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| May 2021, Vol. XXI, No. 11 |
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| May: A Month of Celebration |
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The month of May brings with it so many wonderful things, from the sights and sounds of Spring, graduation activities, opening of outside gardening centers, officially flipping the furnace to off, adding homegrown peas, lettuce and other produce to our meals, and the increasing flurry of bicycles, walkers and runners. This partial listing by itself is cause for celebration.
But there is much more to celebrate during the month of May, the most important being our older loved ones and neighbors. May is Older Americans Month, which was first established in 1963 under the name of Senior Citizens Month. During May, we formally recognize and celebrate the contributions of all older Americans in Greene County and throughout the country.
The Greene County Council on Aging celebrates and honors older adults all year long, but we give even more attention to our older neighbors in May. The Council, along with the senior centers and other groups and partners, holds events and activities just for you! We are still not able to do as much as we would like, but it is definitely an improvement over 2020. The Council’s SeniorPalooza is the highlight, in terms of celebrating older adults.
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You can find more details on the next page and all of the details on the Council’s website.
Our month of celebration also includes the presentation of the Greene County Outstanding Senior Award. We are not able to present this at a traditional community luncheon, but we are pleased to honor our recipient through this newsletter, in the Xenia Gazette, and with a small gathering at our honoree’s home. The purpose of this award is to honor an older community member who has and continues to share their time and talents with the larger community. Please turn the page to read about our honoree.
We encourage everyone to take a few moments—and hopefully more—to honor and celebrate the older adults in your life and those who have left us. And for those of us who are older adults, we should celebrate ourselves. We are workers, volunteers, mentors, friends and family members. We are also a source of light, hope and love to those around us and worthy of the setting off of fireworks and the roar of applause.
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SeniorPalooza ~
May 10-21
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Greene County Outstanding Senior Award
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Join us as we celebrate Greene County’s older adults at SeniorPalooza. Our theme is Going The Distance.
The SeniorPalooza Itinerary is available on the Council’s website but we hope you will pick it up in person on Monday, May 10th, between 1 and 3 pm at the Drive-By in the Xenia Community Center parking lot. The Itinerary will be included in our Training Bag which will also have the May 20th Senior Field Day registration form, two challenge kits, and more.
A few SeniorPalooza teaser videos will air on Facebook and our website the week of May 3rd. A variety of videos, challenges, trivia, and other activities can be enjoyed at home and out in the community over the two week SeniorPalooza.
Listen for the Song of the Day on WBZI (FM 100.3) daily at 8:05 am starting May 10 and watch the other videos to be posted on our Facebook Page and YouTube channel every day during SeniorPalooza.
Brick & Baum will share their Senior Field Day training; the Senior Centers and the Council team will show off their Domino Roll challenge; local celebrities will post short videos in appreciation of Greene County seniors; and GC Parks & Trails will go the distance around the county in a special video.
The Senior Field Day will be held in the field behind the Xenia Community Center on May 20th from 1-3:30 pm, with fun games and challenges. Participation is limited, and registration in advance is required. Register online or mail in your completed Registration Form. If you can’t come to the May 10th Drive-By and you are not able to access the Itinerary at our website, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give us a call.
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In partnership with the Area Agency on Aging, PSA-2, we are pleased to present the 2021 Greene County Outstanding Senior Award to Lee W. Snell. This Jamestown senior has and continues to spend his energy to support and improve the lives of his Greene County neighbors of all ages. He is a family man, farmer, neighbor, volunteer, and community servant. He is passionate about education and providing access to the tools and resources to better ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.
Lee is a member of the Greene County Educational Service Center (ESC) governing board which provides guidance, direction and oversight of the programs and services offered to all Greene County school districts. One such service is facilitating cooperation between districts to encourage creative uses of space; for example, the Early Childhood Pre-School hosted by Friends Care Nursing Home in Yellow Springs.
Lee is also Ross Township's Fiscal Officer where, in addition to his mandated responsibilities and working closely with the township trustees, he promotes the importance of residents having the right to see how their taxes are being spent.
As a Jamestown Lions Club member, Lee is involved with the annual Bean Festival in September, including the Walk benefiting the Jamestown Families Cancer Care, a component of the Greene County Community Foundation. Despite all his work, Lee and his wife Opal, who celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2020, always finds time to enjoy their four children and thirteen grandchildren.
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| Memory Loss, Dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease |
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We are reinstating this program in-person starting on Wednesday, May 19th from 2:30—4:30pm.
This is a discussion on the types of dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease, and exploration of things to consider as a caregiver, or anyone wanting to learn more. Presented every other month.
Reservations are required by the Friday before the event. Space is limited. Masks are required. Location: Council's Xenia office
Contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone to make a reservation.
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Thank you to every one who came out to the April Shredding Event. It was so good to see you!
We had 425 cars come through, which was double the number from October. We also created quite the traffic jam, so our thanks to the Xenia Police for providing some much needed direction!
If you just found a stack of confidential documents to shred, we will have another event in the fall with some adjustments to the set-up to provide a more efficient service and experience for everyone.
There will be no Legal Chat in May as we concentrate on the SeniorPalooza. Look for it to return in June.
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| Yard Sale in June |
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Friday, June 4th from 9 am to 4 pm is our giant Yard Sale!
