Latest / Dr Ed Weir Show / 5 Social Security Letters You Should NEVER Ignore! + LIVE Q&A!

Transcript

5 Social Security Letters You Should NEVER Ignore! + LIVE Q&A! · Dr Ed Weir Show

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letter from your friends at the Social
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Security Administration or Medicaid or
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whatever that's written in,
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I guess, English. Well, that's what
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we're going to talk about today. We're
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going to talk about the uh the five most
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common letters you get from the
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government, particularly Social
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Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and what
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you need to do with them, translate them
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for you. And then if you have any
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letters that you have received yourself,
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this is also a live Q&A or looks like
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already got some questions on SSI and
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SNAP and all kinds of things. So, we'll
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get into the questions here in a little
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bit. If you're new to my channel, make
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sure you subscribe and that way you can
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find us again if you ever get one of
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those fun letters. I'm coming up with a
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uh kind of a letter interpretation tool,
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a form interpretation tool. Um I work
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for the agency
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for way too long. And uh yeah, those
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letters, they try to make them easy to
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understand, but they it complete failure
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because they got a bunch of lawyers
0:55
getting in there trying to get it. So
0:57
they don't they you know, anytimes
1:00
lawyers get into something then you know
1:02
it's going to go south. All right, so
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first one everybody's getting right now
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is the 1099. So, it's not really a
1:08
letter, but it's very important that you
1:11
check this. And this also goes with any
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benefit uh increase letter. This kind of
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goes hand inand I'll talk about both
1:17
here. So, the 1099 is basically what you
1:20
were received from social security last
1:23
year. So, there's a lot of people that
1:24
just filed for social security last year
1:27
and this is their first year. And guess
1:29
what? you are you are going to get a
1:31
1099 from the government just like you
1:33
know if you worked at Uber or some other
1:35
subcontract some contracting type of
1:37
thing you'll receive a 1099 that tells
1:40
you how much social security paid you
1:43
last year and you have to be very
1:46
vigilant to make sure it's correct make
1:49
sure it's correct because that's what
1:51
you're going to do to pay your taxes if
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you have to pay taxes so the whole thing
1:54
a lot of people out there are thinking
1:56
oh I heard there's no taxes on social
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security that passed part of the one big
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beautiful bill. No, it did not. It's not
2:02
part of the one big beautiful bill. You
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still have to pay taxes on social
2:05
security if you have to pay taxes. About
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half the people uh um don't have to pay
2:10
taxes on social security because their
2:12
income is so low. The IRS only counts
2:15
half
2:17
of your social security check. So,
2:21
that's one of the Let me throw up really
2:23
quick since we're in our our favorite
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tax season here. If you're single and
2:27
you make under $25,000 a year, you will
2:30
pay zero p zero of your benefits will be
2:33
taxable. It's not doesn't mean you're
2:35
going to pay zero taxes. It means your
2:37
social security benefits that you
2:39
received last year, the money you
2:40
received from social security will not
2:42
be taxed. It's zero. If you make
2:44
anywhere from 25 to 35,000 and you're
2:47
single, up to 50 up to 50% of your
2:50
social security benefits could be taxed.
2:54
And it's not a 50% tax. It's whatever
2:56
your tax rate is. So 50% is taxed at 12%
3:00
or 20%, whatever your tax rate is. But
3:03
people say, "Oh, no. I made, you know, I
3:05
I made $26,000 from Social Security last
3:08
year, so I guess I have to pay on it."
3:09
No, they only count half of that. They
3:12
only count half of that. So if you made,
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you know, $30,000 from Social Security,
3:16
then they only look at 15,000. And so
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that's why about half of the people
3:22
don't pay taxes on their Social Security
3:24
benefits. But it's important that you
3:26
have that 1099
3:28
and uh make sure those benefits are
3:30
correct. And here's another thing that
3:31
is going to happen. You're going to
3:32
receive another letter from the Social
3:34
Security Administration. This is another
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one you shouldn't ignore. It will tell
3:37
you whether your benefits increased
3:40
based on your earnings from last year.
3:44
So if your earnings from last year was
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one of your high 35 years of earnings,
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then this is completely automatic. they
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will automatically kick out the low one
3:54
and then stick in the new year and
3:56
they'll do the recalculations and you'll
3:58
get an increase and then you'll get a
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letter that says based on your earnings
4:02
from
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their lawyers are going to say this. So,
4:06
but what the letter essentially says is
4:08
based on your earnings from last year
4:11
that was one of your high 35 years of
4:13
earnings, we kicked out the low one. We
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stuck in the new one. We calculated your
4:17
benefits and your benefits are going to
4:18
be increased by 10 2030 $40 $50 from
4:21
here on out for the rest of your life.
4:23
And and
4:25
because it took us until April, May,
4:28
June, July, August, September, October
4:31
to increase your benefit to do those
4:33
calculations, we're going to go ahead
4:34
and pay you retroactivity all the way
4:37
back to January. So you'll get your
4:39
retroactive benefits going back to
4:40
January. So we had that happen a lot in
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our community last year. People said,
4:44
"Ed, I just got another check for $175.
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What's up with that?" "Did you work last
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year?" "Yep, I worked last year.
4:51
Made some pretty one your one of your
4:53
high years." "Yeah, yeah, did pretty
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good." All right. So, that's your
4:56
benefits recalculated and they increased
4:58
your monthly benefit amount going
4:59
forward. And they also give you their
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retract. It's 100% 100% automatic, so
5:04
you don't have to worry about that. All
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right. So, those are two things you're
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going to get from Social Security that
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you shouldn't ignore. And another
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dimension on that is if you see that
5:15
it's incorrect, you need you need to fix
5:17
it. Need to fix it. If it's low, then
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you definitely need to fix it. If it's
5:22
high, you need to fix it. And people
5:23
say, well, if it's high, that means, you
5:25
know, someone else is working under my
5:27
record and so my social security
5:29
benefits will increase because of Yeah,
5:30
they will until they catch that person
5:32
or fix that mistake and then you'll have
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to pay back all that money. So
5:37
takes us to the third letter,
5:39
overpayment.
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If
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Social Security sends you an overpayment
5:44
letter, you really have to take care of
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it. You have to address it. Before Doge
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came in, it was a 10% withholding that
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if you didn't respond. Had this happen
5:55
all the time when I worked at Social
5:56
Security. People didn't respond to the
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overpayment. They had moved or they
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didn't understand it or they ignored it
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or whatever the case may be. and and
6:03
Social Security says, "Hey, you got an
6:05
overpayment for whatever reason and
6:06
you're not reaching out to us. So,
6:10
we can get your we can get you to reach
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out to us. We'll we'll reduce your check
6:13
by 10%." And then then you'll call and
6:17
then that's usually, "Oh, wait a second.
6:18
I just got 10% cut off my Social
6:20
Security check." And so, what's going
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on? Yeah, we send you an overpayment
6:23
letter. When Doge came in, they said,
6:26
"We're going to make it 100%. if you
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don't contact us about that overpayment,
6:30
then we're going to withhold the entire
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thing. And the problem is at the same
6:34
time they were cutting back all the
6:35
staff and so people couldn't contact
6:37
them and people, you know, were in the
6:39
hospital or something. All a sudden they
6:41
got their complete check cut off. They
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were homeless. So it was a bad
6:45
situation. It was the 100% is a terrible
6:47
decision. So they backed off and they
6:49
said, "Okay, we're going to hold back
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50%." So if you get an overpayment and
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you don't address it, you don't call up
6:55
social security, they're going to hold
6:57
50% of your check. So you wake up one
6:59
day and you look at your bank account
7:00
and your check is half. Yeah, you got an
7:03
overpayment or alimony, child support,
7:06
or you know, whatever. Anyway, but
7:08
usually an overpayment. So you need to
7:10
address those. And on my website, I've
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got an entire um it tells you exactly
7:15
how to address it. Don't, you know, just
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if you go through procedures and you,
7:20
you know, navigate the bureaucracy, um,
7:23
you go into myggovexpert.com, click on
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overpayments there, and it'll give you
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all of the things that you can do. You
7:29
can pay the amount in full, you can set
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up a payment plan, you can request a
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waiver, you can request a
7:34
reconsideration if you think the numbers
7:36
are wrong. So, there's a bunch of stuff
7:37
you can do, but don't ignore the letter.
