Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 6, 2021

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Mountain View News Saturday, February 6, 2021 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

DO I NEED TO SIGN-UP FOR MEDICARE IF I’M STILL WORKING?

Dear Savvy Senior:

I will turn 65 in a few months and plan to keep working 
for several more years. I have good health insurance 
from my employer now. Do I have to sign up for 
Medicare when I reach 65? Looking Ahead

Dear Looking:

Whether you need to enroll in Medicare at 65 if you continue to work and have health insurance 
through your job depends on how large your employer is. The same rules apply if your health insurance 
comes from your spouse’s job.

But first, let’s review the basics. Remember that original Medicare has two parts: Part A, which provides 
hospital coverage and is free for most people. And Part B, which covers doctor’s bills, lab tests 
and outpatient care. Part B also has a monthly premium, which is $148.50 for most beneficiaries in 
2021, but is higher for individuals earning above $88,000.

If you’re already receiving Social Security, you’ll automatically be enrolled in parts A and B when you 
turn 65, and you’ll receive your Medicare card in the mail. It will include instructions to return it if you 
have work coverage that qualifies you for late enrollment. If you aren’t yet receiving Social Security, you 
will have to apply, which you can do online at SSA.gov/medicare.

If you plan to continue working past the age of 65 and have health insurance from your job, your first 
step is to ask your benefits manager or human resources department how your employer insurance 
works with Medicare. In most cases, you should at least take Medicare Part A because it’s free. (Note: 
If you’re funding a health savings account you may not want to take Part A because you can’t make 
contributions after you enroll). But to decide whether to take Part B or not will depend on the size of 
your employer.

Small Employer

If your current employer has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare will be your primary insurer and you 
should enroll in Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period. This is a seven-month period 
that includes the three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday.

If you miss the seven-month sign-up window, you’ll have to wait until the next general enrollment 
period, which runs from Jan. 1 to March 31 with benefits beginning the following July 1. You’ll also 
incur a 10 percent penalty for each year you wait beyond your initial enrollment period, which will be 
tacked on to your monthly Part B premium.

Large Employer

If your employer has 20 or more employees, your employer’s group health plan will be your primary 
insurer as long as you remain an active employee. If this is the case, you don’t need to enroll in Part B 
when you turn 65 if you’re satisfied with the coverage you are getting through your job. But if you do 
decide to enroll in Medicare, it will supplement your employer insurance by paying secondary on all 
of your claims.

Once your employment or group health coverage ends, you will then have eight months to sign up for 
Part B without a penalty. This is known as the Special Enrollment Period.

Check Drug Coverage

You also need to verify your prescription drug coverage. Call your benefits manager or insurance company 
to find out if your employer’s prescription drug coverage is considered “creditable.” If it is, you 
don’t need to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. If it isn’t, you should purchase a plan 
(see Medicare.gov/plan-compare) during your initial enrollment period or you’ll incur a premium 
penalty (1 percent of the average national premium for every month you don’t have coverage) if you 
enroll later.

If you have more questions or need help, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see 
ShiptaCenter.org), which offers free Medicare counseling. Or call the Medicare Rights Center helpline 
at 800-333-4114.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. 
Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! … February Birthdays*

Tracy Verhoeven, Beatrice DaRe, Cathrine Adde, Hilda Pittman, Anne-Marie 
Stockdale, Susan Henderson, Allie Attay, Ursula El-Tawansy, Gladys Moser, Sylvia 
Lorhan, Ana Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Janet Gillespie, Marian DeMars, Vickie 
Vernon, Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler. To add your name to this distinguished 
list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required


SENIOR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA MADRE

CHAIR YOGA Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 am Chair yoga with Paul is coming back! Class will 
begin on Monday, August 10th and will be held in the Covered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior 
Center. Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxa-tion. Class size is limited 
so please call 264-8923 to reserve your spot. 

HAWAIIAN AND POLYNESIAN DANCE CLASS Every Friday, 10-10:45 am Class will also meet in the Cov-
ered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior Center. Join the class with instructor Barbara as she leads 
you through the art of Hula. Please call 264-8923 with any questions. 

Classes will maintain a distance of 6 ft between participants. ALL participants must be wearing masks for the 
duration of the class. All equipment used will be sanitized after each use before it is stored. Each participant is 
responsible for providing their own water, masks and needed equipment or sup-plies for each class. Please call the 
Community Services Department at 355-5278 with any questions or concerns.

