In November, I will be turning 62-years old. Rather remarkable since I never expected to live this long when I received my bad diagnosis. Interstitial lung diseases hit during the prime earning years, as mine did when I was not even 50-years old. I applied for Social Security Disability in December of 2005 and was declared disabled beginning August of 2005 but it took until May of 2006 to get that information. Along with the approval, I also qualified for Medicare. After two years of being declared disabled, I would be able to received Medicare.
My original blog about this process is HERE
Medicare. My insurance premiums dropped from $1,000 per month to $90.00 but I still needed to buy Gap Coverage. I was paralyzed with too much information to choose a plan. I talked about it constantly during rehab until finally one of the women said, "Please just shut up and phone AARP!" I did, spoke with a fantastic gentleman who led me through it all and suddenly, my premium costs for medical and prescriptions were around $350.00 a month. We could afford to stay in our home. Having Medicare saved us financially.
Other information that I learned: No insurance company could turn me down for gap insurance as I was under 57-years old. Barely. By months. If I had been declared disabled less than 6-months later, I would not have been able to buy any gap coverage. The gods were with me.
So, why is turning 62-years old this year a milestone? I will be applying for Social Security. Real Social Security. Because I had worked most of our married life, I will be receiving my earned retirement benefits. How did I find this out? Social Security sent me a letter telling me to apply. It was implied that it would be foolish to wait until I was 65-years old as I was not expected to live very long.
In August, I will have a meeting with Social Security to fill out the paperwork and will receive more money per month than what I am now receiving through SSI Disability.
No comments:
Post a Comment