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Mountain Views NewsSaturday, June 15, 2024


FREE ASSISTED LIVING PLACEMENT SERVICE

 

 Discover the perfect assisted living community with 
Safe Path for Seniors. Our compassionate advisors 
specialize in assisting individuals with unique needs. 
Benefit from our extensive network and affordable 
options. Plus, we offer personalized tours to help you 
explore each community firsthand. Call (626) 999-
6913 or visit www.safepathforseniors.com for free 
assistance.

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …JUNE BIRTHDAYS*

Joanne Thrane, Nellie Haynes, Dorothy McKay, Diane Hatfield, Georgette 
Dunlay, Elizabeth Shula Donna Doss, Mary Carney, Carol Handley, Marilyn 
McKernan, Pat Fujiwara, John Shier, Beth Smith-Kellock, Ann Disbrow, 
Joan Ellison, Anne Montgomery, Trini Ornelas, Martha Spriggs, Pat Starkey, 
Kathleen Coyne, Suzanne Decker, Jacque Persing, Jeanne Peterson, Roxana 
Dominguez, Carolyn Lanyi, Claire McLean and Grace Sanders .

 * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. 
YEAR of birth not required


Courtesy of Safe Path For Seniors

HOW MEDICARE WORKS DURING AN EMERGENCY OR DISASTER

Submitted by Rick Holliday who is a Medicare Specialist. 

It’s a good idea to be prepared in case a natural disaster strikes near you. Learn more about how to 
get the care you need if an emergency is declared in your area and you have to move to a safe area 
with available medical services.

Seeing a doctor during a disaster or emergency: If you have Original Medicare, you can always see 
any doctor who accepts Medicare. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health 
plan, contact your health plan about making temporary changes, like using an out-of-network 
doctor during an emergency or disaster. 

Getting your prescription drugs during a disaster or emergency: You can move most prescriptions 
to another nearby in-network pharmacy, and back to your regular pharmacy when the emergency 
or disaster ends. Contact your Medicare drug plan if you need to use an out-of-network pharmacy.

Accessing critical care or replacing durable medical equipment during a disaster or emergency: 
Learn how to replace durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs and walkers), or get dialysis or 
cancer treatments in case of a disaster or emergency. 

Save this email in case you need it as a reference later. If you need other resources or help after an 
emergency, visit DisasterAssistance.gov.

Your Medicare Champion, Rick Holliday

Want more information go-to; www.TRHInsurance.com or call 626.540.7080


CAN YOU STOP AND RESTART SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS?


CAN YOU STOP AND RESTART 
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS?

Dear Savvy Senior:

Can I stop my Social Security retirement benefits and 
restart them later to get a bigger payment? I recently got a nice unexpected inheritance, so don’t 
need the money from Social Security right now. If possible, I would like to suspend my benefits and 
restart them at age 70.

Do-over Dan

Dear Dan:

Yes, there are actually two different strategies that allow Social Security beneficiaries to undo 
their claiming decision. But to be eligible, there are certain conditions you’ll have to meet. Here’s 
what you should know.

Withdrawal Benefits

If you are in your first year of collecting retirement benefits, you can apply to Social Security for 
a “withdrawal of benefits.” Social Security will let you withdraw your original application for 
retirement benefits, but it must be within 12 months of the date you first claimed your benefits.

If you opt for a withdrawal, Social Security will treat it as if you never applied for benefits in the 
first place. But there’s a catch. You’ll have to repay every dollar you’ve received, including those of 
any family members who have been collecting benefits on your earnings record, such as a spouse 
or minor child, along with any money that was withheld from your Social Security payments – 
for example, to pay your Medicare premiums.

You can only withdraw your application for Social Security benefits once, but you can apply for 
benefits again later when the monthly amount would be larger.

To withdrawal your benefits, fill out Social Security form SSA-521 (see ssa.gov/forms/ssa-521.pdf) 
and send the completed form to your local Social Security office.

If you change your mind, you have 60 days from the date Social Security approves your withdrawal 
to cancel the request.

Suspend Benefits

If, however, you miss the 12-month window, or if repaying your Social Security benefits is not 
financially feasible, there is another do-over option, but you’ll need to be full retirement age or 
older to be eligible.

Full retirement age is 66 and 6 months for those born in 1957, but it rises in two-month increments 
every birth year to age 67 for those born in 1960 and later. You can find your full retirement age 
at SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/ageincrease.html.

At that point, you can “suspend” your Social Security benefit and the good news is you don’t have 
to repay anything. But the bad news is your monthly Social Security benefits stop and so do those 
of any dependent family members (except a divorced spouse).

During the suspension, you will also accrue delayed retirement credits, which will increase your 
monthly retirement benefit by two-thirds of 1 percent for each suspended month (or 8 percent for 
each suspended year) up until age 70.

