Should You Take Social Security EARLY Because It’s Going To “Run Out Of Money? | May 5th, 2026

Book a call-in slot for upcoming shows here: https://medicareschool.com/medicareschool-daily/

Call in directly to the show at: 833-824-4004
For immediate Medicare enrollment assistance, call our team at 800-782-6676

Medicare School Daily airs Monday–Thursday, 11 AM–12 PM CST.

There’s a lot of talk about Social Security “running out of money”—and it’s leading many people to wonder if they should take benefits early because of it.

On today’s Medicare School Daily, we’re talking through what’s actually happening with Social Security, what that concern really means, and how timing your decision can impact your long-term income.

We look forward to taking your calls! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

We've all heard rumors that Social Security is going to run out of money. Obviously, we don't know exactly when, and there's been a lot of things that have been proposed in effort to kind of talk about this issue or solve this issue. So in today's episode, we're going to be talking about that. Should you take Social Security early? Should you wait until your full retirement age, or should you take at 70 when your benefit is the greatest? That answer varies a little bit for everyone, but we're going to share our take on the whole. Should you take Social Security early just to get what may be possible? I'm joined in the studio today by my dad, Marvin Music. We've been working and helping people with Medicare for 15 years now. We've talked to hundreds of thousands of people, educated millions on the internet. This show is your opportunity to get a question of yours answered by truly the leading educator on Medicare, and that's my dad. So take advantage of that opportunity. The phone number is at the bottom of the screen, 833-824-2004. There is a lot of Medicare confusion. You've come to the place where that can be demystified. Because once you get to the bottom of it, Medicare is not really that confusing. It's been made confusing by so many insurance carriers and so many people that are trying to sell you something. But on uh at this show, we're not here to sell you anything. We're here to simply walk you through the basics of Medicare, help you understand it so you know what plan works for you. And if you have questions, call in. We're not going to sell you anything. Our company is MedicareSchool.com. We're a team of licensed brokers. So after the fact, if you need help, we can help you with Medicare supplement plans, Medicare Advantage plans, prescription drug plans, whatever it is, we're here to serve you for life. Okay, so Dad, let's talk about this.

SPEAKER_06 1:49

All right. Well, let's begin with the kind of the magical date that just came out, and that is that uh by 2033, so uh less than uh seven years from now, six years and a few months, uh they predict that the um Social Security Trust Fund uh will be depleted.

unknown 2:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 2:06

Depleted fully. Depleted fully. Okay. Yeah. So what that means is that um uh uh you know Social Security really is kind of a pay as you go system. Okay. Today's workers are paying for the uh today's retirees.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 2:21

And so what has happened through the years is there has been a surplus that's called the trust fund. And so uh there's basically two types of trust funds. We have the trust fund that's for old age and survivor insurance, right? For people retiring and survivors, and then we have the disability trust fund. The disability trust fund is not an uh is uh it's not a problem. In fact, they say it'll last for uh to 2090. Why is that? Well, because there's fewer people that take from that predictor trust fund. Uh and so it's just stronger, that's all. But uh the the main uh problem right now is uh 2033, the um OA you know, old age survivor uh insurance trust fund will be depleted. So what we're saying is this Social Security uh is not going bankrupt, but what it has right now is a cash flow crisis. More is going um out than is coming in. And so that trust fund is slowly being depleted, and we're saying it's gonna be gone by um uh 2033, so which means this, that then it will just be the um uh you know the the taxes that are coming in through payroll taxes, right? And so that then that's all we had, meaning if Congress doesn't make some type of an adjustment, and we know they're gonna do something, we just don't know what yet, but if they don't make an adjustment, that means that the average benefit in 2033 would be reduced by about 24 percent. Okay? So roughly a quarter. So if someone's getting a $2,800 benefit, uh they're gonna only get $2,100. So on average, it's about a $700 reduction. Uh so that's substantial. That is with the millions of people that are on, and so everyone would take a would take a reduction. And so the the issue is right now the the biggest problem really, Josh, is that you've got all kinds of baby boomers that have been retiring. I think baby boomers are what, 47 to 64, something like that. Uh so they've been retiring in large numbers. Uh and now what also what's happened, uh you know, life expectancy is much longer. Uh when they started Social Security back in 1935, they had no idea people are going to live to the length they are living now. Also, uh Josh, we have a real problem in our country and that we have lower birth rates.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

No, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 4:25

Uh we have fewer people that are working. So um uh And that's been going on a while. Oh, exactly right. And so all these things have led to this Social Security problem. And so um uh really the question we're addressing today is, you know, what should people do? So I I want to talk a little bit about um uh I think my view, and my view is, you know, I'm I'm just just my opinion. But I think that if people do decide to take early, we know they can take at 62. The problem is uh they're gonna lose 30 percent uh of of their full retirement age benefit anyways. So you're gonna get a reduction if you take a 62, and we know there's gonna be a potential reduction in 2033. But again, if there's some adjustments by the government, I think there was gonna be some for sure, then you're really locking in a long-term loss if you take now. That's my view. And not only are you gonna lock in the loss, but if you keep working, and most people are still gonna keep working, well, you're you're gonna be very limited as to how much money you can make, called the earnings test. So right now, if someone is 62 up to uh the year they turn for retirement age, they can only make $24,480.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

So someone's so they're getting a reduction. Yeah, going to get a reduction. And then they're gonna get another reduction because they're probably gonna keep working. Uh exactly. Because the whole idea is like I can I'm able to work, I just want to get what little money I can when I can.

SPEAKER_06 5:42

Yeah. So if someone is really concerned there's not going to be some type of a correction uh you know by the government, and and and if they're just working a part-time job, take. But you're you're still gonna get a reduction. Uh because if we take uh from if our my full retirement age is sixty-seven, I take it sixty-two, I've lost a full 30 percent. And if I keep working, i uh if you're above twenty-four thousand four hundred and eighty dollars a year, now all of a sudden uh they're gonna start withholding some of your checks anyways, uh of which you'll get that money back eventually, but it's prorated. So my point is if someone has a good paying job, they're making sixty, seventy, eighty thousand dollars a year, I still would wait if I were if I were them, because you're you're you're you're eligible, but they're gonna reduce it. Uh so that that's my view. If if we're if we have a part-time job and we think it's gonna uh you know you know be depleted in six years, we'll go ahead and take it. It's fine. But uh I think the earnings test uh is going to impact most people today.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

So let's talk about it. So let's say your benefit was 2,000 at your full retirement age, right? You start early, which is uh 62, you're gonna have a 30 percent reduction. That means you're gonna get 1,400. So let's say you continue to work there. So how does the math work like to where that earnings test has reduced all of their potential income? Okay, but they take a dollar for every two dollars?

SPEAKER_06 6:59

Yeah, right. For uh for every two dollars above the earnings test, let's just make up a number. Let's say it's let's say it's forty thousand above. Okay, so is that decent?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Well, I mean, what's the base? Is it $24,400? $24,480. Okay. So and if they're at $1,400, then $24,480.

SPEAKER_06 7:15

Um if they say below that, there's no penalty. So just what I'm saying to you is just add $40,000 to it. Uh so now you're at you're at sixty sixty-four thousand four eighty. Uh so for every two dollars above that, they're gonna reduce it your your check. So you they do it on an annual basis. So you can do the math on that.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah, I am twenty-four, four eighty. So essentially, if you have a job that's making m over fifty-eight thousand dollars, you're not gonna get a check.

SPEAKER_06 7:42

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

So because it will have been reduced because you took early, and then we'll a hundred percent of that will go away through the earnings tax.

SPEAKER_06 7:48

That's exactly right. And that money is set aside, but they're just gonna recalculate your benefit for retirement age, so it's not gonna be a lump sum payment.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:55

So there's no reason. And what I'm saying, most people are above that.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:58

Because you take $58,000, that that's someone that's making what, 20%, what would that be together? Divided by what? $29 an hour. Yeah. Okay. Most people today are making above that. Right? I always do $2,000, yeah. Yeah, 28. Yeah, exactly. Right. So I do 2,000 uh you know hours in a year. So uh I just see no benefit in doing that.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Uh not only go ahead. So let's talk about okay. So somebody who is, let's say they're already retired and they're done working. They're just I'm done at 65 because I'm starting Medicare, I've worked for, you know, 45 years, this is it. I've got retirement nesting set up. What what about them? Is the strategy okay? Like, let me take what I can when I can?

