Things To Do In SW Florida

In addition to a monthly newsletter covering retirement planning regulations, IRA advisers Ed Slott and Co. also offer an excellent monthly newsletter covering Social Security issues, written by Heather Schreiber.

In the August newsletter, Schreiber covered regulations that relate to limits of Social Security benefits when beneficiaries continue to work prior to reaching their full retirement age (FRA). She includes information from Don Graves, president of the Housing Wealth Institute. He discusses unwelcome results if Social Security beneficiaries who receive benefits from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid don’t follow associated rules.

Earnings tests

Social Security regulations use a two-tiered system for an annual earnings test (AET). There is one limit for individuals who have not reached FRA for the entire year, and there is a higher limit in the year an individual reaches FRA, which applies only up to the month before FRA. In the first tier, there is a yearly limit of $23,400. If an individual earns either wages or self-employed income exceeding that limit, Social Security reduces Social Security benefit by $1 for every $2 earned above $23,400. In the year a worker reaches his FRA, the limit changes to $62,160. The penalty is $1 for every $3 above $62,160. After an employee reaches his/her FRA, there is no longer a penalty. read more

When Seminole County launches its new on-demand microtransit service this fall, riders will pay higher fares — more than double in some cases — for a trip in a minivan than they do for a Lynx bus ride, county documents show.

Despite the higher costs, county officials are banking that riders will want to spend more to avoid walking to a bus stop and waiting outside for a Lynx bus that will take them to limited places. The new Scout door-to-door service will pick riders up at their homes or offices and take them nearly anywhere in the county.

“I think it’s going to be more popular than folks getting on a Lynx bus,” Commission Chair Jay Zembower said Tuesday at a board meeting. “It’s certainly going to be more efficient. And I think, at the end of the day, it’s probably going to be much more user-friendly.”

The new, higher fares have not been discussed publicly, and the Orlando Sentinel obtained details Thursday.

Operated by Miami-based Freebee, the new Scout service will start Oct. 15 and eventually replace most Lynx bus routes throughout the county. Seminole will kick off limited service next month to test it out. read more

South Florida home sellers are increasingly pulling their houses off the market — frustrated that they’re not finding buyers at their preferred price.

And the tricounty region — encompassing Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — has led this summer in the rate of homes that were delisted as properties sat on the market longer, a recent report shows.

In June, the Miami metropolitan area had the biggest ratio of homes, 59, that were taken off the market per every 100 homes being added, according to a Realtor.com analysis from July that studied the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

The June data was reported a month later “to allow time to determine whether a delisted home was actually sold or truly taken off the market by the seller,” according to the report.

The results of the analysis reflect real estate trends around the U.S. as there are more listings and homeowners not finding buyers who can match their asking prices, the report shows.

Increased inventory

There were over a million active listings last month, marking a new record since the pandemic. read more

SpaceX has had a tough year with its Starship program, but the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the path for the next-generation rocket’s 10th suborbital launch attempt as early as next weekend.

The FAA on Friday closed investigations into mishaps suffered on the ninth launch in May that saw the Super Heavy booster, the first ever flown for a second time, get destroyed on its reentry attempt while the upper stage was lost over the Indian Ocean.

“There are no reports of public injury or damage to public property. The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the SpaceX-led investigation,” reads a statement from the FAA. “The final mishap report cites the probable root cause for the loss of the Starship vehicle as a failure of a fuel component. SpaceX identified corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event.”

The loss of the upper stage before its planned landing attempt marked the third flight-related mission failure for Starship in 2025 after launches in January and March ended with the upper stage exploding and lighting up the skies across South Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean. The company also lost a Starship upper stage during a static fire test that destroyed one of its test stands. read more

By ROB GILLIES and RIO YAMAT

TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada suspended operations as more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to reach a deal passed, leaving travelers around the world stranded and scrambling during the peak summer travel season.

Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike had started after no deal was reached, and the airline said shortly after that it would halt operations.

A bitter contract fight between Canada’s largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.

A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day.

Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning with her family from a European vacation when they became stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport after flights were cancelled. She said there was an option for the travelers in line to go the United States, but was told there wouldn’t be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S. read more