Back in 1971, members of New Rochelle’s over 65 community expressed their interest in auditing classes at Iona College. At the time, then-President Brother John G. Driscoll noted those seniors “are not going to sit at home and they are not going to have their lives limited by their age. They’re living a life which is way beyond the confines that age and pain might define.”
Since then, LIRIC (Learning in Retirement at Iona College) has grown into an organization that is a unique blend of the intellectual and the social. Starting with fewer than 25 members, LIRIC had grown to a pre-pandemic membership of 400 people.
Current LIRIC members are still as motivated as ever by the joy of learning. Freed from tests or even regular attendance, they can enrich their intellectual lives while enjoying the company of like-minded peers.
Members of Iona’s distinguished faculty deliver lectures on the college’s campus on Friday afternoons. In addition to that scheduling, LIRIC members—many of whom are retired professionals as well as lifelong learning enthusiasts—lead “in-house” classes, ranging from art, history, travel, science, film, music, philosophy, health, and the environment to Indigenous peoples, current events and the latest Supreme Court decisions.
LIRIC also offers a play reading group and a literary discussion group, along with regular trips and luncheons.
An Open House is scheduled for Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 1 p.m. at LIRIC’s off-campus meeting site: the social hall of the Greek Orthodox Church at 10 Mill Road in New Rochelle (at the corner of Mill Road and North Avenue). For more information, email spage@iona.edu, call 914-633-2675 or visit the group’s website at www.iona.edu/new-rochelle-community/learning-retirement-iona-college
IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY TAXED?
While figuring out when you plan to start taking your Social Security benefits (if you haven’t already started to take them), keep in mind that this income is generally taxable, depending on your income level. So if you have other income, be it from a 401(k) or a part-time job, then expect to pay income taxes on your Social Security.
You may need to pay federal taxes on as much as 85% of your Social Security benefits. If you file as an individual and have a total income of under $25,000, you will not have to pay federal taxes on your Social Security.
Thankfully, New York State is one of 38 states that do not impose state income taxes on these benefits. However, depending on income, Connecticut does partially tax Social Security.
AVOCADOS & HEART DISEASE
You may already know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. But did you know that CVD can be substantially prevented by a healthy lifestyle, which includes a healthy diet?
And here’s the even better news, especially if you like avocados (and guacamole): higher avocado consumption-—eating at least two servings of avocado a week—was found to lower the risk of CVD in two large cohorts of U.S. men and women, particularly when the avocado was replacing certain fat-containing foods, such as butter and processed meats and cheese.
Chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Cheryl Anderson noted, “Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits.”
VISIONLABS
The Westchester Library System’s VisionLabs initiative is aimed at “keeping you reading for a lifetime,” by finding new ways for libraries to serve those in the community with visual impairments and emerging vision loss.
Learn how a loved one can receive free audio books by mail through the Talking Books and Braille Library; read at home with free digital content and strategies for remaining independent; and learn about screen magnifiers.
For more information, call 914-231-3237 or email kbrodigan@wlsmail.org
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19 Aug 2022
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Back in 1971, members of New Rochelle’s over 65 community expressed their interest in auditing classes at Iona College. At the time, then-President Brother John G. Driscoll noted those seniors “are not going to sit at home and they are not going to have their lives limited by their age. They’re living a life which is way beyond the confines that age and pain might define.”
Since then, LIRIC (Learning in Retirement at Iona College) has grown into an organization that is a unique blend of the intellectual and the social. Starting with fewer than 25 members, LIRIC had grown to a pre-pandemic membership of 400 people.
Current LIRIC members are still as motivated as ever by the joy of learning. Freed from tests or even regular attendance, they can enrich their intellectual lives while enjoying the company of like-minded peers.
Members of Iona’s distinguished faculty deliver lectures on the college’s campus on Friday afternoons. In addition to that scheduling, LIRIC members—many of whom are retired professionals as well as lifelong learning enthusiasts—lead “in-house” classes, ranging from art, history, travel, science, film, music, philosophy, health, and the environment to Indigenous peoples, current events and the latest Supreme Court decisions.
LIRIC also offers a play reading group and a literary discussion group, along with regular trips and luncheons.
An Open House is scheduled for Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 1 p.m. at LIRIC’s off-campus meeting site: the social hall of the Greek Orthodox Church at 10 Mill Road in New Rochelle (at the corner of Mill Road and North Avenue). For more information, email spage@iona.edu, call 914-633-2675 or visit the group’s website at www.iona.edu/new-rochelle-community/learning-retirement-iona-college
IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY TAXED?
While figuring out when you plan to start taking your Social Security benefits (if you haven’t already started to take them), keep in mind that this income is generally taxable, depending on your income level. So if you have other income, be it from a 401(k) or a part-time job, then expect to pay income taxes on your Social Security.
You may need to pay federal taxes on as much as 85% of your Social Security benefits. If you file as an individual and have a total income of under $25,000, you will not have to pay federal taxes on your Social Security.
Thankfully, New York State is one of 38 states that do not impose state income taxes on these benefits. However, depending on income, Connecticut does partially tax Social Security.
AVOCADOS & HEART DISEASE
You may already know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. But did you know that CVD can be substantially prevented by a healthy lifestyle, which includes a healthy diet?
And here’s the even better news, especially if you like avocados (and guacamole): higher avocado consumption-—eating at least two servings of avocado a week—was found to lower the risk of CVD in two large cohorts of U.S. men and women, particularly when the avocado was replacing certain fat-containing foods, such as butter and processed meats and cheese.
Chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Cheryl Anderson noted, “Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits.”
VISIONLABS
The Westchester Library System’s VisionLabs initiative is aimed at “keeping you reading for a lifetime,” by finding new ways for libraries to serve those in the community with visual impairments and emerging vision loss.
Learn how a loved one can receive free audio books by mail through the Talking Books and Braille Library; read at home with free digital content and strategies for remaining independent; and learn about screen magnifiers.
For more information, call 914-231-3237 or email kbrodigan@wlsmail.org