# Social Security!



## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

I did something yesterday that I never thought I'd do while under the belief that I'm still a young person -- I applied for Social Security benefits! ****! Am I really that old? I thought this day would take a lot longer to arrive. WTF? I'm still a young man! Not kidding. Whatever -- I qualify. I'm gettin' mine while there's still some left.

Anyway this is gonna increase my mountain bike budget like crazy. Could life even get better? I dunno... I'm in queue for a custom 29+ frame which will eat up SS check #1. 
=sParty

P.S. SS check #2 = components! :nono:


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Are you 66 or did you take it early?


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

MSU Alum said:


> Are you 66 or did you take it early?


I retired two years ago, a few months shy of my 62nd birthday. I'll be 64 in November this year. I think a person has to be something like 61.5 years old in order to apply for benefits; anyway I certainly can now. And by golly, I'm gonna. 
=sParty


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## Guest (Aug 7, 2017)

We ran the math everyway we could think. You if you live past 80 you'll make more over all but the break even appears to be age 80. We figure that we'll need less disposable income for travel and stuff after 80 than before. Additionally, our savings will grow every year we off-set withdrawals by spending SSA checks. Being pessimists, we think the best time to take a government check is while they're still handing them out.


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## Tim22 (Sep 11, 2010)

Sparticus if you "think" a person has to be 61.5 yrs to apply, you're not really sure. Thats ok with SS benefits, but you better really read up on Medicare and they're regs or you can really **** yourself. Its coming soon. Don't be late or you will pay for life


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Tim22 said:


> Sparticus if you "think" a person has to be 61.5 yrs to apply, you're not really sure. Thats ok with SS benefits, but you better really read up on Medicare and they're regs or you can really **** yourself. Its coming soon. Don't be late or you will pay for life


Please explain this more fully. Thanks.
As for Medicare, one of the benefits my former employer provides is health insurance until I'm eligible for Medicare (if I understand correctly, age 65). 
But in any case, I need all the help I can get. So please fill me in if you'd be so kind. Thanks!
=sParty


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Yeah. Medicare begins the first of the month in which you turn 65. I know because I just started on it 1 Aug due to turning 65 in August. Just start thinking about it 3 to 6 months prior. Signing up is super easy, especially if you're already on SS, since they'll just payroll deduct from SS for part B. 

As long as you don't earn more than $16,920 per year until you're 66, you're fine. If you earn more than that before 66, you'll pay a penalty (monthly benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 earned above $16,920 this year).

Enjoy the money!


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

MSU Alum said:


> Yeah. Medicare begins the first of the month in which you turn 65. I know because I just started on it 1 Aug due to turning 65 in August. Just start thinking about it 3 to 6 months prior. Signing up is super easy, especially if you're already on SS, since they'll just payroll deduct from SS for part B.
> 
> As long as you don't earn more than $16,920 per year until you're 66, you're fine. If you earn more than that before 66, you'll pay a penalty (monthly benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 earned above $16,920 this year).
> 
> Enjoy the money!


Thank you! I really appreciate the info you provided. It's important. 
=sParty


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

I'm 66, but still working full time (surgeon) with great health insurance that covers both my wife and me (she's 61). Didn't sign up for Medicare or SocSec...I'm deferring. It's a tricky landscape...definitely worth getting input from your financial planner.


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## Tim22 (Sep 11, 2010)

Medicare Enrollment Deadline - Avoid a Late Penalty - AARP Everywhere


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Cuyuna said:


> I'm 66, but still working full time (surgeon) with great health insurance that covers both my wife and me (she's 61). Didn't sign up for Medicare or SocSec...I'm deferring. It's a tricky landscape...definitely worth getting input from your financial planner.


You've been paying premiums on Part A ever since you started working. Part A doesn't require any more payments if you sign up and if you don't take it, don't you still pay into the system through withholding? What is the benefit of not going on Part A, at least? Would taking Part A cancel your current insurance?

I can definitely see why you are deferring SS, though! I just retired (airline pilot) and also would have been HOSED if I had taken it while employed.

I'm just curious, I'm not suggesting this forum should replace professional advice.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Tim22 said:


> Medicare Enrollment Deadline - Avoid a Late Penalty - AARP Everywhere


Thanks very much for posting that link. The info it leads to is indeed complicated. And possibly confusing. For example, I cut & pasted this from the AARP article:

"Warning: To avoid permanent late penalties, you must enroll in Part B when employment ends - even if you continue to be covered under COBRA extended insurance or retiree health benefits."

I retired two years ago at age 61. My health insurance continues through my former employer and will do so until I'm 65. I wonder if the warning above stands on its own or if the author meant to say this:

Warning: To avoid permanent late penalties, if you're eligible for Medicare (65 or older), you must enroll in Part B when employment ends - even if you continue to be covered under COBRA extended insurance or retiree health benefits.

Or should I really have applied for Medicare when I was 61?

