19

THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 21, 2024 Page 19 Say nir Sa ay nior y Senior Seni by Jim Miller Can You Stop and Restart Social Security Benefi ts? Dear Savvy Senior, Can I stop my Social Security retirement benefi ts 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 benefi ts and restart them at age 70. The Phunk Phenomenon Dance Team are shown performing at halftime during Game 1 of the NBA Finals Celtics game against the Dallas Mavericks. (Courtesy Phunk Phenomenon) DANCE TEAM | FROM PAGE 18 and her studio. The entire experience was steeped in Boston spirit. Donnie Wahlberg, New Kids on the Block legend and actor whom Briggs-Connor has known over the years through mutual dance contacts, provided her dancers with shirts to wear during performances. As glamorous as it all sounds – she has also taught Red Sox legend David Ortiz’s daughters and had Shaquille O’Neal hang out with her team during the NBA Finals – this is serious work for Briggs-Connor. She wants the routines to be fl awless while performing in front of a soldout, 19,600-people arena. “I defi nitely do put pressure on myself,” Briggs-Connor said. “And I try to think what’s going to be the best option to keep this crowd up, especially because they’re going to be hot the whole time. It’s almost like they don’t even need entertainment because they’re all in it. The crowd is already loud. So I try to keep the music to match that, obviously taking what they love like ‘Shipping up to Boston’ and keeping it in the theme of Boston. And then Donnie Wahlberg, he sponsored the team with these beautiful New Kids on the Block Boston shirts. So I did a nice tribute piece to the Boston boy bands to keep the crowd pumped for everything that comes from Boston and keep that luck fl owing. That was my idea of what I went into this year.” The NBA Finals appearance for her younger dancers – called Lil Phunk and ranging in ages from fi ve to 13 – was a crowning moment much like the Boston Celtics’ championship. Her dancers have been hard at work at their craft, and they now got to shine on an international stage right in the TD Garden, which they’ve called home for decades. The studio prides itself on “urban dance,” and Briggs-Connor describes it as a “non-traditional dance studio.” Their mission? To connect with youth through the art of urban dance. “Hip Hop is not just a dance; it is a culture containing fi ve elements,” according to the mission statement on the studio’s website. “Our goal is to educate our students on those fi ve elements within each of our specialized classes. Urban dance styles have always been the heart of inner cities as a way of expression and a means of building self-esteem.” She refers to a teaching style called “EDUTAINMENT,” or teaching the history behind each art form in addition to choreography. Boston, she said, has a specifi c dance style that includes a penchant for a very hyped-up and energetic vibe. “We still have a very bouncy style compared to the West Coast teams, who are more smooth,” she told The Advocate, “so we like artists like DMX. The studio that I own and the company is predominantly Hip Hop. We do mostly urban dance, street styles, so break-dancing from back in the day, we still do that, popping, locking, krump. New school Hip-Hop, old-school Hip Hop. So it’s all Hip Hop.” And this studio is not just performing; they’re winning on a large stage. A group of 40 dancers from Phunk Phenomenon recently competed in a national competition run by Hip Hop International. Ranging in ages from nine to dancers in their 30s, the team won a Gold Medal for the Megacrew category. Now they’re preparing for an international competition in Arizona in August, where they will compete against 50 countries. They secured the nationals win earlier this year with a routine to the song “Ante Up,” a collaboration by Hip Hop artists Busta Rhymes, Tefl on and Remy Martin. When she makes a mix, Briggs-Connor likes to entertain all ages of her audiences, blending old-school memories with new beats. For this routine, they took “Ante Up” and layered it with new beats like dance hall and Afrobeat. “Everything had to be within the realm of street dance for the rules of this competition,” Briggs-Connor said, “so we’re going with a full mixed style routine, basically hitting all the genres of hip-hop dance.” For Briggs-Connor, these competitions are full-circle moments where all the hard work of choreography, dancing and sweating until near midnight on weekday nights comes together. She’s been hitting the dance fl oor since she was three years old at Genevieve’s Dance Studio in Chelsea, and she basically hasn’t left since. “I danced at that studio in Chelsea, and I grew up there,” Briggs-Connor said. “My mom [Barbara Casino of Chelsea] put me in when I was three years old because I loved to dance. I danced all the way until I was 18 there, and I started teaching for her when I was 16, and I cheered for Chelsea High School. I’ve danced my whole life.” —The Phunk Phenomenon team is raising funds for their international competition trip to Arizona in August. Find out more at https://app.99pledges.com/ fund/PHUNKatHHIworlds. You can also learn more about Phunk Phenomenon at https://www. phunkphenomenon.com/. And to learn more and contribute to Jared Connor’s fi ght with Sanfi lippo syndrome, the family has a website: http://www.jaredsfi ght.org/. Do-over Dan Dear Dan, Yes, there are actually two diff erent strategies that allow Social Security benefi - ciaries 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 Benefi ts If you are in your fi rst year of collecting retirement benefi ts, you can apply to Social Security for a “withdrawal of benefi ts.” Social Security will let you withdraw your original application for retirement benefits, but it must be within 12 months of the date you fi rst claimed your benefi ts. If you opt for a withdrawal, Social Security will treat it as if you never applied for benefi ts in the fi rst 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 benefi ts 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 benefi ts once, but you can apply for benefits again later when the monthly amount would be larger. To withdrawal your benefi ts, fi ll out Social Security form SSA-521 (see ssa.gov/ forms/ssa-521.pdf) and send the completed form to your local Social Security offi ce. If you change your mind, you have 60 days from the date Social Security approves your withdrawal to cancel the request. Suspend Benefi ts If, however, you miss the 12-month window, or if repaying your Social Security benefi ts is not fi nancially feasible, there is another doover 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 fi nd your full retirement age at SSA.gov/benefi ts/retirement/planner/ageincrease.html. At that point, you can “suspend” your Social Security benefi t and the good news is you don’t have to repay anything. But the bad news is your monthly Social Security benefi ts 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 benefi t by two-thirds of 1 percent for each suspended month (or 8 percent for each suspended year) up until age 70. Suspended benefi ts would automatically resume at 70, or you could choose to resume Social Security benefi ts earlier, but you’d only receive delayed retirement credits for the period when benefi ts 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 offi ce. 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 benefi ts. Normally, Medicare Part B premiums ($174.70 per month in 2024 for most benefi ciaries) 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. ior

20 Publizr Home