You may drop off items at our Xenia office from 10 am—3 pm on Tuesdays & Thursdays on May 4 & 6, and May 11 & 13. We are accepting household items, small appliances, clothing, crafts, small furniture, kids toys & accessories, holiday & other decor, and garden items. For more information on items for donation, please call or email us.
Proceeds raised through the Yard Sale benefit the Council’s Grab Bar Installation Program.
Click here for a printable flyer.
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| Do You Need an Identity Protection PIN? |
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| FEMA to Cover Certain Funeral Expenses |
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An Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number. The IP PIN is known only to you and the IRS and helps us verify your identity when you file your electronic or paper tax return.
Eligibility
Starting in 2021, you may voluntarily opt into the IP PIN program as a proactive way to protect yourself from tax-related identity theft.
If you want to opt in, please note:
• You must pass a rigorous identity verification process.
• Spouses and dependents are eligible for an IP PIN if they can pass the identity proofing process. Each person on a tax return should have their own separate PIN.
How to get an IP PIN
If you’re a confirmed identity theft victim, the IRS will mail you an IP PIN on a CP01A Notice if your case is resolved prior to the start of the next filing season.
If you’re volunteering for the IP PIN Opt-In Program you should use the online Get an IP PIN tool (see below). If you don’t already have an account on IRS.gov, the first step when you click the button below will be to create a new account; you must register to validate your identity. Before you register, read about the secure access identity authentication process.
Note:
• An IP PIN is valid for one calendar year.
• You must obtain a new IP PIN each year.
• The IP PIN tool is generally unavailable mid-November through mid-January each year.
Click here to go get an IP PIN
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In early April 2021, FEMA announced that it will help pay funeral costs for COVID-19-related deaths.
To be eligible for COVID-19 funeral assistance:
·Must be a US citizen who incurred funeral expenses after January 20, 2020 for a death attributed to COVID-19
·Death must have occurred in the US
·Maximum amount of $9,000 per funeral
·Cannot reimburse if funeral or burial insurance was used
Documentation required for application includes an official death certificate that attributes death to COVID-19, plus funeral expense receipts/contracts that include applicant’s name, deceased’s name, amount and date.
Click here for more information.
The Council’s Financial Advocate is a volunteer who can help with financial matters. If you are in need of assistance, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at the Council.
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| Is Your Financial Retirement Plan Realistic? |
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Many of us have been saving for decades to fund our retirement, and we (or a financial advisor) hopefully have projected our savings and spending to estimate whether our nest egg will last for our remaining lifetime. For example, if we have $300,000 in savings, expect to live 20 more years, and have a need to withdraw $20,000 per year (in addition to social security) over our lifetime, will our nest egg last the remaining 20 years?
This question can get very complicated if we throw in lots of variables like changing healthcare needs, unforeseen housing expenses, etc., but the basic premise of this question boils down to whether we use realistic variables for how much our initial nest egg will grow over the next 20 years, and what rate of inflation our expenses will face over the next 20 years. Using the right growth rate and inflation rate to calculate your financial longevity is critical, but unfortunately, we often get this calculation wrong. Some of us just use the back of a napkin to make this calculation, and we make it too simple or get it totally wrong. Often, we, or our financial advisor, use projections that are far too rosy. For example, the growth rate for the stock market (S&P 500 index) over the past 10 years (2011 through 2020) is approximately 14% per year. If we were to use this 14% growth rate to project out 20 years, our initial $300,000 savings after 20 years of drawing $20,000 would be worth over $2 million dollars!
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However, most people living off retirement savings are not invested nearly as aggressively as the S&P 500 index. A more realistic rate of return (safer) for someone in their 70s or 80s might be 4% or 5%, or even less if all assets are in a savings account. Our $300,000 savings would run out in year 21 if we earned 5% per year. Obviously, earning less than 5% would mean the savings would run out sooner.
The bottom line here is that we need to plan for retirement, and we need to be realistic when doing so. If you have a financial advisor, ask them what variables they are using to project your savings and spending growth rates. Ask your advisor if the projections they use are historically realistic for someone nearing or in retirement. If you are making your own projections, be very conservative. Use 5% or less for a growth rate, and 2-3% for inflation. If you would like help making these calculations, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Please join us in thanking these generous donors who shared time, talents, or financial gifts since the last newsletter.
In Honor Of:
Barbara Brookshire
Ruby Kramer
Ivy & Virgil Wallace
Karen Wolford
In Memory Of:
Delores Alston
Mary Gillis
Jim Kennedy
Robert Mosier
Janet Shoemaker
Donors:
Marlene & Ray Acus
Pam & Dale Dorsten
Greene County Community Foundation
Jeanette Johannes
Shirley & Cleveland Lewis
Lynn & Ed Martin
Margaret Mosier
Connie & Paul Newman
Pizza Dive
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Volunteers:
Lynn Berry
Beth Massie
Roger Panton
Joe Radin
Megan Randall
Tracey Rickey
Barb Werth
May is Older Americans Month, but it is also Skin Cancer Awareness and Melanoma Awareness month. Sunlight provides benefits but keep your sunscreen on to save your skin!
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Greene County Council on Aging
937-376-5486 ext. 101
Committed to Seniors and Caregivers
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| Our mission: To promote independence and quality of life for Greene County senior citizens and caregivers by facilitating and supporting the development, implementation and continual improvement of a comprehensive and coordinated system of contact and care. |
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| This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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