Get the most out of the new Medicare drug coverage! Everyone wants to get the most out of their retirement benefits -- not to mention the best medical coverage and prescription drug benefits. Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions clearly explains what the different benefits are, and shows you how to claim what you've earned, including: *the new Medicare prescription-drug coverage *Social Security retirement and disability benefits *Social Security dependents and survivor benefits *Supplemental Security Income *federal, state and local government pensions *Medicare and Medicaid *medigap insurance and Medicare managed-care plans *veterans benefits The 11th edition is completely updated to provide the latest information: Learn about "Medicare Part D," which now provides coverage for outpatient prescription drug costs -- understand what it covers, how to apply for it, and how to use it. You'll also find the latest on Medicare, Medicare HMOs and other managed care plans, as well as the 12 types of medigap health plans. This plain-English book is a must-have for anyone age 60 or over, and anyone who helps care for an elder.

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Introduction Social Security is the general term that describes a number of related programs -- retirement, disability, dependents, and survivors benefits. These programs operate together to provide workers and their families with some monthly income when their normal flow of income shrinks because of the retirement, disability, or death of the person who earned that income. The Social Security system was initially intended to provide financial security for older Americans. It was meant to help compensate for limited job opportunities available to older people in our society. And it was intended to help bridge the financial gaps created by the disappearance of the multigenerational family household -- a break-up caused in large measure by the need for American workers to move around the country to find decent employment. Unfortunately, this goal of providing financial security is today increasingly remote. The combination of rapidly rising living costs, stagnation of benefit amounts, and penalties for older people who continue to work has made the amount of support offered by Social Security less adequate with each passing year. This shrinking of the Social Security safety net makes it that much more important that you get the maximum benefits to which you are entitled. This chapter explains how Social Security programs operate in general. It is helpful to know how the whole system works before determining whether you qualify for a particular benefit program and how much your benefits will be. Once you understand the basic premises of Social Security, you will be better equipped to get the fullest benefits possible from all Social Security programs for which you might qualify. (See Chapters 2, 3, and 5.) History of Social Security Public images of our society generally render invisible many millions of economically hard-pressed older Americans. The older person with little income and assets is left out of the standard media pictures of two-car, two-kid suburbanites and of wealthy retired couples in gated luxury communities. Modern Western capitalism produces expendable workers. And the most vulnerable, such as people older than 65, are the most easily expended. In the most advanced of modern industrial nations, the United States, the position of expendable workers is the worst. The richest 1% of U.S. households control about 40% of the nation's wealth, and the poorest 20% of the population earn only about 5% of total after-tax income. These figures for the distribution of wealth are twice as large as those of Great Britain, a society commonly thought to have a wide divide separating rich and poor. During periods of extreme economic retrenching, the number of people cast off by the economy spills over the normal barriers of invisibility. And with so many people during these crises sharing their complaints about economic injustice, it is sometimes difficult to keep them all under control. One such period of extreme economic dislocation was the Depression of the 1930s. Many millions of people were displaced -- not only from job, home, and family, but from any hope for a place in the economy. 1. The Beginning of Social Security Faced with this crisis and with the possibility of massive social upheaval, Franklin Roosevelt and Congress decided to act. Roosevelt pushed through a number of programs of national financial assistance -- one of which was a system of retirement benefits called Social Security, enacted into law in 1935.

 

The 11th edition is completely updated to provide the latest information: Learn about "Medicare Part D," which now provides coverage for outpatient prescription drug costs -- understand what it covers, how to apply for it, and how to use it. You'll also find the latest on Medicare, Medicare HMOs and other managed care plans, as well as the 12 types of medigap health plans. This plain-English book is a must-have for anyone age 60 or over, and anyone who helps care for an elder.

Introduction 1. Social Security: The Basics A. History of Social Security B. Social Security Defined C. Eligibility for Benefits D. Earning Work Credits E. Determining Your Benefit Amount F. Your Social Security Earnings Record G. Reading Your Social Security Statement H. Correcting Your Record I. U.S. Citizens' Rights to Receive Benefits While Living Abroad J. Receiving Benefits as a Noncitizen 2. Social Security Retirement Benefits A. Work Credits Required B. Timing Your Retirement C. The Amount of Your Retirement Check D. Working After Claiming Early Retirement Benefits 3. Social Security Disability Benefits A. Who Is Eligible B. What Is a Disability C. Amount of Disability Benefit Payments D. Collecting Additional Benefits E. Review of Your Eligibility F. Returning to Work 4. Social Security Dependents Benefits A. Who Is Eligible B. Calculating Dependents Benefits C. Eligibility for More Than One Benefit D. Working While Receiving Benefits E. Public Employee Pension Offset 5. Social Security Survivors Benefits A. Who Is Eligible B. Whether the Deceased Had Enough Work Credits C. Amount of Survivors Benefits D. Eligibility for More Than One Benefit E. Working While Receiving Benefits F. Offset for Public Employment Pension 6. Supplemental Security Income A. Who Is Eligible B. Benefit Amounts C. Reductions to Benefits 7. Applying for Benefits A. Retirement, Dependents, and Survivors Benefits B. Disability Benefits C. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) D. Finding Out What Happens to Your Claim 8. Appealing a Social Security Decision A. Reconsideration of Decision B. Administrative Hearing C. Appeal to the National Appeals Council D. Lawsuit in Federal Court E. Lawyers and Other Assistance 9. Federal Civil Service Retirement Benefits A. Two Retirement Systems: CSRS and FERS B. Retirement Benefits C. Disability Benefits to Federal Workers D. Payments to Surviving Family Members E. Applying for CSRS or FERS Benefits 10. Veterans Benefits A. Types of Military Service Required B. Compensation for Service-Connected Disability C. Pension Benefits for Financially Needy Disabled Veterans D. Survivors Benefits E. Medical Treatment F. Getting Information and Applying for Benefits 11. Medicare A. The Medicare Maze B. Medicare: The Basics C. Part A Hospital Insurance D. How Much Medicare Part A Pays E. Part B Medical Insurance F. How Much Medicare Part B Pays G. Part D Prescription Drug Coverage 12. Medicare Procedures: Enrollment, Claims, and Appeals A. Enrolling in Part A Hospital Insurance B. Enrolling in Part B Medical Insurance C. Medicare's Payment of Your Medical Bills D. Paying Your Share of the Bill E. How to Read a Medicare Summary Notice F. Appealing the Denial of a Claim G. Medicare Part D: Enrollment, Exceptions, and Appeals H. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) 13. Medigap Insurance A. Gaps in Medicare B. Standard Medigap Benefit Plans C. Terms and Conditions of Medigap Policies D. Finding the Best Medicare Supplement 14. Medicare Managed Care Plans A. The Structure of Managed Care B. Choosing a Medicare Managed Care Plan C. Comparing Medigap and Managed Care Plans D. Your Rights When Joining, Leaving, or Losing Managed Care Coverage 15. Medicaid and State Supplements to Medicare Index

"Anyone who can write a readable guide to Medicare should get a medal.... Why can't the system be as straightforward as this book?"

 

"Offers clear explanations of what to expect from a remarkable safety net that has withstood the test of time..."

 

"The inside scoop on how to get the most out of the current system..."

 

Joseph Matthews has been an attorney since 1971, and from 1975 to 1977 he taught at the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. He has for many years been involved in matters relating to seniors, and is the author of Social Security, Medicare & Pensions and Beat the Nursing Home Trap, as well as How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim.

 

Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions by Joseph L. Matthews
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