Jones: Employee contributions of an unmarried person

Q: Mr. P of Murfreesboro, Tenn., asks: “What happens to the employee contributions of an unmarried person who dies without ever drawing any Social Security benefits? Let’s say a person starts to work at M&J Supermarkets in Chattanooga at age 16 and then transfers to working at DuPont at age 21, has worked continuously, and is now approaching age 66. What happens to all that money he contributed during 50 years of working? Can he will it to someone? How?”

A: No, you can not will or assign Social Security benefits. The Social Security benefit program is a system of social insurance designed to protect workers and their families against the loss of earnings due to retirement, severe and extended disability or death. Benefits are intended to replace part of the earnings lost to the worker and the family when the worker retires, becomes disabled or dies. The Social Security taxes that employees and employers pay on workers’ earnings are not placed in an individual worker’s account, but are pooled in special funds from which benefits are paid to eligible workers and their families.

Q: Mrs. U of Whitwell, Tenn., writes: “I am 47 years old, working and with a good company health insurance plan. My husband is 71, retired and has both Medicare A and B plus Individual Plan from Humana. I am planning to sign him in with our company’s insurance starting January 2010. I was thinking we will save a little by cutting off his Part B and the Humana insurance (which amounts to almost $200 a month) by putting him on my insurance. Besides, he will also be covered with our Dental Plan which he presently does not have. What do you think? I hope to be still working and have insurance plan for the next 20 years. Down the road, if we decide to put him back on Part B, what are the consequences? Your advice is highly appreciated. Hope to read your reply sooner as we have to sign up before January 2010.”

A: If your husband drops Part B because he has group health coverage under your employment plan, he can sign up again during the special enrollment period. The cost of Part B will not go up. He will not get another Medigap open enrollment period when he restarts Part B. Make sure your group coverage is in effect before he drops Part B. The Social Security Administration handles Medicare enrollments. If he wants to drop his Part B or has more questions about enrolling in or dropping Medicare Part B, he should call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or visit their Web site at www.Medicare.gov. If he enrolls in Medicare Part B while covered by a group health plan or during the first full month after coverage ends, his Medicare Part B coverage starts on the first day of the month he enrolls. He also can delay the start date for Medicare Part B coverage until the first day of any of the following 3 months. If he enrolls during any of the seven remaining months of the Special Enrollment Period, his Medicare Part B coverage begins the month after you enroll.

Remember: If he does not enroll in Medicare Part B during his Special Enrollment Period, he’ll have to wait until the next General Enrollment Period, which is Jan. 1 through March 31 of each year. He may then have to pay a higher Medicare Part B premium because he could have had Medicare Part B and did not take it. Call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 for more information or to enroll in Medicare. You can visit the Social Security Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Q: “What percentage of a worker’s benefit may a spouse be entitled to?”

A: A spouse receives one-half of the retired worker’s benefit if the spouse retires at full retirement age. If the spouse begins collecting benefits before full retirement age, those benefits will be reduced by a percentage based on how much earlier the spouse retires. However, if a spouse is taking care of a child who is either under age 16 or disabled and receiving Social Security benefits, a spouse gets full spouse benefit (one-half of the worker’s benefit) regardless of age. If you are eligible for both your own retirement benefit and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay your own benefit first. If your benefit as a spouse is higher than your retirement benefit, you’ll receive a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse’s benefit. Learn more at www.socialsecurity.gov.

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.