SPEAKER_06 8:36

Yeah, I think so if if they're if they're comfortable with that, because I can't sit here and predict what's going to happen from 2033. So if they're more comfortable taking it, because here's why. If if they do take early, we know that if they live to be probably 82 to 85 or beyond, then they may be disappointed because they could have you know had a greater amount. But if their life expectancy is low, no no one in their family lives much past 80, uh, they can go ahead and take.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Okay, so let's talk about that break-even point. Because I think there's like three camps in my mind. There's probably a thousand camps, but three big ones. I'm I I think Social Security is gonna run out of money, so I'm gonna take, I'm just gonna take money now. If I can, I'm gonna continue working. If you're making over 58,000, 60 grand, don't do that. You're not gonna get anything out of it. It's like, what's the point? Then there's probably people who are retiring uh actually because they want to retire, they maybe they've got some nest egg, some savings, they're 64, 65, 66, they're not quite to their full retirement age. So how do we determine um for them what's the right answer? Because obviously there is this risk. 2033 could be gone. So what's that my question is like what's that break-even point for them to make a a decision?

SPEAKER_06 9:40

Yeah, well if if they have if they have other assets that are going to get them through retirement, then I think it's fine to go ahead and take Social Security and then I'd be betting on my assets.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Yeah, and not you dip into your assets.

SPEAKER_06 9:51

Exactly right. So if you if you're gonna have if you if they have if you have the luxury of having that option, if you can uh not get into your Nest egg and use Social Security to be your cash flow uh for a while, to me that makes sense. Okay. I would much rather bet on the market, bet on myself, and the ability to invest wisely than uh put you know put that in in the government's hands.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Though I mean I feel like everyone's always said it'll be political suicide for anyone to ever touch Social Security and maybe AI and all this technological deflation will be inflated away and then it'll be a golden era for everyone. Who knows what will happen. I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 10:25

But I I would say that the there are people well, let's just use me as an example. Uh you know, my whole goal has always been to go to 870.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 10:33

And the reason for that is because if my my wife doesn't have much Social Security, and so when I die, she would get my 100 percent of my survivor benefit. And so exactly right. So and there's I have met plenty of other people who feel the same way. Right. Let their account grow. My view is um uh I don't think it's gonna have a huge impact upon my generation. It's gonna impact your generation.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Sure.

SPEAKER_06 10:55

Let's talk about what are they what are they discussing? Here's who it's gonna hurt, Josh. It's gonna hurt high-income people and it's gonna hurt the next generation.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Okay, I know you have some kind of an overview of the solutions that are being presented for how to address this. Let's get to some callers uh and then we will hop back into that. Guys, if you want to be a part of today's show, if you want to have uh if you have a question, retirement. Let's uh let's go back into the Social Security discussion. Um I hit that before we're done today. Okay. Uh there's some things that are on the table that are being proposed in terms of how to solve this Social Security's running out of money thing. Right. So walk us through that.

SPEAKER_06 11:32

All right, let's do. First off, um uh and these are just ideas. Uh no one knows for sure what's going to happen, though I think some of these uh will definitely be implemented. The first one would be to uh raise or eliminate uh the payroll tax cap. It's called max tax. So that means that uh as we're earning income, we get to a certain place where we no longer have to pay any Social Security taxes on that income. And the max tax this year is $184,500, $184.5. So if I make up to $184.5, I'm still paying my 6.20 percent. Employers are still matching it. Um if you're self-employed, you pay the full 12.40 percent. But once I get above that, uh no more Social Security taxes are paid. No FICA taxes for that, uh for Social Security.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

So essentially for every dollar that's earned right now, 12.4 percent of that, um or for every $100, $12.40 is being sent into the Social Security. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_06 12:29

Yeah, what's interesting. 10.6 percent of that money uh goes into the uh old age survivor insurance trust fund, 1.8 percent goes into disability. Okay. That's the way they break that up. And so uh but if I get above 1845, uh no more no more Social Security tax. Now, Medicare is not like that. Medicare tax keeps going and going. It's one point four or five percent. That's right. Yeah. In fact, Medicare, uh once a person is single and they get above two hundred thousand or two hundred and fifty thousand as a married couple, they pay more.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 12:58

Uh they pay an additional point nine zero percent. Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

So they're they're paying the So what we're saying is instead of having that cap out at 140. 1845, here's what there's is that per person? Per person. Okay. So 184, I just want to do some math. 184,500 times uh.124.

SPEAKER_06 13:18

So that's if they're self-employed. They don't have to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Well, but the employer is also paying. So for for every $184,500 that is paid out in wages in this country, $22,878 is going to fund Social Security, right? Exactly right. So what we're saying is instead of capping that out, because it didn't matter if you made $10 million, you're still only putting $22,878 in that trust fund. Saying, let's just run that up. Exactly right. Remove the cap.

