Social Security/Medicare rip off

[l2ridehd]

Just finished applying for SS and Medicare. Did you know that SS checks are paid in arrears so your first check will arrive 2 months after your benefit start date? And did you also know medicare payments have to be made one month in advance? So the first SS check which is delayed one month will have two months medicare payments removed. Another Washington RIP off of senior citizens. What they pay us (which has been earned) they delay payment, what they get requires advance payment. And congress wonders why the opinion polls rate them so low.

I am writing my congressman about this issue.

And please don't turn this into a political discussion. All 525 people we elect and pay to represent us are at fault.

[villagegolfer]

Just finished applying for SS and Medicare. Did you know that SS checks are paid in arrears so your first check will arrive 2 months after your benefit start date? And did you also know medicare payments have to be made one month in advance? So the first SS check which is delayed one month will have two months medicare payments removed. Another Washington RIP off of senior citizens. What they pay us (which has been earned) they delay payment, what they get requires advance payment. And congress wonders why the opinion polls rate them so low.

I am writing my congressman about this issue.

And please don't turn this into a political discussion. All 525 people we elect and pay to represent us are at fault.

I hear you. I just applied, too. My birth date is November but will not get first check until end of January.

[retiredguy]

Just finished applying for SS and Medicare. Did you know that SS checks are paid in arrears so your first check will arrive 2 months after your benefit start date? And did you also know medicare payments have to be made one month in advance? So the first SS check which is delayed one month will have two months medicare payments removed. Another Washington RIP off of senior citizens. What they pay us (which has been earned) they delay payment, what they get requires advance payment. And congress wonders why the opinion polls rate them so low.

I am writing my congressman about this issue.

And please don't turn this into a political discussion. All 525 people we elect and pay to represent us are at fault.

that the COLA on SS has been suspended for another 3 years while your Medicare prescription drugs will be increasing next year.

[RVRoadie]

While you are working, you get paid after you work, and pay for health insurance in advance. Why should it be any different when your retire.

[l2ridehd]

Actually not so, I get paid at the middle of a two week work period, so one week in arrears and one week in advance, and pay for health care on a monthly basis mid month. So a pay as I work and pay as purchased.

[aljetmet]

I just read that the medicare cola for 2012 will probably be in excess of 3%.
On Oct 19 (takes them awhile to number crunch) the Sept numbers are finalized and colas are based on the year ending September.

Just google it. Cola's have been dormant for 2 years.

By the way, SS stops the minute they find out you no longer qualify to collect.

Now another thing to remember, budget a two month delay in my SS benefit when I sign up.

[RichieLion]

I applied for my Dec. eligibility date and was also surprised by the 8 week holdback on the check. I don't think any job holds your money that long, RVRoadie. I'm taking the S.S. early, so I don't have the Medicare cost concern at this time.

[retiredguy]

I just read that the medicare cola for 2012 will probably be in excess of 3%.
On Oct 19 (takes them awhile to number crunch) the Sept numbers are finalized and colas are based on the year ending September.

Just google it. Cola's have been dormant for 2 years.

By the way, SS stops the minute they find out you no longer qualify to collect.

Now another thing to remember, budget a two month delay in my SS benefit when I sign up.

the obama admin announced there will be NO COLA for the next 3 years. And, there is no COLA attached to Medicare. When you get your bill for a prescription that your part was $16, next year it will increase noticeably. I don't have the figure on how much. Then again, this country has had no budget since 2008 either !

[aljetmet]

I was talking about colas for SS in respect to income. Understand that for those people on medicare the monthly charge did not in increase the past two years due to no cola for SS. No doubt overall health costs are going up

Unless Obama has congress change the law, he cannot stop SS colas....

Can he? OMG

[kathy and al]

12ridehd: Just curious--did you apply at least 90 days in advance of your retirement month? I know that S/S recommends this in order to avoid a delay in your payments. Supposedly your benefits will start in your retirement month if you follow this procedure.

[bimmertl]

I was talking about colas for SS in respect to income. Understand that for those people on medicare the monthly charge did not in increase the past two years due to no cola for SS. No doubt overall health costs are going up

Unless Obama has congress change the law, he cannot stop SS colas....

Can he? OMG

COLA increases are tied to an increase in the Consumer Price Index. If that doesn't change, COLA doesn't. It has nothing to do with who is president at the time.


http://dailynewscorner.com/social-security-cola-2012-will-see-an-increase/4609/

[Posh 08]

These are things I need to know. Thanks.

[iaudit]

12ridehd: Just curious--did you apply at least 90 days in advance of your retirement month? I know that S/S recommends this in order to avoid a delay in your payments. Supposedly your benefits will start in your retirement month if you follow this procedure.