OCTOBER CRAFT

Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 am. Please join me as we try our hands at making Wooden Owl Orna-ments. This 
will be a new type of program as we create our masterpieces via Zoom to ensure all of our safety. I will have all the 
supplies individually packaged and ready for pickup on Monday, October 19th pickup will be between 10:00 am-
2:00 pm. I will have enough supplies for 10 participants. Reservations are required so please call 355-5278 x 704 
to secure your spot. Please note that this is an ONLINE class that will be held via Zoom. We will not be meeting 
in the Hart Park House Senior Center.

IDEAS

 Do you have any ideas for programming? Is there a class or club you would like to see in our Senior Community? 
Please call or email Lawren Heinz with ideas or questions. 626-355-5278 x 704 lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com

 City staff are monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement 
and interfacing less with the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner. If at any time additional information is needed, please 
contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are 
taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate per-son. For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note 
our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

SIERRA MADRE SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

The City of Sierra Madre is following these procedures to provide current communication in light of COVID-19 
and keep the Senior Community and families informed of essential information and resources. City staff are 
monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement and practicing 
social distancing in the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner.

If at any moment additional information is needed, please contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-
7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate person.

 For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the 
Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

 Community Services Department will continue email communication with Senior residents and aging community 
members.

 If you know of family members or neighbors who may benefit from accessing information electronically, and 
to receive the department’s Seniors Newsletter via email but may not otherwise have been included on an email 
group list, please send your request with email address to the following team members: Lawren Heinz Lheinz@
cityofsierramadre.com and Clarissa Lowe Clowe@cityofsierramadre.com.

 City Social Media will continue via Facebook as well as Instagram, and information sharing will include updates 
as details becomes available.

Mater Dolorosa - Sierra Madre Meal Pick-Up Program provides seal-packaged frozen meals, 5-per person 
every Thursday, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. at Hart Park House Senior Center 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Donations 
are accepted. Call (626) 355-5278; x702 or 704. YWCA Intervale Meal Program - Effective 
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

YWCA has transitioned their distribution of take home meals at the Sierra Madre Hart Park House 
Senior Center to a home-delivery meal program. Participants previously reserved for meal pick-up 
as of Wednesday, 3/25/20 were informed that they would begin to have their meals delivered to their 
homes, beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020 until further notice.

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


DOES YOUR ESTATE PLAN PROTECT YOUR 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY? 

If you own a business, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, 
because your intellectual property is intangible, it can be invisible to 
you and those who aren’t familiar with the nature of intellectual property 
and its value, so it often gets overlooked, especially when it comes to estate 
planning. Yet, if you fail to properly document your intellectual property, 
your estate plan will likely not protect it—and this could cause your loved 
ones to miss out on what can be among your most valuable assets.

When we talk about intellectual property, we’re referring to creations of the mind, including inventions, 
literary and artistic works, designs, logos, brand names, and images, all of which are used in the course 
of a business.

Identifying, Valuing, and Protecting Your Intellectual Property

While you might think that identifying, protecting, and valuing your intellectual property is something 
that only applies to big companies, not small businesses, that’s definitely not the case. In fact, if you own 
a small business, your intellectual property can be of even greater value to your loved ones once you’re 
no longer around and able to financially provide for them. 

For all of these reasons, it’s imperative that you take the proper steps to not only protect these intangible 
assets during your lifetime, but that you also use estate planning to ensure that your intellectual property 
is properly handled following your death, so your loved ones can continue to get the most value 
out of these most valuable assets.

Documentation and Registration

The first step to take in protecting your intellectual property is to formally document it in your business 
inventory of assets. When you create your business asset inventory, you are creating a record of its assets, 
including intangible assets like intellectual property.

The next step is to legally register trademarks, copyrights and patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office, and ensure you have the proper legal agreements and contracts in place to ensure there’s 
no question about who owns these works. To this end, if you have not protected your intellectual property 
with copyrights, trademarks, patents, royalty and licensing agreements, non-competes for employees, 
and work-for-hire provisions in your existing agreements with independent contractors and 
vendors, now is the time to do so. 

Don’t wait until your intellectual property gets stolen or you receive a cease-and-desist letter to put 
these protections in place. Registering a trademark or copyright might cost you time and money, but 
failing to register your brand can ultimately cost you far more than that in legal fees or the lost value of 
your assets, especially if you end up in court, trying to fight for what you thought you owned.