SPEAKER_06 13:44

Yeah, remove the cap, or what they've said is maybe they will they will say uh uh the the the cap will stop there, but then anybody that's above two hundred and fifty thousand, then they're gonna pay that additional amount. Okay. Kind of like it is with Medicare. Exactly. So that's been talked about. So either raising the cap or eliminating the cap or in some way kind of repositioning modifying the cap. So that's one. And and by the way, I I think that's gonna happen. Uh well it would kind of make sense. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah. And they also they could change the 12.40 percent, too, raise that to you know, 13 or 14 or whatever. So there's a yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

So I think hurts more lower income workers, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:21

Yeah, absolutely. So that's that's an issue. They also, which I think is gonna happen, this wouldn't affect me, it would affect you. Yeah. But in that is to raise the full retirement age.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

So like 75?

SPEAKER_06 14:30

Well, no, the talk right now is 69. Oh. So they've moved from 67 to 69. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

By the time I'm around, it'll be like 88. Yeah, yeah. Well, but back in the day, uh-huh when this first came out, like it was set for what they called old age, because life expectancy, like there were 65. Yeah, you weren't expected to need Social Security for more than two, three years. Now people are on it 15 years. Exactly. Which is wonderful. It's just the systems like doesn't have to be a very good thing. Well that's why we have world set up for that. That's right. Yeah. Longgevity of life. So it would make sense to push that out.

SPEAKER_06 15:00

That's right. From 67 to 69, I think that's one issue. The other one, and this is I'm not gonna waste much time on it, but they're talking about maybe changing the cost of living adjustment formula. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

So you don't as inflation happens, you that people don't catch up. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_06 15:13

No, they would, but they would change they would change the index. And the index, it's called the chained CPI. And all that simply means is they know that as as the cost of goods and services go up, uh people will will bite will buy l less expenses. They'll look for uh uh cheaper uh goods and services. Okay. The whole point is they use a different formula, and I read about it, and what what they say is that uh it will probably uh uh lower the cost of living adjustment by maybe about like 0.03 percent.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Sure.

SPEAKER_06 15:41

But over 10, 15 years that matters.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

Yeah, but it's also it matters to saving social security, but I think it also hurts. Hurts people.

SPEAKER_06 15:49

Yeah, exactly. I'm just saying that that's yeah, enough of that. I'm just making sure you know that's one of the uh other solutions. Another one, uh and and I think this is here's the problem with this one. This is called reducing the benefit for higher earners. Reducing the benefit for higher why is that a problem? Well, think about it. If if they if they raise the benefit, so what does that mean? It becomes more of a kind of a more of a welfare system.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:11

Yeah, because you're you're you're you're not crediting those higher earners. If they raise the max cap, they're not getting any benefit from that.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

So take it up and then lower the Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah, that's uh that's a whole philosophical question.

SPEAKER_06 16:24

And the last thing I just want to mention, Josh, is that this uh there you know, there's been talk about uh this um this capping uh the Social Security benefit uh for like $100,000. So $50,000 benefit single, $100,000 family. Okay? So people make that much money on Social Security? Well, no Well, there there will be a few. That's those who were higher earners for 35 years and and they waited to age 70. They could be getting that much money.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Well, I guess that's probably true. Oh, yeah, yeah. But not much more than that. I mean, have you ever talked to anyone who has had more than a forty, five hundred dollar a month?

SPEAKER_06 16:57

Well, there's people right now that think about maybe forty, eight hundred, yeah, because they del the higher earners delayed to age seventy. Okay. But they're saying we we're willing to put a cap on that. So anyway, they call it.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

That would have seen the least impactful.

SPEAKER_06 17:08

This is the six-figure limit that you've been reading about lately. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

I feel like that would be the least impactful.

SPEAKER_06 17:13

Yeah, I think as well. So lastly, lastly, let me remind you of this. Remember how they have the formula, the bin points? Yep. Okay, what is it? It's 90 percent, 32 percent, 15 percent, based upon those numbers. So what could they do? Instead of paying 90 percent of that first amount, they pay 85 percent. Instead of 32 or lower to 30, instead of 15, lower to 10. So they adjust Social Security benefits by changing the bin points.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

But do you know how much is spent on Social Security every year? Like how much goes out?