Applying three months in advance, which I did in June for my September eligibility, still doesn't change the date for your first check which will be November in my case.

[Posh 08]

Applying three months in advance, which I did in June for my September eligibility, still doesn't change the date for your first check which will be November in my case.

So, I should plan on working 2 months after my eligibility/applying date to still have some income. Any penalties if I do that?

[aljetmet]

COLA increases are tied to an increase in the Consumer Price Index. If that doesn't change, COLA doesn't. It has nothing to do with who is president at the time.


http://dailynewscorner.com/social-security-cola-2012-will-see-an-increase/4609/

My point exactly, if you haven't been looking we've experienced a bit of inflation over the past 12 months. A cola is due for 2012.

[2BNTV]

I called SS 3 months prior to my 65th birthday and they said I would be better off if I waited and didn't apply for Medicare as I was covered under my companies policy. I would be better off waiting until I wanted to receive a check from SS and they would deduct the payment from my check. I applied for Medicare several months later.

I was dismayed to find that I pay $110.50 instead of $94.20 if I had applied on my 65th birthday. I have talked to several people and no one can really explain why some people are paying more than others.

I still don't know why I pay $110.50/mo. The best SS could come with is that everone will have to start paying $110.50/mo.

I was wondering if this is true? Everything else they told me was on the money. Sometimes I think one needs to call two or three times to see if they get the same answer from their representatives.

Birthday is on the 4th and I get my check the second Wednesday of the month. SS explanation is that way the system doesn't get clogged-up with sending everyone's check out on the first day of the month which makes sense.

I only COLA I have heard about lately is the soft drink. :1rotfl:

[l2ridehd]

I applied 3 months prior to the desired start date. I guess I will just work another month or two and wait for Medicare to start. My issue is I don't want a gap in coverage for health care. And 2BNTV, everyone pays a different amount depending on prior year earnings. Because of some windfall bonus payments, my Medicare will be $460 a month. Supposedly I can go back after two years and apply for a reduction, but I don't have much faith anything will go down.

[2BNTV]

[QUOTE=l2ridehd;404818]2BNTV, everyone pays a different amount depending on prior year earnings.

l2ridehd:

Thanks for the explanation but it still bothers me they coudn't explain it clearly.

I am certainly glad you verified this is the case. I value you thoughts. :)

[aljetmet]

I called SS 3 months prior to my 65th birthday and they said I would be better off if I waited and didn't apply for Medicare as I was covered under my companies policy. I would be better off waiting until I wanted to receive a check from SS and they would deduct the payment from my check. I applied for Medicare several months later.

I was dismayed to find that I pay $110.50 instead of $94.20 if I had applied on my 65th birthday. I have talked to several people and no one can really explain why some people are paying more than others.

I still don't know why I pay $110.50/mo. The best SS could come with is that everone will have to start paying $110.50/mo.

I was wondering if this is true? Everything else they told me was on the money. Sometimes I think one needs to call two or three times to see if they get the same answer from their representatives.

Birthday is on the 4th and I get my check the second Wednesday of the month. SS explanation is that way the system doesn't get clogged-up with sending everyone's check out on the first day of the month which makes sense.

I only COLA I have heard about lately is the soft drink. :1rotfl:

My wife went on medicare 1/1/11 as she is on disability, not yet 65 and we chose to save the $7,500 her medical insurance would have been on my company's plan. She is paying $115 per mo the max medicare charges. I understand that your cost is based on the year you start plus it can be higher if your income is over a certain level....

[mac9]

According to SS regulations, you are eligible for SSA the month FOLLOWING your 65th birthday. Also, since its inception, SSA has paid back one month, not for the current month. The check that you receive in January is to cover December. Checks are sent out based on the date of your birthday...dates of 1-9 are paid on the second Wednesday of the month, etc. so that some payments are not made until the 4th Wednesday of the month. Medicare costs can be anywhere from $96/month to $150/month, based on some sort of convoluted computation of income from other retirement sources, and availability of household income.

[Mudder]

I think that I remember when I first got ss because my birthday is on the first of the month I got ss for the month before my 65th birthday. Who knows why , guess they'll stop it the month before my death ! LOL.

[2BNTV]

12ridehd, almetjet and mac9.

I love this forum as people can discuss and gain knowledge from others.

aljetmet - I agree it is very cheap but it was not so much the cost in my particular case but they couldn't give me an expanation as well as you guys did. :)

[l2ridehd]

Cost of Medicare depends on your prior year income. It can go as high as $115.40 for basic plus $253.70 due to income plus $69.10 for prescriptions or a total of $428.20 a month.

[Virtual Geezer]

I hear you. I just applied, too. My birth date is November but will not get first check until end of January.