7:40
All right. Another thing that looks like
7:41
they're going to be doing some strange
7:43
stuff with CDRs. Those are continuing
7:46
disability reviews. Those are for people
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on disability. Every now and then they
7:50
check to see if you're still disabled.
7:53
So they go through the whole thing.
7:54
Maybe you see, you know, a Social
7:57
Security contracted doctor. And they
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just announced a few days ago, I just
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did a a video on this yesterday, that
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Social Security is changing that whole
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program. And now Social Security is
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going to do it inhouse.
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And I've heard from my old compatriots
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inside that yeah, these guys don't know
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what they're doing. These are new people
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and so there's going to be some issues.
8:20
So, we're going to try to help you work
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through those CDRs, those continuing
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disability reviews. So, make sure you
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subscribe and stuff. And uh got some
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good stuff coming here. But don't ignore
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it. Don't ignore it. If you're on
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disability or anything, disability
8:33
benefits, retirement benefits, survivor
8:35
benefits, SSI, uh Medicare, always
8:38
update your address. If you move
8:39
someplace, you got to update your
8:41
address with social security. And for
8:43
for Medicare, um if you update your
8:45
address with social security, it
8:47
automatically tells Medicare that you're
8:49
you got a new address. And then whatever
8:53
that that way you can get a letter and
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there's also you can go on to ssa.gov,
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set up a my social security account, and
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then you can see your letters in there
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as well, and you can request, you know,
9:04
kind of electronic copies of those, but
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CDRs, don't ignore them. So, they won't
9:09
go away and you just might get your
9:11
disability benefits cut off if you don't
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send those forms back. So, another one
9:17
that a lot of people are missing, it's
9:18
called a whip rib form letter. It's
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basically whip widows insurance
9:25
benefits, rib retirement insurance
9:27
benefits.
9:29
Those are letters that go out to
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surviving spouses who have been
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receiving surviving spouse benefits and
9:35
now they're 68, 69, 70 years old and
9:38
their benefits on their own record have
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increased higher than what they're
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receiving on surviving spouse benefits.
9:46
A lot of people, they get those letters
9:48
and they don't what what do you mean?
9:50
I'm on social security. What are you
9:51
talking about increase? Oh, this sounds
9:52
like a scam letter and they they throw
9:54
it away. And those people that you
9:56
probably know someone out there. So make
9:58
sure you share, like, subscribe, all
10:00
that kind of stupid stuff that we have
10:02
to do to get this information out there.
10:04
So that's exactly what it is. You have
10:07
to take action. Those people, those
10:09
surviving spouses, widow, widowers that
10:12
are receiving widow, widowerower,
10:13
surviving, social security calls it
10:14
surviving spouse benefits are receiving
10:16
those benefits. They didn't touch their
10:18
own record and their own record has
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continued to increase. It will increase
10:22
until they hit 70 years old. So, if you
10:24
know anybody that's receiving surviving
10:26
spouse benefits that's over 70 years
10:28
old, please say, "Hey, did you ever
10:32
receive a letter that says you more
10:35
money on your own record?" It doesn't
10:37
say it as easy easily as that. Um, but
10:41
have you checked and you know, you're
10:43
receiving the surviving spouse benefits,
10:45
but
10:46
did you ever check your own record and
10:48
see if you can switch over and see if
10:50
there's any more money there? So, let's
10:52
reach out to everybody, you know, and uh
10:53
see what we can do to help them out.
10:55
Okay. Another one is a denial letter. If
10:57
you ever apply for anything, if you get
11:00
denied,
11:03
they want you to just sit down and roll
11:05
over. Lay down and roll over. Yeah. Roll
11:07
over. Play nice. Bark. Yeah. Um but
11:11
yeah, we don't play that. Um so, fight
11:14
back. And there are, let me get into my
11:18
website again, myggovexpert.com,
11:20
and I'll show you the appeals process. I
11:24
think it's a lot easier to understand
11:25
than the government uh uh website there,
11:27
but you can use either one. That's fine.
11:29
Um, so the understanding appeals
11:31
process, if you get any type of a a
11:33
denial, we're talking retirement,
11:35
disability benefits, survivor benefits,
11:37
Medicare, Medicare Advantage, uh, as
11:40
well, fight it. Fight it. And you've got
11:43
several levels. Um you when you're
11:46
denied initially then you can file
11:48
what's called a rec a request
11:50
reconsideration. Super easy form to fill
11:52
out. Takes you about 5 minutes. Make
11:54
copies send it in and unfortunately wait
11:58
and wait and wait. The next level is the
12:00
administrative law judge. Same thing,
12:02
very simple to do, longer wait,
12:04
unfortunately. And then you've got to
12:06
the appeals council in false church,
12:08
Virginia. And then you've got federal
12:10
court. Um but those are all the steps
12:12
there. Please don't. If you think a
12:16
decision was made incorrectly,
12:19
please fight it. Please. Yeah, that's
12:23
all right. Um, let's see. And then
12:24
Medicare appeals. You got a Medicare
12:26
appeals thing. Medicare Advantage plans
12:28
appeals. You can appeal. A lot of people
12:31
don't know this. Formularies. This is
12:33
the Medicare Advantage open enrollment
12:36
period for another two weeks and a day.
12:40
Um, so if you have a Medicare Advantage
12:42
plan and you think maybe you picked the
12:44
wrong one or you want to re-evaluate it
12:46
or situation changed, make sure you call
12:48
chapter there. They support the our
12:50
ability to put up these websites and do
12:51
all this awesome stuff. So, we
12:53
appreciate them. But, and they can help
12:55
you out with all this stuff. Um, all
12:58
Medicare, that's a great thing. That's
12:59
why we chose them because they help out
13:01
even after they find you a better plan.
13:04
Um, if they can find you a better plan,
13:05
they're like, "Okay, all right. Don't
13:07
you know if you ever get anything you
13:08
have any issues, make sure you call us."
13:09
So, they're awesome like that. But
13:11
people don't realize they can fight a
13:13
formulary. What's a formulary? If your
13:15
particular uh Part D or Medicare
13:17
Advantage plan has a particular drug
13:20
that you know is for your condition, but
13:24
you like another one, but it's not in
13:26
their formulary, you can actually
13:27
request a formulary ext exception. You
13:30
can request an exception of taring. That
13:33
way it basically means if your drug is
13:36
tier three, which is expensive, and
13:38
you're like, "Hey, can you make it tier
13:40
two, make it a little bit cheaper for
13:42
me?" You can actually do that as well.
13:44
And then anytime you get a prior
13:45
authorization denial, definitely fight
13:48
that. Definitely fight that. So, all
13:50
right. Um, here's one that, uh, I wish
13:54
Social Security employees I told I
13:56
always made Social Security employees in
13:57
my office make sure they told people
13:59
this. When you file for disability
14:01
benefits,
14:03
a lot of times 80% of the time, you will
14:07
receive a denial letter within a week.
