RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK – The RCS Ravens took to the field Friday night for the annual homecoming game and came away with a 42-8 win.
At halftime, RCS honored all of the district’s fall sports teams. Here are images from the night, courtesy of photojournalist Jennifer Kennedy.
By Russell Gloor
For Capital Region Independent Media
Dear Rusty:
I retired from working in January of this year and have since claimed Social Security. I didn’t work at all in February or March, but I began a part-time job in April.
I’m very confused about how Social Security counts earnings for the first year. I don’t know if I need to keep each month’s earnings under $1,770 or if they average it. Some of the literature I’ve found says each month must remain under $1,770 or NO benefit will be paid that month. Two people at the Social Security office told me they’ll just dock me $1 for every $2 I am over that, even in my first year.
I also cannot find anything about when they count your income. Is it when it’s earned or when it’s paid? If I go over in a month because there are three pay periods, can they withhold the benefit for that month? I’m just so confused!
Signed: Part-Time Worker
Dear Part-Time Worker:
The Social Security earnings test during your first year collecting benefits before full retirement age is, indeed, somewhat confusing.
The reason is because there are two methods that Social Security may use during your first calendar year collecting early benefits, and they will use the one that results in the least financial impact to you. To elaborate:
If you claim benefits mid-year before your full retirement age, for the remainder of that first year (starting in the month benefits begin and ending in December), you’ll be subject to a monthly earnings limit ($1,770 for 2023). If you exceed the monthly limit in any remaining month of that first calendar year, you won’t be entitled to benefits for that month, so Social Security would (eventually) take back that month’s benefit. That is, unless using the annual limit ($21,240 for 2023) instead will result in a smaller penalty.
If your total earnings for your first year collecting are over the annual limit (e.g., $21,240 for 2023), the penalty would be $1 for every $2 over the annual limit and, if that is less than the penalty from using the monthly limit, they will assess the smaller penalty.
In other words, Social Security will use the method that is most beneficial to you when assessing a penalty for exceeding the earnings limit during your first calendar year collecting benefits. And just for clarity, the earnings limits are much higher and the penalty less during the year you attain full retirement age (FRA).
Something else to be aware of: If you know in advance you will exceed the annual limit, it would be best to inform Social Security in order to avoid an Overpayment Notice next year. If you don’t, Social Security won’t know about your 2023 earnings until you file your 2023 income taxes, so you’ll get your 2023 monthly payments as usual. But when the IRS informs Social Security of your 2023 earnings later next year, Social Security will ask you to detail your monthly work earnings for 2023. If you have exceeded the limits, they will determine an overpayment amount and will ask you to either pay back what is owed in a lump sum or will withhold your benefits for enough months to recover what you owe for exceeding the 2023 earnings limit. Then, after you reach full retirement age (FRA), you’ll get time credit for all months in which benefits were withheld, thus slightly increasing your monthly payment after your FRA.
Finally, it is when your income is earned that counts, not when it is paid. So, for example, if you worked in January 2023 and were paid for that work in February 2023, that is considered January income, which wouldn’t count toward the February earnings limit.
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.
By Dick Brooks
For Capital Region Independent Media
My life is full. So is my garage, the cellar and my closet.
I came to this conclusion while trying to close the kitchen junk drawer after removing a triple A battery that I needed for the television remote.
It is amazing how stuff accumulates when you’re not paying attention. I’m not accusing the neighbors of dragging their excess stuff over and leaving it, but I’m suspicious.
I don’t understand how neat people do it. I have a friend whose shop is arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System. A place for everything and everything in its place. He either spends more time cleaning and organizing than working or he does nothing in there that ever makes a mess.
My shop, on the other hand, has a lived-in quality that I feel comfortable in. There’s a stack of lumber in the middle of the floor where it’s convenient to locate the board I need. Tools are scattered around the benches, usually where I last used them and where I might need to use them again. I know where most things are and can locate them within 15 or 20 minutes.
I will admit to needing a Philips screwdriver the other day and winding up going to the hardware store and purchasing a new one even though I know there are at least two dozen somewhere in my shop.
The shop is full of “roundtoits,” things that I’m going to repair when I get a minute or two. Most are things that are just too good to throw out and just need a little work to make them as good as new.
I have collected several lawn chairs that need to be re-webbed; I even have the roll of re-webbing material. I will get right to them as soon as I find it.
Some items taking up space are just too precious to part with. I still have the house I made for my daughter when she was about two. It started life as a large cardboard box; I cut a door and windows in it and added a roof. She spent many happy hours having tea parties in it. How could I take that to the transfer station?
Might as well tell me to throw away the swing I made for her out of the old milk crate. I cut leg holes in it and spent hours listening to her laugh as I pushed her under the maple tree.
I still have the red plastic remote control car my oldest son gave me for Father’s Day that he had bought with his own money and there are several projects built by my youngest son taking up space on my bench and in my heart. What do the neat people do with this sort of thing?
I guess its time to start doing what my parents did. It’s constantly amazing that the older I get, the smarter my parents get. My mom started it after we were out on our own and had our own space. Every time we went to visit, we left with a “box of memories.” It always contained our stuff from a younger day that was just too precious for her to throw away. You never knew what it might contain — old report cards, Mother’s Day cards you had made in third grade, a special picture you made that lived on the refrigerator for years, class pictures, your first pair of baby shoes, her treasures.
I’m so glad Mom wasn’t a “neat” person. I’m glad I’m not a “neat” person. I am starting to get suspicious that it’s not the neighbors smuggling stuff into the house during the night but some of the neat people who just don’t have the heart to throw it out.
Maybe they’re not aliens after all.
Thought for the week — Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.
Until next week, may you and yours be happy and well.
Reach columnist Dick Brooks at whittle12124@yahoo.com.
