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Opinion

Ask Rusty: Will my benefit increase if I work while collecting disability?

Dear Rusty: I will be 64 in March and currently receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments. My full retirement age is 67, but I’m thinking about trying to return to work.

If I work and my earnings exceed the monthly disability payment limits, but do not exceed the annual limit, how will my disability payments be affected? Will working while receiving Social Security disability payments change my Social Security benefit amount when I reach my full retirement age of 67?

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We are among the dwindling few who still answer the doorbell when it chimes between sunup and sunset. (If we don’t hear it, we can rely 100% on our new rescue dog, Archie, to “bark” an alert.)

Oh, it’s not quite that simple. First, we use the peephole to see who is seeking entry. If the person is exceedingly short, the visitor may be a Girl Scout. I figure I can hold my own with her, knowing her mom is likely nearby, fading into the background after pressing the bell button.

Woodson News: "Much Ado"

The one act play cast and crew will put on their community performance of THE MAGIC WELL  at 6 p.m. Monday, March 18. Y’all come and watch! It’s free but donations are welcome!

That said, one act play cast and crew have practice from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, March 17.

Dress rehearsal. That’s the last Sunday of spring break! Wear green!

Spring break begins this Friday! No school March 11-14!

Track is underway! Run fast! Turn left! Jump high! This Thursday in Munday!

Golf is in full swing! They played through at Archer City this week.

Devil’s workshop?...

Every now and again, someone comes up with suggestions for addition to the list of what to do when there’s nothing to do.

As often as not, such “yawn fodder” winds up to fill holes--gaping or otherwise--just before newspapers go to press.

I have another thought concerning an item that should be forever deleted from the list--the mistitled annual “All-Star” basketball game foisted on us by the National Basketball Association and its TV cohorts. Any other suggestion on the “what-to-do-list” is superior to this debacle which is no better than watching paint dry….

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Ask Rusty: About Medicare’s dreaded “IRMAA” provision

Dear Rusty: My wife is on Medicare and receiving Social Security benefits each month. We built a house and used money from our investments to pay for it. We knew we would pay taxes on that withdrawal, but my wife got a letter from Social Security saying that because the money we withdrew was listed as income, her 2024 Medicare premium went up over $500. And since Medicare is taken out of her Social Security, that results in a $6,000 loss to our budget.

Grilling groans...

Texas’ prime grilling season is only weeks away. I await in the shadow of a conundrum, not knowing whether to mark off calendar days with giddy anticipation or be “gloomed” like Charlie Brown stumbling away from another setback.

There’s a certain limpness accompanying the unknown. That’s how I remember a sudden desire at age 30 to learn to play the organ, blowing off a warning to allot plenty of practice time. Right off, I bought a Wurlitzer transistorized model on a monthly pay-out plan. Months later, I sold it for pennies on the dollar.

Ask Rusty: Why must I pay into Social Security when I’m collecting benefits?

Dear Rusty: I am collecting full Social Security benefits at age 72 and also working full time. Why is the Federal Government still taking money from my paycheck? I have written to Social Security experts on this issue, and they tell me “It’s the law.” That is not a good answer for me. Approximately $4,400 was taken from my pay in 2023 for Social Security and, yes, I get a pittance of a COLA increase, but not equal to what I pay.