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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2025 Page 19 SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 18 · Shoes, clothes and other textiles · Fluorescent light bulbs and batteries (button and rechargeable) Residents are also permitted the free disposal of three TVs or computers/CRT monitors per household each year at the C.H.a.R.M. Center. Residents can obtain new stickers for this year free of charge when visiting the C.H.a.R.M. Center. By purchasing a $25 sticker that is valid for the entirety of the season, residents will be permitted to dispose of yard waste and brush at the C.H.a.R.M. Center. The $25 sticker also covers the cost to dispose of hard/rigid plastics at the facility. The C.H.a.R.M. Center accepts CHECKS ONLY, no cash or cards. Please note that the C.H.a.R.M. Center does not accept any household trash or construction materials and debris. The Town of Saugus reserves the right to refuse any material if quantity or quality is questionable. Go to https://www.saugus-ma.gov/solid-waste-recycling-department and click on “Recycling Guide” for a comprehensive list of items that are accepted or not accepted at the C.H.a.R.M. Center, in addition to guidelines for how to prepare different items for disposal at the facility. The C.H.a.R.M. Center will remain open on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the season until the winter. Please contact Solid Waste/ Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Brazis at 781-231-4036 with any questions. Saugus High Class of 1980 Attention, Saugus High Class of 1980. Mark your calendars for Nov. 29 (Saturday after Thanksgiving) and reach out to your friends that you’d like to see at the 45th Class Reunion for 1980 graduates and friends. The reunion will be held that day from 1 to 6 p.m. inside the Saugus Elks. Invite Saugus High friends from other classes that you may want to be at our 1980 Sa nr Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller What Is a Spousal IRA? Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about spousal IRAs? My spouse and I are in our 50s and are looking for ways to boost our retirement savings. My wife is a homemaker and caregiver, and works part time too, but her income is very small. Need a Boost Dear Need, Saving for retirement can be very diffi cult for married spouses who stay home to care for family or otherwise have scant income. But there is a little-known tax break off ered by the Internal Revenue Service – known as a spousal IRA – that can help them, and their partner save for retirement. Spousal individual retirement accounts allow a working spouse to contribute to a nonworking or low-earning spouse’s retirement savings. They can be set up as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, which allow couples to save for retirement on a tax-deferred or taxfree basis. HEY BABY! WHAT A TEAM EFFORT! The Saugus Firefi ghters Local 1003 website notes Saugus Police “Sgt. Steve Rappa holding a healthy baby girl that was delivered very quickly on Lincoln Ave this afternoon [June 29] by members of Engine 1 (Lt. Johnson, FF Watton, FF Smith), Ambulances 1 & 2 (Medic Remy Cortorreal, EMT Isabel Messinger, EMT Rowan Egan, Medic Daniel Yavuzkurt & Medic Ryan McManus) Along with offi cers Dave Zeitz & Ryan Bancroft.” (Courtesy Photo of Saugus Firefi ghters Local 1003) Class Reunion. Our last Saugus Class BBQ event a couple of years ago had three sisters from three different classes attend and they had a blast – so many loved seeing them and appreciated them being there. So many old friends reconnecting after decades; friends from overseas and across the country came; Saugus Classmates that left in Jr. High and that went to other High Schools came. How special it was for so many people to see each other after over 40 years. Reach out to your friends who are not on Facebook to give them some early notice in case they may want to attend and need to make travel plans. Some of our Classmates have kept in touch with some of our High School teachers, and they attended our last two Saugus High Reunion events – we hope they’ll join us again. Feel free to reach out to any of your favorite teachers that you may want there – I’m sure they would love to hear from you. More information is forthcoming. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to Andrea or Pete: Andrea Saunders (1980 Class President) can be reached at paulgreens@aol. com or 978-482-5787. Pete Nicolo can be reached How They Work A spousal IRA isn’t a unique type of IRA or a joint account, but instead it is a separate IRA opened and owned in the name of the nonworking or low-income earning spouse. This will not only help boost your family’s overall retirement savings, but it provides non-working/low-earning spouses access to their own funds in an unforeseen event like the death of their spouse, divorce, or illness. To qualify for a spousal IRA, spouses must fi le taxes jointly as a married couple, and the working spouse must have enough earned income (taxable income such as wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, and self-employment income) to cover contributions for both parties. The process of opening a spousal IRA is also no diff erent from opening a regular IRA. Brokerage fi rms and many banks and other fi nancial institutions off er IRAs. In 2025, each spouse under age 50 can contribute up to $7,000 annually to an IRA, or $8,000 annually for those over age 50, but the total contribution can’t exceed the taxable earned income reported on the couple’s tax return. Otherwise, the IRS limits contributions based on their earned income. Roth or Traditional? Deciding whether to open a Roth or traditional IRA depends on your tax situation and fi nancial goals. Traditional IRA contributions typically are tax deductible the year in which they are made and are beneficial during high-income earning years. Contributions grow tax-free until they are withdrawn during retirement. Roth IRA contributions aren’t tax deductible the year in which they are made, but qualifi ed contributions plus any earnings grow tax-free and are withdrawn taxfree in retirement as long as the couple follows IRS rules. Among them: you must be 59½ and have held your Roth IRA for at least fi ve years before you withdraw investment earnings tax-free and penalty-free. There are also penalties for withdrawals on traditional IRAs before age 59½ unless the owner qualifi es for an exception, and he or she must begin taking the annual withdrawals known as required minimum distributions (RMDs) from these plans the year he or she turns 73 (or 75 beginning in 2033). Roth IRAs don’t require RMDs until after the death of the owner. However, benefi - ciaries of a Roth IRA generally will need to take RMDs to avoid penalties, although there is an exception for spouses. For more information on the IRS rules of both traditional and Roth IRAs see IRS.gov/ retirement-plans/traditional-and-roth-iras. 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. nior nior

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