Q: “My husband died recently and my neighbor said I might be eligible for survivors benefits. Am I?”
A: To be eligible for survivors benefits, your spouse must have earned the required number of Social Security credits.
If he did, the following becomes relevant:
n If you were born before 1940, you may be able to receive full benefits at age 65. But the age to receive full benefits is gradually increasing to age 67 for widows and widowers born in 1940 or later.
n You can receive reduced benefits as early as age 60, age 50 if disabled.
n If you take care of the deceased worker’s child who is entitled to a child’s benefit and is younger than age 16 or disabled, you can receive benefits at any age. Your children also may be eligible for benefits.
Q: Mrs. B, of Ringgold, Ga., writes: “My husband became ill and couldn’t work any more last year in March.
It took him six months to claim him disabled. He got his first check in September. Why does it take so long to get any help from Medicare? He is 61. He won’t never be able to work. He has to have $1,500 medical just to get Medicaid.
By the time we pay our bills, buy gas and get medicine, we don’t have any money to live on. I had to retire because they said we had too much money. I don’t draw as much as his check. He only has 20 percent of his heart working. He has congestive heart failure and takes 10 medicines and shots a day.
We can’t get any help to get his medicine and doctor bills. I am also a heart patient. I also have medicine I take. If he don’t have Medicaid, we can’t afford his medicine or even be able to get to the doctor.”
A: Medicare is a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, under age 65 with certain disabilities, and any age with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Most people receive hospital insurance when they turn 65. A person will automatically qualify for Part A (hospital insurance) if they are eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits. Or, they may qualify based on a spouse’s (including a divorced spouse’s) work.
Others qualify because they are government employees not covered by Social Security who paid Medicare tax. If an individual receives Social Security disability benefits for 24 months, they will qualify for hospital insurance. If the disabling condition is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), or permanent kidney failure that requires maintenance dialysis or a kidney replacement, the person does not have to wait 24 months to qualify.
Almost anyone who is eligible for hospital insurance can sign up for medical insurance (Part B). Part B is an optional program. It is not free. The standard monthly premium is $96.40 for 2008.
You may want to contact Georgia Cares at (800) 669-8387 to see if they can provide some guidance and/or assistance with your husband’s medication. Georgia Cares is Georgia’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program. Trained counselors are available to provide information on Medicare, Medigap, long-term care and low-cost prescription assistance program.
Q: “I’m 62 and divorced. But my earnings weren’t enough for me to qualify for Social Security. Can I get benefits as a divorced spouse?”
A: In most cases, you can receive benefits as a divorced spouse on your former spouse’s Social Security record if you were married to the former spouse for at least 10 years, are at least age 62 years old, are unmarried, and are not entitled to a higher Social Security benefit on your own record.
For more information, visit our Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov or call us toll-free at (800) 772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778).
Get answers to your Social Security questions each Thursday from Social Security District Manager Eleanor Jones. Submit questions to her attention by writing to Business Editor John Vass Jr., Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or by e-mailing him at jvass@timesfreepress.com.