14:10
And that's because when you file for
14:12
disability benefits, Social Security,
14:14
they always address, it's called, did
14:16
you address both programs? That's what I
14:19
used to go around and hey, you just took
14:21
that disability claim. Did you address
14:22
both programs? That is SSDI and SSI. Oh,
14:25
yeah. Yeah, I did. Okay. So if you apply
14:27
for disability benefits, you always
14:29
apply for both the regular social
14:31
security disability benefits based on
14:32
what you paid into social security all
14:34
those decades and also SSI which is a
14:37
welfarebased program low income low
14:39
resources and we always have to address
14:42
the SSI portion. So and because it's a
14:45
welfare based program it's only $994. So
14:48
if your regular social security is a,000
14:50
or $2,000 then you're denied for the
14:53
SSI. If you got resources over two or
14:56
three thousand dollars, depending on
14:57
you're single or married, you're denied
14:59
for SSI. If you're working a little bit
15:01
or you got a spouse that's working,
15:03
you're denied for SSI. But what happens
15:05
is you go in there to apply for Social
15:07
Security and disability and then a week
15:09
later you're denied. And you're like,
15:11
"What are those dirty rats?" Read on the
15:14
top supplemental security income. It
15:16
does not say Social Security
15:18
Administration. It says supplemental
15:20
security income. It does say Social
15:21
Security, but anyway, it's a different
15:23
program. It's not part of the Social
15:24
Security trust fund. It's a welfare
15:26
program. Social Security took over in
15:27
the early 1970s. But just look at it and
15:30
say, "Okay, yeah, supplemental security
15:32
income. Yeah, I got a little bit extra
15:33
money in the bank, so that's why I was
15:35
denied." Your regular disability claim
15:38
is still going on. So,
15:41
yeah. Um, people are always freaked out
15:43
about that. And and the employees at
15:44
Social Security should do a better job,
15:46
but they just don't have the time,
15:47
unfortunately, and say, "Hey, you're
15:50
going to receive a denial next week, but
15:51
it's SSI. It's not the SSDI. So, okay.
15:55
Um, and translating those letters. Um,
16:00
yeah,
16:03
that's a job. All right, let's get into
16:05
uh if you got any letter, anything like
16:06
that, a form that you want to talk
16:08
about, you want to ask about, here is
16:10
your opportunity. So, let's see. Let's
16:13
get some live questions here. Money
16:16
Penny, what's up? Um, I'm back. I see
16:18
the board is filling up quickly. Yeah,
16:19
the questions fly in immediately before
16:22
I even start. My question is about
16:24
getting SSI for an emergency situation.
16:26
I am three months behind on my rent and
16:28
the land roller is putting his house up
16:30
for sale. Wow. So, SSI,
16:33
are we talking really SSI? Um,
16:35
supplemental security income, lowinccome
16:38
um because a lot of people confused
16:41
regular social security with SSI.
16:44
If Yeah, they social security does not
16:46
give advanced payments like that. And
16:48
the only time they do is if, for
16:51
instance, um, you are you were approved
16:54
for SSI, the the welfare based program.
16:57
Want to make sure we're talking the same
16:58
thing here. And you get a big
17:01
retroactive payment, a big back
17:03
paycheck.
17:05
SSI doesn't release the entire check at
17:07
once. They break it off over like three
17:09
months or so.
17:11
And at that time you can say, "Yeah, I
17:14
know I only got part of it this month
17:15
and I'll get another part next month and
17:17
yada yada yada, but I've got to do this,
17:19
that, and the other." And then you can
17:20
request kind of an expedited advance on
17:24
your future. But if you've been
17:26
receiving SSI for a while, then
17:28
unfortunately, yeah, they Yeah, Social
17:30
Security doesn't. Um, let us know uh
17:35
money penny if you want. You can put
17:37
your state and city down there or so.
17:40
And we've got an awesome community. They
17:42
look out for other people. So, um,
17:44
everybody check out Money Penny there.
17:46
And if she puts her, uh, you know, state
17:49
city down there and if you know of
17:51
anything that can help in her particular
17:53
area, please, let's, uh, yeah, let's see
17:57
what we can do. So, see, uh, I hope you
18:00
get the answer you're hoping for.
18:02
Unfortunately, she wasn't hoping for
18:04
that one, but see how our community
18:06
looks out for each other.
18:08
Um
18:10
what I don't understand is why do you
18:11
pay taxes on your paycheck then you're
18:13
taxed again on social security?
18:15
Um
18:17
the first time around when you're
18:19
actually working it. Yeah. It's social
18:22
regular income tax goes to pay the
18:24
department of defense where the real
18:25
money is and the debt and all that kind
18:27
of stuff. But social security goes into
18:29
the trust fund. There is a trust fund.
18:30
It's about $2.5 trillion now. And that's
18:34
yeah, it's a completely separate even
18:36
though the regular budget borrows from
18:39
social security.
18:41
The question maybe you're asking this
18:43
question which nobody understands is why
18:45
did they even tax social security when
18:47
you already taxed it the first time
18:49
around, right? Yeah, that's the
18:50
question. Because in in the early 1980s
18:53
in order to shore up the future of
18:55
social security, that's what they
18:56
decided to do. Raise the retirement age
18:58
from 65 to 67 and also to start tax
19:02
social Social Security and that money
19:04
that you pay on taxes on Social Security
19:07
goes back into the Social Security trust
19:09
fund. So,
19:11
um let's see. I'm moving abroad. I hear
19:14
that Social Security is changing the
19:16
phone system. If I need to contact
19:17
Social Security, how do I need to make
19:18
an appointment? It's always been very
19:20
difficult to contact uh from overseas.
19:23
But uh yeah, they you just contact the
19:26
phone system.
19:28
You'll still have access. The only thing
19:31
is the phone system that they're
19:32
changing is they are it's called
19:36
workload mobility. If you call your
19:38
local office um you used to go to your
19:41
local office and now it might go
19:43
wherever. So, but if you're you just
19:46
call like you regularly do. Yeah. 800
19:49
number. Call your local social security
19:51
office if you can find that number.
19:52
Usually all they list is the national
19:54
800 number or if
19:58
you can if you're overseas you can also
20:00
contact the office of international
20:02
operations back in uh was it Baltimore
20:05
um or federal benefits unit. Good luck
20:09
with that one. Wherever you live there's
20:11
federal benefits unit. There's actually
20:12
a social security employee in a few
20:14
places throughout the world um that help
20:17
embassies and consulates deal with
20:19
people living overseas. So, you can
20:21
reach out to them or your consulate and
20:23
they will contact the federal benefits
20:25
unit.
20:27
What about if I took out $100,000 a year
20:29
the last two years I worked from my 401k
20:32
at age 6465? Would they increase my
20:34
total income for the last two years of
20:36
work, including the 401 to calculate
20:38
benefits? It it wouldn't it would not
20:40
affect your social security benefits,
20:42
but it would affect your Part B and your
20:46
Part D premium possibly.
20:50
It depends on how much you make
20:52
otherwise is called Irma. Income related
20:55
monthly adjustment amount. Yeah, that's
20:58
a it's a mouthful, right? So for 2026,
21:01
if so
21:04
it you're what you say 100 200,000 or
21:07
so. So if it's only 100,000 only 100 if
21:10
it's 100,000 then in between 109 and
21:14
137,000 you're going to pay $284 per
21:17
person for your Medicare part B. and
21:19
then whatever the premium is for part D
21:22
plus $14.50.
21:24
So everybody, well most people pay
21:27
$22.90
21:29
per month for their part B premium, but
21:32
some people pay $689.90.
21:36
So, and so Medicare is, you know, what
21:39
everybody in our community is hoping
21:41
will happen with Social Security. There
21:43
is no limit on Medicare how much you
21:44
pay. It's the 1.45% four or 5% and there
21:48
is no cap at $184,500
21:51
like social security. If you make a
21:53
million dollar you have to pay Medicare
21:55
on all the million dollars. If for
21:57
social security you only pay it on the
21:59
first 1845 184,500.
22:02
And that's why social security we're all
22:05
going to get a cut in the future of at
22:07
least 23% because
22:10
these guys haven't done anything to
22:12
solve it. So there's that. Some of them
22:15
had some plans but didn't get done. So,
22:20
what does it mean when you get a letter
22:21
that says we won't be doing a studio CDR
22:24
this year? Uh, we'll tell you when. That
22:27
means you're good. Uh, go enjoy life.
