit. If you were to die first, your wife can claim a reduced sur vivor benefit as early as age 60 but doing so will result in a benefit which is 28.5 percent lower than it would be if she waits until her own full retirement age (67) to claim. Sur vivor benefits do not reach maximum until the sur- vivor reaches full retirement age (FRA) and, if claimed before that, the benefit will be reduced by 4.75 percent for each full year early, to a maximum reduction of 28.5 percent. So, although your wife's base sur vivor benefit will be the actual (100 percent) amount you were receiving when you die, her monthly sur vivor payment will be re- duced if she claims the sur- vivor benefit before her FRA. It is an actuarial reduction of .396 percent less sur vivor benefit for each month prior to FRA the sur vivor benefit is claimed. If you wait to file for your own ben- efit but die before you actually start collecting your benefits, your wife's entitlement as your widow will be based upon the amount you were entitled to when you died. She will not lose her sur vivor benefit - it will be based upon the amount you were entitled to when you died, even though you had not yet claimed. Your wife can also delay claiming her sur vivor benefit until she reaches her FRA to maximize her benefit as your widow. But there is more to consider. If your wife is working full time, it is often not prudent (and may not be possible) to collect Social Security ben- efits before reaching full re- tirement age. That's because of Social Security's earnings test, which limits how much can be earned while collecting SS benefits before FRA. The earnings limit for 2022 is $19,560 (changes yearly) and if that is exceeded, SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for ever y $2 over the lim- it. If the limit is significantly exceeded your wife could be temporarily ineligible to get benefits, until her earnings are less, or until she reaches her full retirement age (the earnings limit no longer ap- plies when FRA is reached). Finally, it's important to note that all Social Securi- ty rules are gender-neutral, meaning that the rules ap- ply equally to both spouses. But in any case, a sur viving spouse can only get one ben- efit – either their own or their sur vivor benefit, whichever is highest. To submit a question, vis- it website (amacfoundation. org/programs/social-securi- ty-advisor y) or email ssadvi- sor@amacfoundation.org. NEWS! Want to share your news with others? The Press-Dispatch can help deliver it to Pike and the surrounding counties. 812-354-8500 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! We're not afraid to shed some light on the truth. 812-354-8500