The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1489075
Sports Wednesday, December 28, 2022 The Press-Dispatch B-5 QUALITY EYEWEAR • Quality eyewear by Karen Memering, Optician • Professional eyecare by Dr. Steve Gregory • Most insurance plans accepted WE FILL ALL DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTIONS Complete Contact Lens Care & Service *In most cases **Some restrictions apply. Call for details. 812-254-6594 Corner of Hwy. 50 & 57, Washington, IN VALLEY OPTICAL 812-254-6594 May the joy of the season make all your wishes come true. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ™ CALL ME TODAY. State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL Wishing You a Happy New Year Dale Grinstead, State Farm Agent 211 W. Morton, Oakland City, IN Bus: 812-749-6155 dale.grinstead.bylw@statefarm.com dack.mathis.uy0i@statefarm.com Reels Chapel Cemetery NEW ADDITION Knox County lots available for sale $200 and up per grave. 812-890-4063 K ATHLEEN DELORES BARRET T Kathleen Delores Barrett, 98, of Petersburg, (Glezen), went to her eternal reward on December 23, 2022. She was born on Septem- ber 4, 1924 in Glezen to her late parents, Wilford and Murl English. She was joined in Holy Mat- rimony to her late husband, Harold Barrett just before Thanksgiving day in 1945. Harold went to be with the Lord in 2009 after 64 years of marriage. She was a part of the war ef- fort, working in a bullet mak- ing factory and an airplane factory in Evansville while her soon-to-be husband and all the men of her family were fight- ing in World War II. A fter the war ended, she was married to her sweetheart and worked various jobs while building her family and home. Some of her jobs included another factory, caring for patients in a nursing home, Home Health, and lastly as Owner Operator of the Barrett's Grocery Store near Glezen, Indiana on high- way 57. She was an artist behind a sewing machine and loved to quilt. She was a wonder- ful homemaker and garden- er. She canned everything she and Harold grew and was a spectacular homemade pie maker, too (she never once purchased a store-bought pie shell). She was full of life and wisdom. She loved to visit and talk, play games, and laugh with friends and family. The single most important thing to Kathleen (aside from her precious family) was her faith in Jesus. Kathleen want- ed nothing more than for oth- ers to know Christ as she did. She was life-long member of the Littles General Baptist Church. She remained healthy and independent all her days, re- siding at her home until the near time of her death. In the last few days of life on this earth she repeatedly told her family that she was "blessed" and that they were "blessed". Truly anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing Kath- leen, "is blessed" because of her. She will be sorely missed until the day we see her again. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30 :5b). She is survived by two daughters, Sue Brewer (Ben), of Haubstadt; Marlena Wil- liams (Richard), of Winslow; four grandchildren, Tracy Williams (Amy), of Washing- ton, Tim Collins, of Oakland City, Melody Werne (Shawn), of Evansville, Todd Williams ( Jenny), of St. Croix USVI; five great-grandchildren, Aar- on Williams, Jessica Williams, Makenzie May, Caydyn Wil- liams, Brinley Williams; along with numerous nieces and nephews that she loved very much. Visitation will be at Lamb Basham Memorial Chapel in Oakland City, on Thursday, December 29, 2022, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) until time of the service with Pastor Todd Williams of- ficiating. Burial will take place at Martin Cemetery in Littles, Indiana. Friends may send a condo- lence to the family at www. LambBasham.com. Obituary With This Ring... 60th Wedding Anniversary Roger and Pat Gray of Ot- well were married on Decem- ber 29, 1962, at Otwell Unit- ed Methodist Church. They have two sons, Mike (Angie) Gray and Greg (Bambi) Gray; four grandchildren, Tanner and Kaylee Gray, Megan ( Jer- emy) Brown and Mallo- ry Gray ( Jake Powell); two great-grandchildren, Mari- ah and Karter. They will celebrate this milestone anniversary with a party hosted by their chil- dren. Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Can I get survivor benefits while still working? Dear Rusty: I lost my wife several years ago and I qual- ified for Social Security Spou- sal benefits. Un- fortunately, be- cause of my in- come, I have not been able to take advantage of this benefit. I am cur- rently 64 and still working. I be- lieve I have un- til the age of 70 to receive this. Is there any way to claim any of this be- fore I start taking my Social Security in a couple of years? Signed: Working Widower. Dear Working Widow- er: Your entitlement to sur- viving spouse benefits from your wife actually never ex- pires so, you can wait until you stop working full time, or until you reach your full retirement age (FR A), to claim your benefit as a wid- ower. Social Security's "earn- ings test" lasts until you reach your full retirement age which, for you, is 66 years and eight months. That is the age at which your earnings from working will no lon- ger affect your Social Secu- rity benefit. So, you can sim- ply defer claiming your sur- vivor benefit until you reach your FR A, or until you stop working full time and won't exceed the annual earn- ings limit (the earnings limit changes year- ly; for 2023 it is $21,240). But there is no way to avoid the earnings test if you're collect- ing SS benefits of any kind be- fore you reach your full retire- ment age. If you collect your surviving spouse benefit ear- ly and exceed the earnings limit, SS will take away ben- efits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the limit (half of what you exceed the lim- it by), and if your work earn- ings are high enough it can temporarily disqualify you from receiving SS benefits. The penalty for exceeding the earnings limit is also less severe in the year you reach your FR A. You might take some com- fort in knowing, anyway, that taking your survivor bene- fit before your FR A would mean it would be reduced (by 4.75 percent for each full year early) but waiting until you reach your FR A to claim it would mean you'll get 100 percent of the survivor ben- efit you're entitled to (the same amount your wife was entitled to when she died). And you can claim your sur- vivor benefit (only) first and collect that, while allowing your personal SS retirement amount to continue to grow, up to age 70 if you wish. You should strive to maximize whichever benefit will be highest – your own, or your survivor benefit – and col- lect that benefit for the rest of your life. If you choose to claim your survivor benefit at your FR A and switch to your own higher amount at 70, your personal SS retire- ment benefit at 70 will be al- most 27 percent more than it will be at your full retirement age. That would be a good way to avoid the earnings test, maximize both bene- fits, and secure the highest possible Social Security ben- efit for as long as you live. Whether waiting until 70 to claim your own SS retire- ment benefit makes sense depends on whether it will be higher at age 70 than your survivor benefit at your FR A, and on your life expectan- cy. Average life expectancy for a man your current age is about 84 and you would break even moneywise at about age 81 if you wait un- til age 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit. So, you'd get the most in cumu- lative lifetime benefits by waiting until your FR A to claim your survivor benefit and - if it will be higher - wait- ing until you're 70 to claim your own SS retirement ben- efit. The choice is yours to make but longevity is the key, so you should careful- ly assess your potential life expectancy, including your family history, your current health, and your lifestyle to help you decide: To submit a question, vis- it website (amacfoundation. org/programs/social-secu- rity-advisory) or email ssad- visor@amacfoundation.org.