HOUGHTON – Karen Cavaleri jumped into retirement, she said, but still had questions about areas such as her IRA and Medicare.

She and others got answers at the Portage Lake District Library at a panel about finance tips for retirees.

Speaking at the panel were Lucinda Enderby, an accountant at Great Lakes Accounting; William Francis, Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program volunteer with the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress; Ginger Sleeman, manager of benefits at the Michigan Technological University Office of Human Resources; and Sherri Dulong, program and volunteer coordinator of the Western U.P. Healthcare Access Coalition.

Enderby presented a three-legged stool of pensions, Social Security and savings.

To receive retirement benefits, workers must be at least 62. Workers born before 1954 receive the full amount of Social Security if they retire at 66; the retirement age goes up in increments until it is 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

For a person born in 1960, starting Social Security benefits at age 62 would lead to a 30 percent reduction in benefits, and a 35 percent drop in spousal benefits.

By delaying retirement, people can get increased benefits: 7.5 percent per year if born in 1941 or 1942, and 8 percent a year for those younger. The increases stop accruing at 70.

Enderby also alerted the crowd to a soon-closing loophole. For couples, the highest-earning spouse has been able to file for Social Security benefits at their full retirement age, but suspend receiving the benefits until later. However, the spouse is then able to file for the higher earner’s benefits at age 66 and receive 50 percent. Ex-spouses can also file for the ex-spouse’s social security if the marriage lasted at least 10 years.

Benefits don’t increase when the spouse delays filing, Enderby said.

“If he or she doesn’t take it, it’s just money you’ll never see,” she said. “It’s gone. It’s take it or leave it.”

Congress has closed the loophole for people born after 1953 as of April 30, 2016.

Francis’s organization, MMAP, assists people with understanding their Medicare and Medicaid benefits, among other roles. The organization can be reached at mappinc.org or 1-800-803-7174.

People with Medicare can be covered either through Medicare Parts A and B, which cover hospital and medical insurance, respectively, or Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage), which offers similar plans through private companies. The private plans often include Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage, which can be added to A/B coverage separately. Supplemental coverage for Parts A/B can also be purchased to close the Medicare Part D gap, which otherwise forces people to pay out of pocket for expenses between the initial coverage limit and the lower bounds of catastrophic insurance. It is not necessary under the Advantage plan.

Dulong, a certified navigator for the Affordable Care Act, said people making up to $46,000 can receive tax credits for plans, though subsidies decline as income rises. People below 138 percent of the federal poverty level – $16,000 for a single person, or $33,000 for a family of four – are also eligible for health care under Medicaid in Michigan through the Healthy Michigan Plan.

A new community dental clinic in Ewen serves children on Medicaid, adults on Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan Plan, and low-income uninsured, Dulong said. For more information, call 877-813-6232.

Cavaleri, a Hubbell resident, said she appreciated the breakdown of Medicare versus Medicare Advantage, as well as information about her IRA.

“I use my IRA for additional money when I need it, but i’m afraid to take anything out so I get taxed at the end of the year,” she said.