Q: Mr. W writes: “I didn’t choose Part B of Medicare when I started Part A, but I’m still working and have a group policy. Will I be penalized for not choosing to have an excess of insurance premiums?”
A: No. If you are 65 or older and are covered under a group health plan, either from your own or your spouse’s current employment, you have a “special enrollment period” in which to sign up for Medicare Part B. This means that you may delay enrolling in Medicare Part B without having to wait for a general enrollment period and paying the 10 percent premium surcharge for late enrollment. The rules allow you to:
— Enroll in Medicare Part B any time while you are covered under the group health plan based on current employment; or
— Enroll in Medicare Part B during the eight-month period that begins following the last month your group health coverage ends, or following the last month employment ends — whichever comes first.
Special enrollment periods do not apply if employment or employer-provided group health plan coverage ends during your initial enrollment period.
If you do not enroll by the end of the eight-month period, you will have to wait until the next general enrollment period, which begins Jan. 1 of the next year. You also may have to pay a higher premium, as described previously.
Further reference for this question and many others can be found at our website, www.socialsecurity.gov under the Questions segment in the right column. Select “Benefits,” then hit GO. Search keyword Medicare.
Q: Ms. N asks: “My mother-in-law, who was a 91-year-old widow, died in October. My husband is the executor of the will. When my mother passed away in 1983, my father received a onetime death benefit payment from Social Security for $255. To be honest, I don’t remember if we collected this in 1995 when my father died. Is this onetime payment from Social Security just to the spouse of the deceased or can my husband and the estate of his mother, collect the same? Thank you for any information.”
A: If you’re a surviving widow or widower, you may be eligible to receive a special death benefit payment of $255 on the worker’s record. This payment can be made only to a spouse or minor children who meet certain requirements. Generally, this is how it applies:
First, the surviving spouse who was living in the same household with the worker when he or she died can receive the lump sum payment and second, if there’s no eligible spouse to receive the payment, the lump sum can be paid to the worker’s child (or children) who was:
— Receiving benefits on the deceased worker’s earnings record during the month in which the worker died; or
— Eligible to receive benefits.
Further reference for this question and many others can be found at socialsecurity.gov under the Questions segment in the right column. Select “Benefits,” then hit GO. Search keyword Lump Sum Death Benefit.
Get answers to your Social Security questions each Thursday from the Social Security District Director Martin Coffey. Submit questions 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.