I just checked my paperwork as my birthday is in November and it says that I will receive my first check in December and it will have two months of Medicare payments taken from the first check. My Medicare coverage will begin on November 1. I applied back on August 2 if that makes any difference.

Another thing about payments being one month behind when my mother passed away on January 30 I had to pay them back for one month. I could never figure that one out.

[kathy and al]

As 2BNTV points out - "this forum allows people to discuss and gain knowledge from others" but what is amazing to me is how varied this knowledge really is about a subject that should have some conciseness to it. Many different experiences, many different interpretations of the rules, etc. by many different people. Our government at work I suppose!!! Thanks to all who have taken the time input their experiences.

[Jim Straz]

My point exactly, if you haven't been looking we've experienced a bit of inflation over the past 12 months. A cola is due for 2012.
There will be a COLA in January 2012.

http://www.bloomberg.com/portfolio-impact/2011-09-19/estimated-2012-social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment.html

[2BNTV]

As 2BNTV points out - "this forum allows people to discuss and gain knowledge from others" but what is amazing to me is how varied this knowledge really is about a subject that should have some conciseness to it. Many different experiences, many different interpretations of the rules, etc. by many different people. Our government at work I suppose!!! Thanks to all who have taken the time input their experiences.

Thank you for posting this response. I totally agree with your post about the conciseness of the rules as this is the point I am trying to make. One must call SS to find out in their case what is the applicable rule/s and get a consistent/concise answer if one calls more than once.. SS has done everything they should except for the clarification of that one issue. It is a vast system that serves millions of people so errors do occur so I try to exercise due diligence.

To illustrate my point and mistakes do happen::

A friend of mine pased away and his wife called SS to let them know to stop the receipt of his check. While explaining who she was, SS informed her they had her listed as deceased. She replied, "do I sound dead". It took her several months of phone calls to start receiving her check again.

This may sound amusing but it wasn't to her.

[Lou and Carolyn C.]

This Medicare/SS stuff can boggle the mind!! I am retired and my husband is still working (self-employed), we have medical through BC/BS and the premiums are taken out of my monthly annuity, that being said, my husband called SS back in April 2011 to schedule an appointment 3 months prior to his 65th birthday, which is/was Aug 5th, his appt. was scheduled May 9th 2011, and he signed on for Medicare. Received a bill in July 2011 for 3 month payments of $346.20 due by July 25th 2011, just received another bill for same amount to be paid by Oct. 25th 2011, this will continue in this manner (with increases I’m sure) until he retires and signs up for Social Security and starts receiving a monthly check, and then he can choose to have Medicare taken from his SS check on a monthly basis @$115.40(or whatever it is by the time he retires).
I suppose he could have this done on a monthly basis “NOW” if he chooses, by calling SS and asking, not too sure about all this, but it would be much easier on the pocketbook if $115.40 could be paid out of a checking account, for example, instead of $346.20 every 3 months. Has anyone else encountered this same situation?
Next year 2012 I will be turning 65 and will be going through this same process, except since I’m already retired the $115.40(est.) will be coming right off the top of my monthly annuity payment, as well as the BC/BS premiums, which becomes our secondary coverage. I may need to look into a lesser premium health coverage, so the monthly premiums between Medicare & Secondary Coverage equals what is being taken out NOW. So much to think about!!!
The standard Part B premium in 2011 was $115.40 or $346.20 every 3 months, we chose to keep the Prescription Drug through BC/BS as it is equivalent to Medicare Part D.
Part A is Premium Free if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working.
ALL COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS ARE WELCOME!!

[aljetmet]

You need to discuss with your insurance agent the medical plans that supplement Medicare. ie a "Medicare Advantage plan" which covers the three main parts that everyone needs coverage. This increases your benefits for medicare part A (hospital) medicare part B (medical) and medicare part D (drugs).

Go to medicare.gov and look for medical and drug coverage. You put in your zip code and every plan pops up that is available. You can enter your drugs, get an estimate and compare the plans. It's a great tool.

Good luck!

[Mudder]

Lou and Carol C...MOVE OUT OF Mass !! You will be surprised at how your Medicare and/or supplemental costs will go down when/if you move to The Villages. We could never move back to Mass(not that we would want to anyway), the health costs are way over the top there.

[ilvgolf]

Just finished applying for SS and Medicare. Did you know that SS checks are paid in arrears so your first check will arrive 2 months after your benefit start date? And did you also know medicare payments have to be made one month in advance? So the first SS check which is delayed one month will have two months medicare payments removed. Another Washington RIP off of senior citizens. What they pay us (which has been earned) they delay payment, what they get requires advance payment. And congress wonders why the opinion polls rate them so low.

I am writing my congressman about this issue.