22:33
Stop worrying about the CDR, the
22:34
continued disability review. So t it
22:37
sounds like your time for your CDR was
22:41
now and
22:43
social security offices get a budget
22:46
from Congress an allocation from
22:48
Congress to do those and I just did a
22:51
video was it yesterday day before
22:53
yesterday on that and
22:57
if your if your office doesn't have a
23:00
budget to do it they're just not going
23:01
to do it. So they'll say, "Yep, yep. See
23:04
you next time. Maybe if we get money."
23:06
So, but that's the one they're bringing
23:07
in house. And Social Security, they
23:11
actually
23:12
they don't make they save money. It's
23:15
$1. That's why they really push those.
23:17
For every $1 they spend on doing CDRs,
23:22
the agency saves $9 by, you know,
23:26
unceremoniously kicking people off. So,
23:29
but yeah, you're good. So go on with
23:32
your life. I fight for my SSDI for six
23:35
years. I won. I did it without a lawyer.
23:37
All right. Good deal. For six years. So
23:39
that means
23:41
either Social Security really dropped
23:43
the ball on that third stage, the
23:45
administrative law judge, and it was
23:48
pretty crazy at one time, but six years.
23:50
So you probably went to the appeals
23:52
council and probably Yeah, that you went
23:55
all the way. So,
23:57
um, is it the same appeal process for CD
24:00
CDR cases? Yes. Same same thing. If you
24:02
get a denial, you file the SSA 561, the
24:06
request of reconsideration, and then,
24:08
yep, same process all the way through.
24:10
And it's pretty easy to do the 561. Um,
24:15
only a little bit of space for you to
24:16
write what you're appealing or, you
24:18
know, what you disagree with. So you
24:20
always put a just type just write in C
24:24
attached and then write a letter. Type a
24:26
letter is usually better if you can if
24:28
you if your penmanship is like me always
24:31
type so the person can read it. Um
24:34
related to this episode, my 1099 was
24:36
sent to me online account. Made a note
24:39
of this for the future. Your online
24:41
account is important regardless of your
24:42
thoughts. Yes, 100% it is extremely
24:45
important. Absolutely.
24:48
All right. Um, this is my second year
24:51
being on Social Security. I had to print
24:52
it from the account both years. My
24:54
husband gets his in his mail and online.
24:56
Yeah, you can go in there in your Social
24:57
Security account and choose how you want
24:59
to be contacted. So,
25:02
why when Social Security sends out
25:04
letters, can't they just speak in plain
25:06
English? I got one letter. It was like a
25:07
mystery just to understand if what they
25:09
were saying. Yeah. And what makes it
25:11
worse is that if it is a multiple action
25:17
process to where the Social Security
25:20
employees, okay, in order to do the to
25:23
adjudicate it, in order to process this
25:25
case, it's a two-step, three-step
25:26
process. So, let me go ahead and do
25:29
this. Okay, all done. All the
25:31
calculations are good. D
25:34
enter. And then, okay, that part is
25:36
done. And then the system, the computer
25:38
system will automatically generate a
25:40
letter and it'll send it out to you. And
25:42
Social Security employees can't stop
25:43
that letter from going out,
25:44
unfortunately.
25:46
Think there's a way, but nobody knows
25:47
how to do it. Um, and then they say,
25:50
"Okay, that part is done. Now I need to
25:51
do the second step." And they do that
25:53
second step and they push the button and
25:54
another letter goes out. And if the fir
25:56
and if the second letter comes first and
25:59
then it's it's just way confusing and
26:01
we've had that a lot.
26:04
and and I've usually it's like, "Oh,
26:06
okay. Yeah, I know what letter went out.
26:08
Okay, wait 3 days and you'll get the
26:11
other letter and it'll it'll all make
26:13
sense." So, and every time I did it that
26:15
way, they've never come back. So, I
26:18
guess it did make sense.
26:20
No taxes on SSI. Uh, really depends.
26:24
Probably not. SSI is the welfare based
26:26
program. So, if you're making just the
26:28
$994 a month and maybe a little bit
26:30
extra somewhere else, then
26:34
I'm not even going to guess. So, but if
26:36
you're making any other money, then you
26:37
shouldn't be on SSI is what I'm kind of
26:39
getting at. Um, after two denials for
26:43
disability, I got a lawyer who didn't
26:45
get money until I went to court. The
26:46
judge ruled in my favor, got my back
26:48
pay, and after the attorney fees were
26:49
paid. Yeah, that's how they do it.
26:50
That's one of the reasons if you have an
26:52
attorney, it takes a long time for
26:54
social security to get you your money
26:56
because they have to do the whole
26:57
attorney, pay the attorney and all that
26:59
kind of stuff. This year, it's what the
27:01
max an attorney get in is $9,200 only if
27:05
they they your case, you win your case.
27:09
Um, it's up to it's 25% of your back pay
27:12
up to $9,200.
27:15
So, all right, we got some video
27:17
questions.
27:22
Hi, Dr. Weir. I want to thank you for
27:24
all the help you've been giving us. Um,
27:26
I have something that I haven't heard
27:29
yet u on your shows. Um, my husband uh
27:34
was born 1946, as was I. Um, he worked
27:39
until he was 28, became disabled, stayed
27:42
disabled until he got full retirement
27:44
age. He just passed away January 1st of
27:48
this year. Um I worked until I was 50,
27:54
became totally disabled and um now I
27:58
would I went to retirement also full
28:00
retirement. What he made more than I did
28:04
on our our retirement. What I need to
28:07
know is can you tell me how they would
28:10
calculate my surviving widow benefits?
28:14
Thank you for any of your help.
28:16
>> All right. Sorry uh sorry for your loss
28:19
there. Um so so he was receiving
28:23
disability benefits
28:25
and then his benefits when you're
28:27
receiving disability benefits, it
28:29
automatically automatically converts to
28:31
regular old social security benefits
28:32
once you hit your full retirement age.
28:34
Sounds like that that's what he did. So
28:36
he never he was always on disability. So
28:40
he he never took reduced social security
28:43
benefits because he was always on on
28:45
disability. So that means you will
28:47
receive um if you're your full
28:49
retirement age, which is a little bit
28:51
different for surviving spouse for
28:53
surviving spouses a few months earlier
28:54
than regular, but anyway, if you're that
28:57
full retirement age, then you'll receive
28:58
100% of whatever he was receiving.
29:02
And
29:04
because you're already receiving your
29:05
own benefits, then what happens is
29:08
they'll top that off. So, so for
29:10
instance, if his check was $1,500 and
29:13
yours is a,000,
29:16
then you'll get another $500 from him.
29:19
You'll continue to get your,000 plus the
29:21
extra 500 from his benefit amount. And
29:25
if you're not receiving that, then yeah,
29:26
you definitely need to get that figured
29:28
out. At the very least, um you've got
29:30
that lump sum death benefit, that $255,
29:34
you're entitled to that. It's been the
29:35
same since the 1950s. It's embarrassing,
29:37
but it's your money. Go get it. My
29:41
husband has federal income taxes
29:43
withheld from both his pensions. Yeah.
29:46
Yeah. You can do that with social
29:47
security, too, if you want. Uh some
29:49
people do that. It's called a W4V.
29:53
And you can get voluntary tax
29:55
withholding from your social security
29:56
benefits. And anytime I tell people
29:58
that, they always ask, "How much did I
30:00
get to, you know, hold back? 7%, 15%,
30:03
20%." Yeah. I I never worked the IRS and
30:05
I don't know your financial situation.
30:07
So, um, contact your accountant there
30:09
and find out how much you need to
30:11
withhold and then what usually people do
30:13
and then they kind of guesstimate. Okay,
30:16
I'll go middle of the road 15%. And then
30:18
once they pay taxes, if they pay too
30:20
much, they adjust it. Pay a lot, they
30:22
adjust it. So, you can adjust it again.