Suspended benefits would automatically resume at 70, or you could choose to resume Social 
Security benefits earlier, but you’d only receive delayed retirement credits for the period when 
benefits were suspended.

You can request a Social Security suspension over the phone (800-722-1213), in writing or in 
person at your local Social Security office. The suspension would begin the month after you make 
the request.

Also note that if you’re enrolled in Medicare, there’s another consequence of withdrawing or 
suspending your benefits.

Normally, Medicare Part B premiums ($174.70 per month in 2024 for most beneficiaries) are 
deducted directly from monthly Social Security payments.

If you withdrawal or suspend your benefits and you’re enrolled in Medicare Part B, you’ll start 
receiving a quarterly bill from Medicare. You’ll have the option of paying electronically or by 
mail. Or you can sign up for Medicare’s Easy Pay, which automatically deducts your premium 
payments from your savings or checking account each month.

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.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

I'LL TELL YOU WHEN I'VE HAD ENOUGH

It was evening, and the day was just about over. The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage and I were chilling in the living room, watching TV.

It is always lovely when the day ends, and you can relax. Doing nothing 
can become a habit.

 I’m not sure what we were watching on TV; it really doesn’t matter. What matters 
is that we were relaxing and enjoying the evening together. No appointments, 
no plans, just an evening of doing nothing. It’s that kind of relaxing that I can’t 
get enough of. It’s too late to do anything, and it’s too early to go to bed. What a 
wonderful scenario.

 The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage went out into the kitchen and then called 
me and said, “Do you think you’ve had enough ice cream for the day?”

I didn’t know if it was a rhetorical question or she was setting me up for a trap. I’ve 
been set up before, and I’ll never know when the next one will be. Anything with 
ice cream is worth the chance. I cheerfully responded, “I’ll tell you when I’ve had 
enough ice cream and I haven’t had enough for today.” 

 A soft voice from the kitchen area said, “Would you like me to bring you another 
bowl of ice cream?” I responded, “That would be wonderful, and I sure would 
appreciate that.” 

 I can never think of a time when I had too much ice cream. My mother often told 
me I had too much ice cream. But you know how mothers are? They don’t always tell 
the truth. When it comes to vegetables, I can have too much of that. I can have too 
much when it comes to other things as well. But who in their right mind could ever 
say they’ve had too much ice cream?

 My mother once told me, “You should be eating more fruits instead of ice cream.”

I responded, “Well then, get me some peach ice cream.” As I was growing up, all my 
mother wanted to do was feed me vegetables. It’s not that I don’t like vegetables, but 
there comes a time when I’ve had enough.

 When I was young, my favorite Saturday morning cartoon was, Popeye the Sailor 
Man. As you know, Popeye is famous for eating spinach, which gave him all the 
energy and strength he needed. One Saturday, as I was watching Popeye, my mother 
came in and said, “Oh, I see your watching Popeye the Sailor Man. Do you know he 
loves spinach? I think maybe you should start eating spinach like Popeye.”

I looked at my mother seriously and said, “You do know that Popeye smoked a pipe. 
So if I eat his spinach do I also smoke his pipe?” That was the last time my mother 
ever brought that subject up.

 As a youngster, I mowed the grass for our neighbor next door, who had a tiny 
grocery shop. When I mowed the grass, I went into her little shop, and she gave me 
soda pop and my favorite ice cream cone. She could’ve paid me money to mow the 
grass, but what value can you put on your favorite ice cream cone?

 So when The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage asked me if I’d had enough ice 
cream, I cheerfully told her, “absolutely not”. There is no way under the sun that I 
could ever have enough ice cream in one day.

 If there ever comes a time when I answer my wife’s question by saying, “Yes, my 
dear, I think I’ve had enough ice cream for today,” you know I’ve lost my mind.

I’ve often wondered who invented ice cream. They sure have my approval. I think 
they did a wonderful thing to the human race by creating something as delicious 
as ice cream. Even to this day, I can’t name all of the different flavors of ice cream.

My goal in life is to find all the different flavors of ice cream and sample each one 
for the world’s record.

 The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage brought me a very nice bowl of ice cream. 
“Here you are, I hope this is enough ice cream for tonight.”

I just smiled at her because I never think beyond the ice cream I’m eating at the time. 
I refuse to compromise that marvelous experience of eating ice cream by thinking 
of other things.

 Then my wife said something rather strange. “Do you know,” she said rather 
seriously, “that there is no ice cream in heaven?”

I chuckled as I ate another spoonful of ice cream. I looked at her and said, “That’s 
why I’m trying to eat as much ice cream as I can now. I want to get my share of ice 
cream while I still have the opportunity.” 

 While eating that ice cream I remembered a verse in the Bible. It caused me to 
think about some of my habits.

 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he 
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).

Sometimes I want what I want when I want it. Usually, I don’t give much thought to 
consequences.

I need to sharpen my focus on my spiritual life and trust God to lead me everyday.


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