And please don't turn this into a political discussion. All 525 people we elect and pay to represent us are at fault.
Well, I guess you could look on the BRIGHT side of things and that is, when you die, your heirs WON"T HAVE TO GIVE BACK YOUR CHECK because you were ALIVE the previous month.

[rjm1cc]

This Medicare/SS stuff can boggle the mind!! I am retired and my husband is still working (self-employed), we have medical through BC/BS and the premiums are taken out of my monthly annuity, that being said, my husband called SS back in April 2011 to schedule an appointment 3 months prior to his 65th birthday, which is/was Aug 5th, his appt. was scheduled May 9th 2011, and he signed on for Medicare. Received a bill in July 2011 for 3 month payments of $346.20 due by July 25th 2011, just received another bill for same amount to be paid by Oct. 25th 2011, this will continue in this manner (with increases I’m sure) until he retires and signs up for Social Security and starts receiving a monthly check, and then he can choose to have Medicare taken from his SS check on a monthly basis @$115.40(or whatever it is by the time he retires).
I suppose he could have this done on a monthly basis “NOW” if he chooses, by calling SS and asking, not too sure about all this, but it would be much easier on the pocketbook if $115.40 could be paid out of a checking account, for example, instead of $346.20 every 3 months. Has anyone else encountered this same situation?
Next year 2012 I will be turning 65 and will be going through this same process, except since I’m already retired the $115.40(est.) will be coming right off the top of my monthly annuity payment, as well as the BC/BS premiums, which becomes our secondary coverage. I may need to look into a lesser premium health coverage, so the monthly premiums between Medicare & Secondary Coverage equals what is being taken out NOW. So much to think about!!!
The standard Part B premium in 2011 was $115.40 or $346.20 every 3 months, we chose to keep the Prescription Drug through BC/BS as it is equivalent to Medicare Part D.
Part A is Premium Free if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working.
ALL COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS ARE WELCOME!!

This does not sound correct so you might want to call SS and recheck. My understanding is that your husband was correct in signing up for Medicare before his 65 birthday. However as long as he had qualifying insurance form his employer(or union) he should have only signed up for part A. Sounds like he signed up for A and B and B is where the premium is coming from.

HOWEVER the governments does not consider COBRA insurance as adequate insurance so you would have to sign up for part B at 65 if you have that. Could be the same type of logic since your husband is not an employee, but is self employed.

[Lou and Carolyn C.]

Lou and Carol C...MOVE OUT OF Mass !! You will be surprised at how your Medicare and/or supplemental costs will go down when/if you move to The Villages. We could never move back to Mass(not that we would want to anyway), the health costs are way over the top there.

Thanks for the advice.
We actually own property in The Villages, but right now we have to travel to and fro, as my husband is still in business and looking to retire hopefully in the near future. As for health cost, etc. in MA, you are right. We will obviously be looking into other health plans to supplement our Medicare and try to keep it within our means.

[StarbuckSammy]

Do I understand that 12RIDEHD says that his/her monthly Medicare premium is $460.00 per month? Is that possible?

[Posh 08]

Do I understand that 12RIDEHD says that his/her monthly Medicare premium is $460.00 per month? Is that possible?

Please somebody answer this, WTH?

[cybrgeezer]

Another thing about payments being one month behind when my mother passed away on January 30 I had to pay them back for one month. I could never figure that one out.

That one seems odd. My father died at 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 1, just 45 minutes into the month.

As executor of his estate, I was contacted by Social Security ... asking me where to send his February check, which arrived a few weeks later.

[Gerald]

I applied early for my SS and it was delayed two months anyway.

[l2ridehd]

Yes, my monthly Medicare premium is about $460. It is based on prior years earnings and this year 2011 do to a couple unique things I had a couple windfalls that resulted in a high income. That will cause Medicare premiums to be that high for at least two years. I can then apply to have them reduced but it requires SS approved and proof of a lower income. Go to SSA.gov and select Medicare, go to cost and it shows how much you have to pay. And on top of that I still have to buy a Medi-gap policy.

[rjm1cc]

Yes, my monthly Medicare premium is about $460. It is based on prior years earnings and this year 2011 do to a couple unique things I had a couple windfalls that resulted in a high income. That will cause Medicare premiums to be that high for at least two years. I can then apply to have them reduced but it requires SS approved and proof of a lower income. Go to SSA.gov and select Medicare, go to cost and it shows how much you have to pay. And on top of that I still have to buy a Medi-gap policy.

This is a good example of a policy that does not make sense. When you retire your earning from employment go to zero but the government takes your employee earnings from 2 years ago and says you can afford to pay more for your insurance.
Interesting that the government did not need proof of income to start the higher premiums but needs it to stop. The government uses your taxable income to start the higher charges and they should be able to use the same information to adjust your premiums each year. In fact it is just another tax based on income.