30:25
Um, this will be going to important into
30:28
the Okay, future. Let's see here. Social
30:32
Security doctor makes final decision on
30:34
disability. Yeah. Um they have a medical
30:38
team that makes that decision and they
30:40
do it based on it's called a blue book
30:42
and they look at all of the Yeah. all
30:45
the all the information. So
30:48
uh hello watched your show last week. A
30:49
gentleman spoke about VDRC's. I am so
30:52
glad of your channel because of his
30:54
query and your social security
30:55
knowledge. I quoted code you gave now
30:58
able to collect DRC's Texas after
31:00
suspending. All right, good deal. And
31:03
how hard was it? It was probably a
31:06
little bit hard. Um, what this uh this
31:09
person's talking about is voluntary
31:11
delayed retirement credits. Once you hit
31:13
your full retirement age, you can
31:14
actually suspend your benefits so you
31:16
can get that extra 8% every year. Most
31:19
people don't know about it. most people
31:22
even if they know about it they it's not
31:24
appropriate for them you know because
31:26
they need their money. Um and so not
31:29
many people file it and because of that
31:32
you know social security offices
31:33
throughout the country you know
31:36
your local social security office
31:37
probably had one of those in the last
31:40
five years.
31:42
So when you go to the social security
31:43
and say hey I want to do VDRC's and they
31:46
say I'm sorry do you have a speaking
31:47
impediment? Um, no voluntary delayed
31:50
retirement credits. I want to suspend my
31:52
benefits so I can get that April. Oh,
31:53
you can't do that. Oh, yes you can. And
31:56
this person handed over the Palms
31:58
reference and said, "Here it is right
31:59
here." So, yeah, let us know whether
32:01
they they knew to knew what it was. So,
32:05
I get benefits on VA compassion for my
32:07
son. He lived with us and come to table
32:10
both. Okay. Um, I am 66 years old. My
32:14
wife and I have been living abroad since
32:16
2007. Do I we need to enroll in
32:19
Medicare? We'll be subject to the
32:20
lifetime late enrollment period. Yeah.
32:22
If you don't sign up for it and you then
32:25
you sign up for it later, then you will
32:27
get a penalty for the rest of your life.
32:29
10% for every 12 months you didn't have
32:32
creditable coverage.
32:34
But
32:37
I think uh we had someone here that uh
32:39
was born and raised in Spain and they
32:42
moved over when they were in high
32:43
school, went to college here, lived here
32:44
for like 40 years and then decided to go
32:46
back to Spain with the kids and all that
32:48
kind of stuff. And they were paying
32:50
Medicare for two or three years because
32:52
they thought it was mandatory and
32:54
they're never coming back. You know,
32:55
born and raised in Spain and so it's
32:58
like they were paying $400 a month for a
33:02
couple of years when they didn't have
33:03
to. But we thought it was mandatory.
33:05
Yeah. Only it it nothing in life is
33:09
mandatory as we used to say in the
33:10
Marine Corps. But the repercussions are
33:13
if you ever come back to the United
33:14
States and want to sign up for it, then
33:16
you're going to be penalized. That
33:18
couple ain't never coming back to the
33:20
United States. So they wasted thousands
33:22
of dollars. So if you're in that
33:24
situation and you know 100% for sure
33:26
you're never coming back, then that's
33:29
your decision. More power to you. But if
33:33
anything should happen, you get sick,
33:35
homesick, political situation in your
33:37
particular country changes and you have
33:39
to come back, then you're going to get
33:41
penalized 10% for every 12 months you
33:44
didn't have it. And and I just mentioned
33:47
we're in the open enrollment period for
33:49
Medicare Advantage plan where you can
33:50
check your Medicare Advantage and maybe
33:52
find something better for you. We're
33:54
also in the general enrollment period.
33:56
There's so many enroll there's an
33:58
initial enrollment period and special
33:59
enrollment period and open enrollment
34:01
period and annual it's it's yeah it's a
34:03
nightmare. That's why we got chapter to
34:04
help out with all that. But we're also
34:06
in the general enrollment period. So
34:09
let's say you're overseas and this is
34:11
how it usually happens in April, May,
34:13
June, you get sick and you have to come
34:15
back to the United States for something.
34:17
You ain't got part B. All you got is
34:19
part A. And so any doctors or something
34:22
that look at you, you got to pay it.
34:25
Yeah. you have to pay it because you now
34:27
have part B and you can't sign up for it
34:29
until the general enrollment period
34:32
January, February, March. So, and people
34:34
say that's okay. If I ever anything
34:36
should ever happen, I have part A, which
34:38
is hospitalization, so I'll just go to
34:40
the hospital. Okay. Yeah.
34:43
What about the doctor? The doctors are
34:46
not part A. Doctors come from outside
34:49
the hospital, you know, they use the
34:51
hospital and stuff. So the hospital
34:53
charges the night in the hospital
34:54
covered by a the actual procedure scan
35:00
whatever doctor coming in doing the
35:02
surgery that's part B. So a lot of
35:05
people Yeah. make the wrong decisions.
35:08
I've never even applied for SSI. I'm in
35:10
Texas. All right. Um yeah. Um,
35:16
yeah. In Texas, in terms of like
35:19
Medicaid, Texas is one of the toughest
35:21
places. Texas, Alabama, Georgia, one of
35:23
the toughest places to get Medicaid and
35:25
keep Medicaid. And so, um, yeah. Can you
35:29
draw both social security and
35:30
disability? Social disability is Social
35:32
Security is disability. Disability is
35:34
Social Security. Same thing. You You
35:35
mean retirement and disability? I've
35:38
been on Social Security for years and
35:39
found out I have heart valve issues.
35:41
Yeah, absolutely. You can switch. if you
35:43
are on regular retirement social
35:45
security retirement benefits and you're
35:47
be you're under your full retirement age
35:50
because nobody is receiving social
35:51
security disability benefits after 67
35:54
years old. Nobody. Nobody.
35:58
Oh, Ed, I've been receiving I'm 77 years
36:00
old. I've been receiving disability for
36:02
20 years. No, you've been receiving
36:03
disability for 10 years. at your or
36:07
probably, you know, at your full
36:09
retirement age, 65, 66, 67, it switches
36:12
to regular retirement benefits. So, if
36:13
you're under your full retirement age
36:15
and that disability keeps you from
36:17
working, then you can file for
36:19
disability benefits. And um yeah, might
36:23
increase your benefits. If you've been
36:24
on uh Social Security for a few years,
36:26
it's probably not going to help you, you
36:28
know, get Medicare early or anything.
36:30
That's another reason some people do it
36:32
because it helps them get Medicare about
36:33
a, you know, a year or two early. So,
36:37
uh, 20 years ago before her strokes, my
36:39
mother needed my assistance to go sign
36:41
up for social security and she was told
36:43
she would have signed up for Medicare at
36:45
62 or 63 and a half and she was
36:48
penalized monthly for late. Yeah, that's
36:50
no. Yeah, not Medicare doesn't start.
36:53
Oh, unless she was piling unless she was
36:55
receiving disability benefits. If a
36:59
person was receiving disability
37:02
benefits, they're eligible. they're
37:04
entitled to benefits, Medicare benefits
37:06
after being on disability for 24 months.
37:09
So, some people they have to sign up for
37:11
Medicare at 55 or 45 or 35. Um,
37:16
if they don't, then you get penalized if
37:18
you don't have credable coverage. So,
37:20
that's probably the case. So, so yeah,
37:24
before her strokes, but that's before
37:25
her strokes.
37:27
Um, so yeah, it depends whether you know
37:30
she got disability benefits. So, and
37:33
those penalties can be reset once she
37:36
hits her full retirement age. So, if you
37:37
have a penalty because you didn't sign
37:39
up for Medicare when you were supposed
37:41
to before your full retirement age when
37:43
you're on disability, that resets once
37:45
she hits her full retirement age. So,
37:49
I am on SSDI. I was married for 30
37:51
years. I heard I may be able to draw
37:54
from my ex-husband's social security.
