Sterling Community Matters January 2016 by Presbyterian Manors of Mid America

Commun ty Matters Sterling Presbyterian Manor

Residents Swap Winter Tales

January 2016

JonVanVeldhuizen, MS, Activities Director & Social Services Designee

COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:

Everyone has a story to tell

You can hardly turn on the television without being reminded that we are in a presidential election year. We’re looking for residents with a story to tell about a memorable election or voting experience. What motivates you to go to the polls? Did you ever hold public office? What was that like? Did you work on a famous politician’s campaign or meet a famous politician? Tell us your story. If you’ve got a story to share about living out your civic responsibility, contact Cindy Moore and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

During a recent activity, residents spent time reminiscing about past winters. With an ice storm already in the books for this winter season, many residents had stories to tell. One resident recalled the winter of 1949 or 1950 where the drifts got so high from the snow they had to cancel a high school basketball game. “I was a freshman that year so it was my first time playing basketball in high school. I was rather disappointed that the game was cancelled,” he said, “That was probably the most snow I can remember since I have lived in Kansas.” Another resident had contrasting stories as she spent time in south Texas, Chicago, California and now Kansas. “I had never seen snow until my family moved from south Texas to Chicago, and only once before that had I seen icicles.” She recalled various storms throughout the 13 years she spent in Chicago that dumped as much as three feet of snow on the ground.

A third resident, who split time between Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, seemed to think there was always snow in Colorado. Time will tell what amount of snow precipitation will accumulate this winter, but one thing is for certain, all will look forward to its beauty.

Sterling Presbyterian Manor honored for achievements Sterling Presbyterian Manor received a certificate of recognition from Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America for reaching goals in fiscal year 2015, July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015. The recognition came through PMMA’s new Emerald Awards Program, designed to encourage its 18 locations to achieve high levels of resident and employee satisfaction, meet financial goals, build philanthropic support for the organization’s mission and meet marketing goals. There are 11 areas measured for the Emerald Awards.

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Sterling Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of

501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Mike Rajewski, executive director Cindy Moore, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact cmoore@pmma.org.

Michael Rajewski, executive director, center, accepts an Emerald Certificate from Bruce Shogren, chief executive officer, left, and Bill Taylor, chief operations officer, right, of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America. Sterling Presbyterian Manor was recognized for achieving a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, meeting marketing and safety goals and supporting Presbyterian Manor’s mission.

To receive an emerald, a community has to meet its goals in all 11 areas. Certificates of recognition were given out to communities that reached their goals in one or more category. Sterling was recognized for achieving a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, meeting marketing and safety goals and

supporting Presbyterian Manor’s mission.

“This recognition is a visible sign of Sterling Presbyterian Manor’s commitment to the mission of PMMA of providing quality senior services guided by Christian values,” said Bruce Shogren, chief executive officer for PMMA.

Telephone: 620-278-3651 Fax: 620-278-3581 Address: 204 W. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579-1614 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. SterlingPresbyterianManor.org

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4 rules for giving your heirs money while you're alive Before making a gift, be sure you know these tax implications

By Nick Clements Next Avenue Leaving money to heirs upon your death, by contrast, is a lot less taxing than you might expect. For inheritances, the 2015 federal estate tax exemption is $5.43 million per person.That means 99. 8 percent of people never have to pay an estate tax, because so few people have assets that exceed $5.43 million. If you want to give money to your children or grandchildren while you are still alive, you have options. The goods news is that the estate tax exemption is a lifetime exemption that can also be used for gifts. Every dollar that you give as a gift today will just reduce the amount that you can transfer tax-free at the time of your death. Tax planning is complicated and tax laws change frequently, so if you do want to give your kids or grandkids money soon, meet with your tax adviser to come up with a workable plan.You don’t want to overestimate your retirement income and become excessively generous with gifts you’ll later regret.

$14,000 to each child for a total amount in tax-free gifts of $56,000. And remember, these are tax-free gifts above and beyond the $5.43 million exemption limit. 2. Medical, dental and tuition expenses can be excluded from that cap. If the reason you want to make a gift is for your child’s or grandchild’s medical or dental bills or tuition, this money can be exempt from the annual gift limitations. However, in order to ensure these gifts are tax-exempt, you have to pay the 4 tax rules for gifts to your doctor, dentist or school directly. heirs If you do decide to provide gifts to your Although tuition expenses are exempt, there’s no educational exclusion for children or grandchildren while you’re books, supplies or housing.The still alive, you even have opportunities medical exclusion doesn’t apply to beyond the $5.43 lifetime exemption. Here are four considerations that you can amounts paid for medical care that are reimbursed by your insurance. discuss with your estate planner: Be careful about making your 1.The amount of tax-free gifts is grandchild’s tuition payments directly capped each year. The Internal to a college. A direct payment by Revenue Service (IRS) sets a maximum gift-tax exclusion annually. For 2015, it’s anyone other than the parent will be counted as cash support, which will $14,000 per person.You can give that could reduce the amount of aid for the amount to as many people as you like, child. and each spouse has his or her own annual $14,000 limit. 3.You can give away more through a 529 college savings So if you and your spouse have two plan. Contributions to stategrandchildren, both of you can gift sponsored 529 plans are not exempt

Careful planning helps you share assets with your heirs.

from the gift tax limit, but you can make five years of contributions at one time without triggering a gift tax. Most states let you deduct your donation from your state income tax return, up to their limit. Once your money is in a 529, the earnings will be deferred on federal and most state tax returns. And there is no tax due when taking the money out for qualified education expenses. The donation limits are high, and typically range between $300,000 and $400,000 per beneficiary. One tip for grandparents: If you open a 529 for for your grandchild, he or she could end up losing a lot of financial aid.There is a workaround, though. Have your son or daughter open the 529 and then you can contribute to it. 4. Beware the “kiddie tax.” This law was created to make sure that parents didn’t give stocks to children under 24 in an attempt to avoid paying taxes themselves. If the amount of interest or dividends from the gifted shares exceeds $2,000, it will be taxable at the parents’ highest rate.

STERLING PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

Art is Ageless® Entries

Whether you're an experienced artist, or have yet to put a brush to canvas, we’ll soon be taking entries for Art is Ageless®, an art exhibit and competition for all of those 65 and better. Entries are due March 18 and a reception will be held March 25, with work on display from March 21-25. Contact Marketing Director Cindy Moore at 620-278-3651 or cmoore@pmma.org for more information.

Sterling Presbyterian Manor 204 W. Washington Sterling, KS 67579-1614

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