Address Your Intellectual Property in Your Estate Plan

After you have documented your intellectual property, review the operating agreement or bylaws of 
your business entity. And if you don’t have an operating agreement or bylaws, now is the time to put 
these essential legal agreements in place. Read through your governing documents to see what they say 
about what happens to your business and its intellectual property upon your death or incapacity.

If you think this all sounds overly complicated, imagine how much more difficult it will be for your 
loved ones to deal with it should something happen to you. In fact, it could prove impossible for your 
loved ones to handle these matters in your absence, which is why it’s so important for you and your 
legal team to take care of these issues now. That way, your family isn’t stuck trying to clean up a mess 
after your death.

Dedicated to empowering your family, building your wealth and defining your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parents protect what 
they love

most. His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an

appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love and financial security for your

family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.CaliLaw.com for more information.

DIVIDED HOUSE MAKES A HAPPY HOME

Never has our world been more divided than today. Politics, religion, sports and on 
and on I could go. For the most part, so many people think being divided is a negative 
thing. And for many people it is.

However, after being married to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage for almost 50 
years, I have discovered that a divided house can be a very happy house. It just depends on how you are 
divided and what divides you. That makes all the difference in the house.

Being married as long as I have been does not make me an expert in this area. I am only an expert in 
forbearance, which is the reason there is always a smile on my face. Whether you believe it or not, that 
smile is genuine.

All of this came to focus recently when we finally finished adding an office room to our house. It has been 
in process for at least four years. That's where my "forbearance" comes to play.

When I think everything is ready to close, something happens that kicks that can down the road an-other 
mile or two.

Last year we were almost ready to finish when the coronavirus hit and put everything on the pause. I'm 
not too fond of pause unless on a cat or dog.

So, except for some bookcases, the office has come to the point of completion.

This has brought our house to the Great Divide, which has brought a lot of happiness to our home.

On the other side of our house is a room called the Craft Room, which the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 
supervises. This is a room that, although I may be allowed to step in, for various reasons, I don't.

I look into that room, and I see all kinds of crafty stuff that I have no idea in the world what it is. And 
believe me, I am not going to ask what anything in that room is.

So, at one end of the house, we have my wife's Craft Room, and at the other end of the house, we now 
have the Pastor Cave, of which I am the sole supervisor and administrator. It is the place where I am in 
control of everything.

When my wife is in her Craft Room on one side of the house, and I'm in my Pastor Cave on the other side, 
we are significantly divided but enthusiastically happy.

My wife does her thing in her room, I do my thing in my room, and the twain shall never cross paths.

This great divide has brought a lot of happiness to our home.

The saying is true, what divides us may destroy us. But, if put together craftily, what divides us may bring 
us together on a different level.

She's happy in her room, I'm happy in my room, and the house rings with enthusiastic happiness.

Occasionally, my wife will come to the door of the Pastor Cave and say very enthusiastically, “Look what 
I just made.” Then she shows me some craft that she has put together.

Because I'm not very crafty, what she shows me is very delightful, and I express my great delight in her 
craftiness.

One of the essential aspects of a good marriage is knowing what the other person delights in.

For example, my wife delights in crafts. I could not spend five minutes in a craft room working on some 
craft. I would go absolutely insane. I probably would cut myself using some of them in her craft room.

My wife takes great delight in working in her craft room. And you know what they say, a delighted wife 
means a delighted husband.

I am delighted when she is delighted, and that makes everything come together.

I’m happy when I’m in my Pastor Cave and take great delight in what I'm doing. I have everything at my 
fingertips that I need to do that makes me happy.

If our home weren't so divided, we wouldn't have all that delight that we enjoy right now.

When we first started our marriage escapades almost 50 years ago, I had no idea that we would end up 
so marvelously divided as we are today. If someone would've told me that she would have her room one 
day to do what she likes to do and I would have my room to do what I like to do, I would've thought they 
were crazy.

I enjoy crazy today.

The other night I mentioned to my wife as we were watching TV that someone in the church had a 
birthday.

“Oh, my,” she said very enthusiastically, “I need to go and make them a birthday card.” And off she went 
to make a birthday card.

It may be a thank you card that we need to send to some family member or friend. And the good thing 
about all of this is, we don't have to go out to purchase any cards of any nature or holiday.

It’s so wonderful to have all that you need where you need it.

I read in the Bible just the other day a wonderful verse, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” 
(Amos 3:3).

Amos must've been a husband to say something like this. The important thing is the focus of the agreement. 
At the opposite ends of our house, my wife and I are in full agreement.

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his 
wife in Silver Springs Shores. .


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com