Page 18 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2023 UNIVERSITY | FROM Page 1 end 2023. A diverse panel of judges representing many areas of the Salem State community selected this class from a pool of talented applicants from the following areas: student life, academic affairs, alumni and university volunteers. Among this year’s nominees were State Representative Jessica Giannino (’14), former Revere resident Eric Lampedecchio (’08) and Saugus resident Dr. Theresa Melito-Conners (’11). “I am honored to be recognized by Salem State for my achievements in Revere,” said Representative Giannino (D-Revere). “Salem State is where it all started for me. When I first ran for office in 2011, I was a Sophomore at Salem State and very involved on campus. It was at Salem State that my passion for politics began and where I discovered that this profession allows me to give back to my community in such variety of ways.” BUDGET | FROM Page 1 ries of slides showing millions of dollars of appropriations. He started with the big numbers: $49.2 million for city departments and services, $ 124 million for schools, which includes Revere’s share of the costs for Northeast Metro Tech. Fixed costs, which include employee health insurance, pension obligations and debt service, were listed as $53.2 million, and water and sewer costs, covered by rate payers, were $35.6 million. Viscay also showed slides that explained the city’s revenue. An estimated $112.7 million is expected from property tax payments. Local receipts include excise taxes and taxes on hotel rooms and meals. State aid, aka Cherry Sheet revenue, is $114 million with $98 million going exclusively toward education. Another $12.2 million in state aid is for general unrestricted government use. Viscay hit on some key factors affecting next year’s budget. In addition to hiring 11 new firefighters, which brings the total force to 119, the city plans GRANTS | FROM Page 7 beaches and our communities. We couldn’t do this without our sponsors JetBlue, Harpoon Brewery, FMC Ice Sports, P&G Gillette, National Grid, Coast Cannabis, the Daily Catch, Comcast, and the hundreds of people who take part in the annual JetBlue Shamrock Splash.” To learn more about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the great work they do to restore, Dear Never, Yes, depending on your specific circumstances, you may very well be eligible for divorced spouses Social Security benefits. Here’s what you should know. Who’s Eligible? A divorced spouse can colState Representative Jessica Giannino is shown with her 40 Under 40 Award presented to her at a recent ceremony at Salem State University. to hire five new police officers, which increases the department to a total of 115 officers. The Travel & Tourism Department has been merged back into the Parks & Recreation Department, while the building commissioner and city inspectors have been branched off into a separate department. Viscay also noted that the city’s health insurance costs have increased six percent since last year and the property and casualty insurance bill is up nine percent but now includes costly new cyber insurance. Viscay stressed that no other money from grants or federal aid programs has been worked in to balance the budget. He described the budget proposal as “vanilla,” with no big new initiatives, or hot-topic spending. He suggested that as residents mull over who should be the next mayor, the goal is a level-funded budget that keeps things moving. It will be up to the new mayor to provide some direction for the new high school or other major projects. Subcommittee members had the chance to ask questions to City Solicitor Paul Capizzi about protect and share Boston Harbor, the waterfront, islands and the region’s public beaches with all Bostonians and the region’s residents, visit their website at www.savetheharbor.org and follow @savetheharbor on social media. 2023 Better Beaches Program Partnership Grant Recipients Organization: Next Stop Revere. Event: Revere Beach Street Chalk Activation received $2,000. Organization: Revere Beach the legal department. Councillor-at-Large Steven Morabito asked about a more than $500,000 line item for legal services. “It’s an enormous jump,” said Morabito. “What you want for your department in settlement fees is so much more than the mayor recommended.” Capizzi said the money needed for legal settlements was impossible to predict and he asked for a large amount just in case it was needed. Paul Fahey, Election Commissioner, explained a few differences in his budget due to state mandates for early and mail-in voting. The three upcoming elections, which include the presidential primary in the spring, are the major reason for the increase in that department’s budget. The committee had few questions or comments until City Clerk Ashley Melnick presented her department’s level-funded budget. Committee members took the opportunity to praise Melnick. Calling her the greatest city clerk in the state, they thanked her for her support, assistance, guidance and expertise. Partnership. Event: International Sand Sculpting Festival and Revere Beach Art Festival received $ 4,000. Organization: City of Revere Parks & Recreation. Event: Revere Beach Kayak & Paddleboard received $ 3,000. Organization: Masjid AlQuran. Event: Family Eid Festival received $ 4,000. Organization: Haus of Threes. Event: HOT Progress Queer Beach Markets received $ 6,500. Total: $19,50. lect a Social Security retirement benefit on the earnings record of their ex-husband (or ex-wife) if you are at least age 62, were married for at least 10 years, are unmarried, and are not eligible for a higher benefit based on your own earnings record. In order to collect, your former spouse must also be at least 62 and eligible for Social Security benefits. But he doesn’t have to be receiving them in order for you to collect divorced spouse’s benefits, as long as you’ve been divorced for at least two years. Even if your ex is remarried, it won’t affect your right to divorcee benefits, nor will it affect your ex’s retirement benefits or his current spouse’s benefits. Benefit Amount A divorced spouse can receive up to 50 percent of their ex’s full Social Security benefit, or less if they take benefits before their full retirement age, which is 66 for people born in 1945-1954 but is gradually increased to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later. To find out your full retirement age and see how much your benefits will be reduced by taking them early see SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/ planner/agereduction.html. Keep in mind though, that if you qualify for benefits based on your own work history, you’ll receive the larger of the two benefits. You cannot receive benefits on both your record, and your ex’s work record too. To find out how much your retirement benefits will be, see your Social Security statement at SSA.gov/myaccount. And to get an estimate of your ex’s benefits, call Social Security at 800772-1213. You’ll need to show your marriage certificate and avyavy ennioreniiooravvy Senior avvyya vy niiori nio Can I Collect Social Security from My Ex-Spouse? Dear Savvy Senior, Is it possible to collect Social Security benefits from my ex-spouse? We were married for 12 years but have been divorced for almost 20 years now. Never Remarried divorce decree to prove your marriage lasted at least 10 years along with his Social Security number to get it. Other Factors to Know You also need to be aware that working can affect your divorced spouse’s benefits. If you start taking benefits while working, and are under full retirement age, your benefits will be reduced $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual limit, which is $21,240 in 2023. In the year you reach full retirement age, however, the annual limit increases to $56,520 and the reduction lowers to $1 for every $3 above that limit. See SSA. gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf for more details. Another factor that can reduce your divorced spouse’s benefits is receiving a pension from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes (like a government). This is a rule know as Government Pension Offset (see SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/gpo-calc.html) which can reduce your benefits by two-thirds of the amount of your pension. Divorced Survivor’s Benefits You also need to know that when your ex-spouse dies (and if you were married for 10 or more years), you become eligible for divorced survivor benefits, which is worth up to 100 percent of what your ex-spouse was due. Survivor benefits are available to divorced spouses as early as age 60 (50 if you’re disabled). But if you remarry before 60, you become ineligible unless the marriage ends. Remarrying after age 60 will not affect your eligibility. Also note that if you are receiving divorced spouses benefits when your ex-spouse dies, you will automatically be switched over to the higher paying survivor benefit. For more information visit SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/ planner/applying7.html and click on “Benefits for Your Divorced Spouse.” 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.
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