37:56
Yeah. If uh if if your ex-husband is
37:59
deceased, you can start as early as 60
38:02
years old. If he's still out there
38:04
somewhere, you can start at 62. And
38:07
you're currently unmarried. Your benefit
38:09
amount is less than half of his. And if
38:13
that's the case, then yeah, he has to be
38:17
at least 62 years old. He doesn't have
38:19
to be receiving benefits. He just has to
38:21
be at least 62 years old. So, you need
38:23
to call up social security and say,
38:24
"Hey, can I get any money off that guy
38:27
and they'll ask for his information, if
38:30
you got his social security number,
38:31
easy, makes it easy. But if not, no
38:33
problem. Just tell them the person's
38:35
name, date of birth, how old he is, um
38:37
where he was born, and they can find his
38:39
social security number, and they'll tell
38:41
you whether there's any more money
38:42
there." And remember,
38:45
if you call up today and they tell you,
38:48
"No, there's no more money there.
38:50
They're they're you you're not eligible
38:51
for benefits on his record. Ask them why
38:56
because you've met the the marriage,
38:59
you've met the age, and they maybe they
39:01
say, "Okay, he has to be receiving
39:03
benefits." And if they say that, you
39:05
say, "No, no, no, no, no. He's 62 years
39:07
old. It's called independently untited
39:09
divorce spouse benefits." Um, and so
39:12
make sure they don't miss that. And and
39:15
if they say, well, the the calculations
39:17
don't work out because your benefit
39:19
amount is not less than half of his,
39:22
then say, okay, all right, that's
39:24
understand that. That's correct.
39:26
But that's at that time. If he continues
39:29
to work and his benefit amount goes up,
39:31
maybe he will be eligible for benefits
39:32
on his own record. You can't imagine how
39:34
many people are walking around out there
39:35
that are eligible for extra benefits
39:37
because they didn't check a few years
39:38
later. Or if your ex passes away,
39:42
then the calculations are completely
39:44
different. While your ex or whoever is
39:46
still around with us, you get up to 50%.
39:51
Once they pass away, you get up to 100%.
39:53
So, way too many people out there. Um,
39:57
yeah. Um, oh my god. Overseas phone call
40:00
be expensive since you're on hold
40:02
forever. Yeah, three hours or so. That's
40:04
how you get a VOIPE or something like
40:05
that before you leave the country. And
40:07
yeah, easy, easy. Overpayment letter
40:11
11:24, phone appointment 12:25. Payment
40:14
plan was to given, but I haven't gotten
40:16
anything since. Phone attempts and
40:18
office visits unanswered. How can I get
40:19
through or change workers? Yeah, you
40:22
just uh whoever has So, they're looking
40:30
appointment payment plan was to be g was
40:32
to given, but I haven't got anything.
40:34
So, they're supposed to set up a payment
40:36
plan, and that's pretty easy. You know,
40:39
it changed a couple of years ago. They
40:42
made it easier to set up a up to a a
40:44
5year 60-month payment pan plan. So, and
40:49
you can do that over the phone. So,
40:50
that's uh pretty easiest. Um, so did
40:54
that person say they're going to go
40:56
ahead and set you up with a payment plan
40:58
and they put it in the system and it's
41:00
just waiting for it to be processed? But
41:04
yeah, no, that doesn't make any sense
41:06
because you said 1225.
41:08
Um, so we're talking December 25 of last
41:11
year. Yeah. No, that's Yeah. No, that's
41:15
that's unsatisfactory. Something got
41:17
messed up there. Yeah, that's completely
41:20
wrong.
41:22
something's messed up. You need to
41:23
contact again, call the 800 number and
41:26
see what they can do. Well, nowadays, as
41:28
of March 7th, everybody's calling the
41:30
800 number because it's all being routed
41:32
to wherever. So,
41:34
that's one of the problems is your
41:36
paperwork, whatever crest request you
41:39
put in, your SSA 561 or the SSA 632 or
41:43
whatever you did, it's gone. It's it
41:46
Well, it's not gone. and it's it's
41:47
somewhere in
41:49
the database floating around there and
41:51
nobody's grabbed it and looked at it and
41:54
so you probably need to do everything
41:56
again and say,
41:58
"All right, I'm going to do this again,
42:01
but here's the new paperwork exactly
42:03
like the old paperwork I gave." So,
42:05
since you can't find it, but once you
42:08
give it to them, I'm sure they'll find
42:09
it. It's in It's called Work Track. So,
42:13
do you have to sign up for Social
42:15
Security Online account? No. No. Not if
42:16
you don't want to. It's recommended. I
42:18
recommend it. Um, but if you don't want
42:20
to, there's and there's people that
42:22
can't get into it for whatever reason.
42:25
So,
42:27
does removing state DDS from CDR process
42:30
also impact processing a short form CDR
42:33
mailers? It's all the same. Yeah. Or
42:35
does the change only impact long form
42:36
CDRs? Also, will this make it harder to
42:38
pass CDRs? That's the question right
42:40
there, I think.
42:42
Um,
42:44
yeah, that's that's the question we're
42:46
going to be watching is, but yeah,
42:48
they're they're going to be doing all
42:49
CDRs in-house now and with
42:53
very minimal staffing that they're going
42:56
to be pulling. I've already heard
42:57
they're going to be pulling people from
42:58
all over the place and minimal training.
43:02
So, you have to keep up on it. and
43:06
whether it's going to be harder. It's
43:08
there's going to be more confusion and
43:10
it's going to take time. And I think
43:11
there's going to be a lot more mistakes
43:13
until the people that are starting off
43:16
fresh doing this who have never done
43:17
this before, the DDS's, the disability
43:19
determination services throughout the
43:21
country. They've been doing it for
43:23
years. So, they got a whole procedure
43:24
and everything. And now they're going to
43:25
bring those inhouse to Social Security.
43:28
Um, and there's going to be a learning
43:30
curve. And hopefully you are not part of
43:32
the learning curve. So [snorts] when
43:35
approved for widows benefits, will I
43:37
have to pay taxes on it if it's one lump
43:39
sum? Yeah, you need to talk to depends
43:41
how much it is and so I would talk to a
43:43
tax professional. Do you think Congress
43:45
will pass funding to protect full
43:47
funding of the social security if not
43:48
fully funded? Do you think they will
43:50
make changes gradual like they did or
43:52
changes made before? They can't do
43:54
gradual. They've kicked that can down
43:56
the road for 40 years. Um, Gradual was
43:59
doing something, you know, 40, 30 years,
44:01
20 years, 10 years ago, but, uh, yeah,
44:03
they're beyond now. It's it's we're
44:06
about to hit the wall and there's no
44:08
time to really make a really good. So,
44:10
that's that that was the plan to kick
44:12
the can down the road and say, I'm going
44:13
to protect Social Security by doing
44:15
nothing. And sure, you're going to get a
44:18
cut by 23%, but we're going to use that
44:20
opportunity to tell you, hey, we tried
44:23
nothing and we're all out of ideas. So,
44:28
you can either get a 23% cut or we can
44:31
just go ahead and give all this money to
44:32
our buddies on Wall Street and uh yeah,
44:36
I'm sure that will go very very well.
44:37
So, that was I would argue that's always
44:40
been the intention. So, and you can
44:42
actually look at it. There was an
44:44
article written in the 80s that
44:46
basically said that. So, it's yeah, it's
44:49
it's yeah, I've got it blinked on a
44:52
bunch of my pages that article that
44:55
manifesto. so much for doing a um video
45:00
yesterday about the changes to CDRs and
45:02
thank you also for playing my question
45:05
um about uh the CDRs. So, another
45:09
concern came to mind and I might as well
45:11
just
45:13
with all the changes going on and I'll
45:16
be transparent. Um I am blind. Um, and a
45:20
thing that I'm concerned about is that
45:22
they might lump everybody together, such
45:25
as a one-sizefits-all disability. I hope
45:27
that they don't, but I'm wondering uh
45:30
what to do if they do because there are
45:32
a lot of blind people who are gainfully
45:34
employed and who don't need disability.
