Opinion

Dear Rusty: I am confused by an article in my local newspaper which said that “MAGI” (modified adjusted gross income), on which my Medicare Part B premium is based, is my Adjusted Gross Income, plus any non-taxable interest, plus 50% of the social security I received. The part that is confusing is the 50% part.

Dear Rusty: I am 65 and currently working full-time. Can I apply for and start receiving my Social Security benefit? I’d expect to have to pay income tax on it if/when I do. Signed: Curious Worker Dear Curious Worker: If you are working full time, you should likely delay claiming Social Security at this time. At age 65, you haven’t yet reached your SS full retirement age (FRA), so you will be subject to Social Security’s “annual earnings test” which limits how much you can earn from work while collecting early benefits. The earnings limit for 2025 is $23,400 and if you earn more than the annual limit, SS will take away $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. If you earn significantly over the limit, you may even be temporarily ineligible to collect SS benefits. FYI, the annual earnings limit goes away when you reach your full retirement age, which for you is 66 years and 10 months, or March 2026.

To most Texans, the name “Rambo” may mean little, but to Todd Compton it evokes memories from his childhood, when kinfolk spoke of 17th century ancestors who lived in what is now Philadelphia. Peter Gunnarson Rambo (16111698) was most discussed, and Compton, now 52, remembers the accounts he heard in his grandmother’s kitchen.

h IghlIghTs The Texas Legislature begins its work creating a state budget for the next two years with slightly less revenue available than it had during the previous biennium. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar projects lawmakers will have $194.6 billion available during the 2026-27 budget cycle, down 1.1%.

The Texas Senate’s chief budget writer said state agencies and higher education institutions have requested nearly $25 billion in funding as the legislative session gets underway. State Sen.

Dear Rusty: For most folks collecting Social Security, you get back what you put in within 3-5 years, so for those that scream - “SS is not an entitlement, it is my money”- that is not entirely accurate beyond 3-5 years. For me personally 4.4 years is the number. But had I been able to invest that money over the 43 years I worked at a modest 6% interest, I expect the amount would have been a lot more. And of course, the stock market averaged 9.5% over that time. Perhaps Social Security should invest in the stock market instead of U.S. Government treasury bonds.

If my ancient Uncle Mort could somehow “saddle up” the University of Texas’ mascot, and then lean forward, he’d literally be close to the center of BEVO’s horns. As it is, this simple “what if” only figuratively describes his dilemma concerning the outcome of the upcoming Longhorn-Ohio State football game.

h The 89th Texas legislative session begins on Jan. 14 with a still-unresolved race for speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

“Spell Check” -- first thought to be a handy computer feature to help us use the correct letters in the proper order for word formation--often goes haywire. Like oft-discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI is the abbreviation, despite my thinking it to be short for “Alfred” in the early going), it can be dead wrong, redden faces and run far afield from what is intended.

An old proverb says, “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” Innovation is in our DNA. Throughout the last three centuries, technology has gradually made life easier.