Q & A
If I get Social Security disability benefits and I reach full retirement age, will I then receive retirement benefits?
Answer: Social Security disability benefits automatically change to retirement benefits when disability beneficiaries reach full retirement age. In most cases, the payment amount does not change. The law does not allow a person to receive both retirement and disability benefits simultaneously…
What is the purpose of Supplemental Security Income, or SSI?
Answer: The purpose of SSI is to help aged, blind and disabled people who have little income and few resources to support themselves. It provides financial assistance to meet basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. You can receive SSI even…
Does starting Social Security as a widow prevent me from receiving my own retirement?
Answer: No. If eligible for SSA survivors benefits as widow or widower and also for your own retirement, you can start the smaller one first and switch to the higher later on. Based on age, survivors benefits can start as early…
If you have a severe identity theft, will Social Security allow you to obtain a new Social Security number to help you eliminate having to continually explain the theft of your identity with future creditors?
Answer: You may be able to get a new Social Security number but it’s unlikely to solve all your problems and it can create others. So think carefully before pursuing this option. The Social Security Administration says it can assign a different Social…
Should I Claim Early and Invest in the Market?
Full Question: Thanks for your most informative book. I’m 60 now and have been studying the file and suspend until 70 approach. During an office discussion with a colleague, he explained the “file at 62 and invest what you receive from…
To whom can I dispute an unfair decision by Medicare? Upon retirement, I moved to Mexico — to live a more affordable life with dignity, not to lie on a beach in some resort. I didn’t sign up for Part B since one cannot use Medicare in Mexico. I had little income, and couldn’t afford to pay the premium for something that was of no use to me. When I returned to the states seven years later, Social Security slapped on a penalty for each year I hadn’t paid the premium. Unfortunately, my retirement and Social Security benefits place my income level just barely above the acceptable level in New Mexico to have the premium forgiven. To be able to pay the Part B premium plus the penalty I would have to, at age 71, find employment.
Answer: The restatement of Medicare’s punitive rules for people who live overseas without Medicare and then come back to this country is accurate. I sympathize with her and all like her who are only seeking a decent life during their retirement…
If Medicare Part A is supposed to be “free,” why is the government deducting $200 per month for my Medicare? It is my primary insurance.
Answer: I need to know more to give you a definitive answer. But, if the deductions are coming out of your monthly Social Security payments, my guess is that they are for your monthly Part B premiums. While Part A is…
I turn 65 in October of 2015. I plan to at least work through age 67. I have health insurance while I “work.” I plan to not begin taking Social Security until I turn 70. Do I pay for Medicare part B until age 70 and request paying taxes on Medicare benefits?
Answer: You do not own taxes on your Medicare benefits so let’s take that issue off the table right away. When you stop working at age 67, you probably will need to enroll in Medicare and begin paying whatever premiums…
My mother-in-law was born outside the U.S. but recently became a U.S. citizen after living here legally for several years. She has not worked in the U.S. and so is not eligible for Medicare. Her husband worked for less than 2 years only in the U.S. She is now 68. Can you please educate us about the options available to her? Is she eligible for Medicare, if so how do we obtain it?
Answer: If they have lived in the U.S. continuously for the past five years, every U.S. citizen or legal resident is eligible for Medicare when they turn 65 or become disabled. The relevance of working at jobs where Social Security payroll…
I am about to turn 65. I work for a state university in Kansas with a good group health plan. I don’t plan to retire. I spoke with our benefits office and with Social Security. The only benefit to signing up for Medicare Part A appears to be that it could pay part of a deductible for a hospital stay. Here’s my question: How high does my employer’s deductible need to be to make joining Medicare Part A worthwhile? How do I make the appropriate cost-benefit calculation?
Answer: It’s not clear from your question whether you do or do not pay Social Security payroll taxes for your job. However, in either case, there’s really no cost-benefit analysis required. If you are not qualified to someday claim Social Security benefits,…