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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 10, 2024 Page 21 OBITUARIES Rita R. (Kennedy) Delaney den. In lieu of flowers donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children Hospital, St.Jude.org. Rosalie G. (Rizzuto) Colarusso O O f Saugus, age 96, died on May 2 at Bear Hill Healthcare in Wakefield. She was the wife of the late Daniel L. Delaney. Born and raised in East Boston, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Mary (Rahell) Kennedy. A graduate of Girls Latin and Mount. St. Mary’s College, A resident of Saugus since 1955, Rita was a teacher at St. Rose School in Chelsea for 17 years. Mrs. Delaney is survived by her daughter; Maureen A. Boyle and her husband James of Saugus, her sons; Daniel L. Delaney Jr. & Andrea Fontes of Saugus, Kevin E. Delaney and his wife Colleen of Cotuit grandchildren; Mathew Delaney and his wife Monique, Caitlin Boyle and 3 great grandchildren; Jordan, Aiden and Theo. Mrs. Delaney is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by five brothers; James Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, Richard Kennedy, Wilfred Kennedy, Thomas Kennedy and three sisters; Miriam Chaput, Annette Kennedy and Joan Leonard. Relatives and friends were invited to attend visiting hours in the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, 549 Lincoln Ave., Saugus, on Thursday, May 9. Funeral from the funeral home on Friday at 9:30 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Margaret’s Church, 431 Lincoln Ave, Saugus at 10:30am. Interment Holy Cross Mausoleum, MalGREAT SUMMER ADVERTISING RATES! REACH OVER 30,000 READERS EVERY WEEK! CALL US AT 718-233-4446 FOR MORE INFO! f Saugus. Age 81, died at Melrose-Wakefield hospital on Friday, May 3. She was the daughter of the late Joseph J. and Mafalda (DeSimone) Rizzuto. Born in Boston and raised in Malden, Rosalie has lived in Saugus for the last 52 years. Rosalie Enjoyed old movies and family gatherings. Rosalie is survived by her son Ralph W. Colarusso of Saugus; her brother Rocky Rizzuto of NH; Marie Frizzy of Melrose. She was predeceased by her former husband Ralph J. Colarusso and her brother James “Jim” Rizzuto. Relatives and friends were invited to attend visiting hours in the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, 549 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. James E. Crotty O f Saugus . A g e 100, died on Thursday, May 2nd. He was the husband of the late Helen V. (Hannon) Crotty with who he shared 74 years of marriage. Born in Boston, Mr. Crotty was the son of the late Andrew and Isabell (McMullen) Crotty. Mr. Crotty was a career telephone man, starting as a lineman and retiring in upper management. He was a U.S. Army Air Corps WW2 Veteran and POW. Mr. Crotty is survived by his daughter, Bonnie G. Ducott of Saugus; daughter-in-law, Patricia Elliott; five grandchildren, Marcus Crotty, Valorie Crotty, Ryan Elliott, Avery Crotty and Douglas Ducott as well as several great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son, James K. Crotty. At the request of the family, services were private. In lieu of flowers, donations in James’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org. WINDFALL ELIMINATION PROVISION O ver the years in my estate planning/financial planning practice, this issue has come up time and time again. What is the Windfall Elimination Provision? If you work for an employer that does not withhold social security taxes from your pay each week (such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, another government agency, local city or town or even an employer based in another country) the governmental pension or foreign country pension that you will ultimately receive may very well serve to reduce the social security benefits that you otherwise would have been entitled to. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) affects how the amount of your social security retirement or social security disability benefit is calculated if you were to receive a pension based upon your work history where social security taxes were never withheld. The WEP applies if you earned a pension in any job where you did not pay into social security and you also worked in other jobs throughout your working years long enough to qualify for social security retirement or disability benefits. The WEP may apply if: • of age after 1985; • after 1985; • You reached 62 years You became disabled You first became eligible for a monthly pension based on work where you did not pay into social security after 1985, even if you are still working. Social security benefits are intended to replace only a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement earnings. The way social security benefits are calculated, lower-paid workers get a higher return than highly-paid workers. For example, lower-paid workers could get a social security benefit that equals about 55% of their pre-retirement earnings. The average replacement rate for higher-paid workers is only about 25%. Prior to 1983, people who worked mainly in a job not covered by social security had their social security benefits calculated as if they were longterm, low-wage workers. Consequently, they had the advantage of receiving a social security benefit representing a higher percentage of their earnings, in addition to the pension they were receiving from a job where they did not pay into the social security system. Congress passed the WEP to eliminate that advantage. Social security benefits are based upon the worker’s average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) adjusted for inflation. AIME represents the average of your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. Indexed earnings are adjusted for inflation to reflect the equivalent value near the time of your retirement. Your average earnings are separated into three amounts and those amounts are multiplied by three factors. For example, for a worker that turns 62 in 2024, the first $1,174 of average indexed monthly earnings is multiplied by 90%; the next $5,904 by 32%; and the remainder by 15%. The sum of the three amounts equals the total monthly social security benefit that the worker would stand to receive. The 90% factor is reduced in the modified formula and phased in for workers who reached age 62 or became disabled between 1986 and 1989. For those who reached 62 or became disabled in 1990 or later, the 90% factorreduced to 40%. There are exceptions to this rule. For example, the 90% factor is not reduced if you have 30 or more years of “substantial” earnings in a job where you did pay into social security. The Social Security Administration has produced a table that sets forth the substantial earnings figures from 1937 to 2024. There is a second table that shows the percentage to use depending on the number of years you actually had of substantial earnings. So if you had 30 or more years, you use the 90% factor. If you only had 20 or less years, you only use a factor of 40%. 25 years of substantial earnings gives you a factor of 65%. Substantial earnings for 2024 is $31,275. To see the maximum amount that your benefit could be reduced, go to the following website. www.ssa.gov. You’ll be able to see the section on the Windfall Elimination Provision. The WEP does not apply to survivor benefits. It also does not apply if: • You are a federal worker first hired after 12-31-83; • You were employed on 12-31-83 by a nonprofit organization that did not withhold social security taxes from your pay at first, but then began withholding social security taxes from your pay; • where you did not pay social security taxes was before 1957; • years of substantial earnings under social security If you get a relatively low pension, you do have some protection. The reduction in your social security benefit cannot be more than ½ of the amount of your pension that is based on earnings after 1956 on which you did not pay into social security. For more information, go to the social security website at www.ssa.gov or call 1-800772-1213. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation. Your only pension is The only work you did based upon railroad retirement; • You have 30 or more

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