Maybe you can't answer; I don't really expect you to. Just kinda wondering aloud. Thanks again for the link.
=sParty


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

I took mine (SS) at age 62. 
Always sign up for Part A. It's free and there is no reason not to. Whether to sign up for Part B or not depends on the individual stuation. As it stands now I probably will not, but the rules could change between now and 2019 when I turn 65. I have lifetime health insurance, so Medicare is duplicate coverage.


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## TMack0704 (Dec 1, 2015)

(As long as you don't earn more than $16,920 per year until you're 66, you're fine. If you earn more than that before 66, you'll pay a penalty (monthly benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 earned above $16,920 this year).)



Taken from the AARP website... (assumes 66 is full retirement age)

But let's suppose that you start benefits at 62 but only make $40,000 a year. Some but not all of your benefits will be withheld. But when you get to 66, several things will happen. Social Security will recalculate your monthly amount, giving you credit for any payments that were withheld during the time when you earned more than the annual earnings limit. You won't get a lump sum restoring all those lost payments, but your monthly payment will rise with the aim of making you whole over time.

So you don't actually lose the "work" penalty that they take if you keep working prior to your full retirement age. I'm not sure how many people are aware of this when they're making their retirement planning decisions.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Good info showing up here. At least it points you in the right direction so you can research it yourself.
Us old farts have to stick together!


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## Tim22 (Sep 11, 2010)

Medicare open enrollment: 5 biggest mistakes boomers make when signing up | syracuse.com 
pretty good article...check out the long term penalties


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## DeadGrandpa (Aug 17, 2016)

Sparticus said:


> I did something yesterday that I never thought I'd do while under the belief that I'm still a young person -- I applied for Social Security benefits!
> 
> Anyway this is gonna increase my mountain bike budget like crazy. Could life even get better? I dunno... I'm in queue for a custom 29+ frame which will eat up SS check #1.
> =sParty
> ...


I like the way you think. I signed up for Medicare and Retirement benefits recently. I bought two new bikes from my lbs in the last month, you know, to help stimulate the economy. Or to celebrate my upcoming 65th birthday. Or to help me deal with the unfounded rumors that I'm getting old.😎

One bike is a rigid 29+ bikepacking touring bike, the other is a FS trail 29er/27.5+ bike. I'm really looking forward to riding off pavement, which is mostly new to me. The folks I've met out there so far have been very nice.


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

MSU Alum said:


> You've been paying premiums on Part A ever since you started working. Part A doesn't require any more payments if you sign up and if you don't take it, don't you still pay into the system through withholding? What is the benefit of not going on Part A, at least? Would taking Part A cancel your current insurance?
> 
> I can definitely see why you are deferring SS, though! I just retired (airline pilot) and also would have been HOSED if I had taken it while employed.
> 
> I'm just curious, I'm not suggesting this forum should replace professional advice.


Sorry for late reply. Taking Part A creates issues for our group plan. No value to part A for me at this point. My current plan is Medicare credible so no penalty for deferring.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2017)

If I've learned anything from Warren Buffet it's this: Save until you don't have to anymore and don't leave your kids enough to ruin their lives.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Forster said:


> ....Save until you don't have to anymore and don't leave your kids enough to ruin their lives.


LMAO. If you read the stats, the average amount saved at retirement is about $160K, but the median is way, way less. 66% have less than $50K saved at retirement. Only 14% have over $250K saved. Clearly the average is skewed by Warren and the like.

Very few people will have nearly enough to ruin their kids lives with inheritance. Nursing homes are $50-100K per year. That wipes out most people's estate. I know a couple of people who thought they were going to get a large inheritance and when their parent went into a nursing home, within a few years it was all gone and then some. The "then some" refers to Medicaid coming after them for money and gifts their parent gave them less than five years before they went on Medicaid. That's right friends, if you give your kids money or property and then you end up on Medicaid, the first thing Medicaid will do is investigate the last five years of your finances and try to recover whatever you gave away.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2017)

honkinunit said:


> LMAO. If you read the stats, the average amount saved at retirement is about $160K, but the median is way, way less. 66% have less than $50K saved at retirement. Only 14% have over $250K saved. Clearly the average is skewed by Warren and the like.
> 
> Very few people will have nearly enough to ruin their kids lives with inheritance. Nursing homes are $50-100K per year. That wipes out most people's estate. I know a couple of people who thought they were going to get a large inheritance and when their parent went into a nursing home, within a few years it was all gone and then some. The "then some" refers to Medicaid coming after them for money and gifts their parent gave them less than five years before they went on Medicaid. That's right friends, if you give your kids money or property and then you end up on Medicaid, the first thing Medicaid will do is investigate the last five years of your finances and try to recover whatever you gave away.


 That's no kidding. My father-in-law's nursing home (memory care) bill all tolled was nearly $400K for 3 years. He still had enough saved to leave each of three children enough for a decent car, but another year and he'd have been on Medicaid. We didn't push the limits on redistribution, it seemed like a sucker hole you could get trapped in. I've done better than the median at saving, but I still carry a flip phone.


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