45:36
Unfortunately, with certain things in my
45:39
life, I do need disability. And so, I'm
45:42
wondering what to do if they say, "Well,
45:44
other blind people work. What do you
45:46
need us for? Have a nice day." And as I
45:48
mentioned that I do have a review coming
45:49
up fairly soon. Um I'm trying not to
45:53
worry about it. Like you said, don't
45:54
worry about it until I get it. But with
45:56
all these changes and especially with
45:58
them leaving DDS and doing everything
46:00
through concern anyway, please let me
46:03
know your thoughts. I hope to hear from
46:04
you soon through your next video. And
46:08
thank you again for all you do for all
46:09
of us in the community. And I do let
46:12
people know about you as well.
46:13
>> Awesome.
46:13
>> Have a great day.
46:14
>> Awesome. So she helps people in the
46:16
community as well. get that information.
46:17
We appreciate it. Okay. So, yeah. Um
46:21
there's certain there's different
46:23
thresholds for uh people that are blind.
46:26
Um and for substantial gainful activity
46:30
for regular people, for well,
46:32
everybody's regular, but for regular uh
46:35
non-blind, it's called it's $1,690.
46:38
And for if you're blind this year, it's
46:40
what $2,830.
46:41
So, there's different things in there,
46:44
different uh um limitations um for
46:48
people that are visually impaired.
46:50
In terms of the CDR, yeah, it's my
46:52
philosophy, you know, forget about it
46:53
until you actually get it. Um and we're
46:56
coming up with a program to help you
46:58
navigate the CDRs and actually it's it's
47:00
coming out uh yeah, fairly soon here.
47:02
I'm going to be heading over to chapter
47:04
um and see what they can do here. Um,
47:07
but
47:09
yeah, you just have to
47:12
I I can't tell you what's going to
47:14
happen with the new way they're going to
47:16
be processing these continuing
47:17
disability reviews and trying to kick
47:20
people off disability, whatever, because
47:23
here's here's what they got planned. And
47:26
on paper, sure, that's great. Get a a
47:31
dedicated unit that only does CDRs,
47:34
that's perfect. I you know if it's if
47:36
it's instituted well and is run well and
47:39
they do that continual improvement
47:42
um kaizen is as is called continual
47:44
improvement then in a few years it'll be
47:48
perfect
47:49
but that learning curve that's what I'm
47:53
afraid of. So, what we have to do is if
47:58
we're going to put together a a program
48:00
so you can let us know what experiences
48:02
you had in this new situation and
48:05
there's going to be other people
48:06
throughout the country that are going to
48:07
be in the same situation. And before
48:10
there's one good thing about it is with
48:12
CDRs before it was broken up into you
48:16
know the 50 different states.
48:19
So one person's experience in Idaho was
48:22
different than one person's experience
48:24
in Florida or Alabama or whatever. But
48:26
now since they're going to be putting it
48:27
in house centrally under social
48:29
security, all the experiences are going
48:32
to be the same. So people are going to
48:33
be able to fight better in mass. So that
48:38
is a good thing in that regard. So we're
48:40
going to keep an eye on that for y'all.
48:44
>> Hey Dr. Ed, this is uh Mark Chapman. Um,
48:48
I just started receiving my social
48:51
security uh last year. Started on
48:53
January. I got a full year in and also
48:56
worked part-time job and I kept it under
48:59
234.
49:01
And I thought I was good, but
49:04
somebody was saying that you have to add
49:06
half of your yearly social security
49:09
income to that side job and and also be
49:13
under 234. Um, if that's true, I'm
49:16
totally screwed. [laughter]
49:18
But, uh, I would really like to know if
49:21
that's if that's possible that that's
49:23
wrong or as long as I stay under 234 on
49:27
my side job or do you have to combine
49:29
the two together? That's what that's
49:30
what my question is. So,
49:32
>> okay. No. Yep. Your friend is your
49:34
friend is wrong. And the Marine Corps
49:35
used to call those barracks lawyers. Um,
49:38
so what that person is talking about is
49:41
taxes. whether you pay taxes on your
49:45
social security benefits. And that's
49:46
where the half thing comes in that
49:48
they're talking about. So you take your
49:49
income and then add half of your social
49:53
security benefit and that determines
49:55
whether you paid taxes on your social
49:57
security benefits. So that's what that
49:59
person they confuse taxation with the
50:03
annual earnings limit, which is what
50:05
you're talking about. And the answer,
50:07
you're good. You're good. So don't sweat
50:09
it. As long as your your part-time work
50:12
this year it's $24,480.
50:15
So as long as you stay under $24,480,
50:18
you're golden. Golden. And if you go
50:20
over, then Social Security will just
50:22
hold back $1 for every $2 you go over.
50:25
So and and
50:27
if you go over and you work a little bit
50:30
more starting October, November,
50:32
December, and you start freaking out, oh
50:33
my gosh, I'm gonna be $1,000 over. I'm
50:35
gonna make 25$26,000. What am I going to
50:37
do? Social Security is going to do this,
50:38
that, and the other. Now,
50:41
if if it happens, if if you go $1,000
50:44
over, just take $500, put it away, and
50:48
then when you get the nasty nasty grant
50:50
from Social Security next year, it'll
50:53
say, "Hey, you said you were going to
50:55
stay under the annual earnings limit.
50:56
You didn't. You made $1,000 over. You
50:58
owe us $1,000." And you can take that
50:59
$500 and pay. Or you can say, "Yeah,
51:03
yep, yep. My bad." you know, um, but I
51:07
want that $500. Go ahead and set me up
51:09
with a payment plan. Let's make a a
51:11
60-month payment plan. So, you got a you
51:13
got a $500 interest free loan there. Um,
51:16
and and it's and it's, as I always say,
51:19
you know, it's like, oh, they'll they'll
51:21
hold it against No, they're not going to
51:22
hold it against you. It's um it doesn't
51:24
go on your permanent record. Um, like
51:27
your, you know, elementary school
51:29
principal said about that spitball
51:31
incident. It's not on your p your
51:33
permanent record. So, um I think Oh,
51:38
I think we got all the video questions
51:40
today. Yeah, it looks like we got all
51:42
the video questions today. So, and you
51:44
can you can record a video question and
51:45
send it in. You go to my website
51:46
mygovexpert.com
51:48
bottom left. You can record a v video
51:50
there and I'll answer it uh the
51:52
following day. Filed um 1125 multiple
51:57
physical limitations with RFC letter uh
51:59
residual function letter on California
52:02
SDI. no physical CE but sent for
52:04
psychology c consultative exam. That's
52:07
that's what happens if you file for
52:09
disability or have a continuing
52:11
disability review and they determine
52:13
that there's not enough or whatever
52:17
medical not sufficient medical evidence.
52:19
So they send you to a social security
52:22
contracted doctor. That's what a
52:23
consultative exam is. Um is it a good
52:26
sign there was no physical CE and record
52:28
suffice? Um no it doesn't mean one thing
52:31
or another. Yeah. So, it just means they
52:35
didn't need to send you to a physical
52:37
and and yeah, maybe they have the
52:38
documentation, but that doesn't mean one
52:41
thing or the other. So,
52:44
how long does it take to get my check
52:46
once I file at 62? Um,
52:50
if you file a couple months before, then
52:53
you'll get your check when you're
52:55
supposed to. Just make sure you check
52:56
your earnings record and stuff. But
52:58
remember 62 if you were born on the
53:01
first they can you can get your benefits
53:04
the month the month you turn 62 but if
53:06
not if you were born in the second third
53:08
or any other day of the month you have
53:11
to be 62 the entire month. So if you
53:14
were not if so let's say you're 62
53:17
next month in April and you were not
53:20
born on April Fools. You were born on
53:21
any other day than April Fools. you have
53:24
to be 62 the entire month and in April
53:27
you're not. So you're not going to start
53:29
your benefits until May. Your first
53:31
benefit check will come for May. But
53:33
that May check comes in June. So there's
53:36
that.
53:39
Does it change anything if married 14
53:41
years then divorced and he took his own
53:43
life? Um no. It's other than you were
53:49
married at least 10 years. So, um, so
53:52
that's good for that requirement. You're
53:54
not currently married, but this would be
53:57
a surviving spouse thing. So, you
54:00
actually can get married after the age
54:02
of 60 and continue to can receive
54:04
surviving spouse benefits. So, you can
54:06
receive surviving spouse benefits as
54:08
early as 60 years old. Actually, 50
54:11
years old if you're disabled. It's
54:13
called disabled widows benefits. So,
54:18
all right. Let's see what other C. Can a
54:21
child that will be 18 in August lose
54:24
their benefits even if they don't
54:26
graduate until the following year? Um,
54:30
temporarily, yes. Basically, I think
54:33
there was another question. Let me show
54:36
I think I had another video here.
54:39
um they will automatically stop the
54:42
benefits at 18 and you have to go down
54:44
there prove that the child is still in
54:47
high school. So they'll continue the
54:49
benefits until the child graduates high
54:51
school or 19 and two months. So if it's
54:54
still in high school at 19 and two
54:56
months they'll uh Yeah. Okay. Here's the
54:58
other video question. The last video
55:00
question you uh you reminded me that I
55:02
had one question. My daughter was
55:04
diagnosed as disabled under age 18 and
55:07
she is now age 31. She has not been
55:11
receiving her disability payments since
55:13
she graduated from high school. I would
55:16
like to know what I need to do to get
55:18
her benefit started again as a disabled
55:21
adult. She is not able to hold a
55:25
full-time job because of her disability.
55:27
Her father passed away some time ago and
55:31
I'm still working full-time.
55:34
She does have a small child under age
55:37
18, which I am her legal guardian and
55:41
I'm pretty sure that she qualifies for
55:43
disability benefits as well. Can you
55:47
please tell me what I need to do to get
55:50
my daughter that was declared dis
55:52
disabled as an underage teenager who is
55:55
now an adult back on her disability?
56:00
Does this affect my social security when
56:03
I retire? I would greatly appreciate any
56:07
guidance you would give me. Thank you.
56:11
>> Okay.
56:13
All right. So the child was receiving
56:15
benefits
56:17
under this. It sounds like uh um wonder
56:21
if the child was receiving the your
56:23
daughter was receiving
56:25
benefits from the father that passed
56:27
away. So that would be surviving child
56:29
benefits just regular benefits up until
56:32
um 18 until they graduated high school
56:34
or 19 and two months. or if the child
56:37
was receiving SSI or disability benefits
56:43
either SSI welfare based program or
56:46
disability benefits called disabled
56:48
adult child or actually because it be
56:50
before before 18 but anyway it depends
56:52
on what that whole situation is but
56:54
going forward
56:56
if I I would have her file for benefits
56:59
file for when when she goes to social
57:02
security and say hey I want to file for
57:04
disability benefits and she'll will file
57:06
for three different things. Make sure
57:08
they address everything. She's going to
57:11
file for disability benefits called
57:13
SSDI, Social Security disability
57:15
insurance, because you said she did work
57:17
some, but she may or may not be insured
57:20
under her own record. But they will take
57:22
an SSDI application, Social Security
57:25
disability insurance. They will also
57:27
take an SSI application, that's the
57:30
welfarebased program, low-inccome, low
57:32
resources, and also ask them about a
57:35
DAC, disabled adult child benefit, and
57:38
say yes, she was disabled before the age
57:40
of 22. And they'll have to go through
57:42
the process approving that unless
57:45
earlier she was on disability benefits.
57:48
Um, but they'll still have to go through
57:49
the record and re reapprove it. So,
57:52
those are the three things. And at the
57:54
same time um that she has also she has a
57:58
child that's also receiving that's also
58:01
disabled then file for disability
58:05
benefits for the child and that will
58:07
just be um SSI supplemental security
58:11
income for the child unless the parent
58:14
is approved. If the parent is approved
58:17
then the child can get disabled adult
58:20
child benefits once they turn 18 years
58:22
old. So, three things, um, SSI, SSDI,
58:27
and DAC benefits. The the more money is
58:30
probably going to be in the DAC
58:31
benefits, disabled adult child benefits,
58:33
based on her her father's record, um,
58:36
who probably paid more than than she
58:39
did. So, that's probably the most money.
58:41
So, I would probably have them start
58:44
with that. Hey, disabled adult child
58:45
benefits, you know, we want to go with
58:48
that. um and maybe SSI in the interim to
58:53
at least get some money started there.
58:54
So,
58:58
all right, let's see here. We're getting
59:00
down to the end. Please address survivor
59:02
benefits when husband dies at age 40. I
59:05
collected survivors at 60, left mine to
59:07
grow at 70. My social security is now
59:09
1650. What are rules for? That's the
59:12
letter I was talking about. The the uh
59:16
um the rib dib
59:19
excuse me, the whip rib letter. So, you
59:23
started collecting survivor benefits at
59:24
60. So, you did the right thing and a
59:27
lot of people think it it starts at 62.
59:29
So, you got two years of advantage there
59:31
um of extra benefits or not extra your
59:34
but a lot of people think it benefits
59:36
start at 62, but you were smart enough
59:38
to realize it started at 60. So, that's
59:41
good. and then you were smart enough to
59:43
realize, hey, I won't touch mine because
59:46
mine will continue to increase until I
59:47
hit 70 years old. So, you're you're way
59:50
ahead of the game. Um, now
59:54
that is not automatic. You probably
59:56
received a letter from Social Security,
59:58
a whip rib letter that says, "Hey,
1:00:00
you're receiving survivor benefits and
1:00:02
your benefits are X amount. We just want
1:00:04
to let you know that your benefits on
1:00:06
your own record is more and we can't
1:00:07
switch you automatically because they
1:00:10
can't." um they should at 70 years old,
1:00:13
but for some reason they don't. Um you
1:00:15
actually have to file an application. So
1:00:17
contact Social Security and say, "Hey,
1:00:19
how much is my I just want to triple
1:00:21
check. How much is the money on my if I
1:00:23
start my benefits right now? 70 years
1:00:24
old. Hopefully uh let let mine grow to
1:00:29
age 70. Hopefully
1:00:33
you're close to 70. Hope, please tell me
1:00:37
you're not 60 or 71, 72, 73 and you
1:00:40
missed all those earnings, all all that
1:00:42
money.
1:00:43
Hopefully, if you're 70 and a half, then
1:00:48
you're fine because you can actually go
1:00:50
back 6 months and get 6 months of
1:00:53
retroactive back pay. Um, but if you're
1:00:55
past 70 and a half and social security
1:00:59
can't find a reason that they
1:01:01
misinformed you or something,
1:01:04
then you might have lost benefits. So
1:01:06
hopefully,
1:01:07
so yeah, reach out to this, reach out to
1:01:09
Social Security number one, and say,
1:01:11
"How much is the benefit of my own
1:01:12
record?" And then if it's more than what
1:01:14
you're currently receiving, go get that
1:01:16
money. So all right, we are over an
1:01:19
hour. Um, I will be back again tomorrow
1:01:22
and come up with another topic of the
1:01:24
day and answer a whole bunch of other
1:01:25
questions. Y'all take care. Have a
1:01:26
beautiful day. And please, please,
1:01:28
please take care of each other. Bye-bye.