SPEAKER_06 17:40

I don't know. I just know the Social Security and Medicare are the two biggest federal programs. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

But I don't know how much a lot. I don't know. We're definitely in the trillions. Okay, sixty-nine million. Social security pays approximately one point six trillion in benefits annually, as of twenty twenty-five, serving nearly sixty-nine million Americans monthly. That's crazy. Yeah. Well, I I saw somewhere that they sent out one $125 billion in January.

SPEAKER_06 18:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

This is a lot of money. I guess there's a lot of people using it. Which is a pro like if if 70 million people are on it, what's the I mean that's what is that? That's like 25% of the country at least.

unknown 18:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:24

That that'd be right. Yeah, well, we have 350 million people, I think, in our country. Crazy. Yeah. So uh and and again, that's retirees, that's survivors, that's dependents. Yeah, there's all kinds of people receiving those disability. Right. And so I'll conclude this way. This so when we talk about reform, uh you basically have two buckets. You have you're either gonna have to increase revenue or decrease benefits. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so obviously it's gonna be a combination of both. They're gonna have to do both of those. And so I'm of the opinion that uh they will make some corrections. Now, the sooner the better. They keep kicking the can down the road. This is no shocker. Everyone knew this is gonna happen because it's a political you know issue. Um, but I think I think uh the sooner the the the fix it the better, because the longer they kick the can down the road, the more difficult it's gonna be to make a correction that's not so drastic.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

So chances are then making a correction in the next two years. Do you think they're gonna deal with it?

SPEAKER_06 19:15

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

I feel like whoever does it needs to do it in the first year of their term. Yeah, right? So they can let the be the bad guy. I don't know. It just sounds like political suicide. It's unless they I I think some of these changes have to be made in a way that it doesn't hurt current people. Like for me, yeah. I would explain.

SPEAKER_06 19:31

Yeah, you're doomed.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah, yeah. Well, for this, so yeah. Yeah. Okay, let's get to our first caller. We've got Colleen in Illinois. Colleen, are you there?

SPEAKER_03 19:44

I am.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Hi, welcome to Medicare School Daily. What are your questions?

SPEAKER_03 19:50

Um I thought I saw on the website that you guys have other options for people that are looking to get the retirement uh situation in order. I'm physically 65, but I haven't retired from work yet.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Like a CPA type of thing. Do you guys are you involved with that?

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Do you mean like financial, financial, like wealth advisors, that sort of stuff?

SPEAKER_03 20:15

Yeah, physically something in the energy.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Yeah, for sure. We have uh a company, it's a sister company of ours. Um, my dad and I own it. Um, but it's a kind of a whole separate division. Uh we can definitely help you with retirement, income planning, that sort of stuff. Uh absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

Is it is is it physically in your same office, that area, or I live in Illinois. Yes. I was hoping to meet with people personally to the internet's hardy.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

It is physically. Uh so we started helping people virtually back when COVID happened, you know, obviously kind of changed. So I we have you know helped so many people with their retirement finances just virtually, but we don't have an office in Illinois. We're in Overland Park, Kansas. Um Casey, Casey, you know, Kansas City area. And uh we can meet with you virtually over Zoom, go through all that stuff, um and see if it's a fit. May not be a fit, but we'd love to help if we can.

SPEAKER_06 21:12

Yeah. Let uh let you Joshua give you the number. And when you call in, uh I want you to ask for Eric. Just ask for Eric. And uh he leads that whole he leads the team, and so he'd be um uh a great person to talk to.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yeah, let me give yeah, his name is Eric, last name COFER, K-O-F-O-R-D. Um and they can schedule uh a time for you to chat with him. Their phone number for our office is 800-782 800-782-6676.

SPEAKER_03 21:41

Cool, great.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yeah, every day.

SPEAKER_03 21:46

I'm on Medicare right now. I went to you guys' program and Dylan. Oh, Dylan, okay. For lack of a better pronunciation, he helped set me up. And it's hard, I know I'll get everything in order. Um The deprescription, I think I it was supposed to be based on you know what what prescriptions you have. So I think everything's in role. That was kind of what I was trying to do, as well as I keep seeing your alerts on the emails and the um about changes, and if you don't do this, you know, you might miss this, that kind of thing, but then they kind of fly by and do something else and forget what I just heard.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

Yeah, well, there's a lot to it. If you guys set up with Dylan Dillon's wonderful, I'm sure he's got you all squared away appropriately. Um but yeah, call that number, ask for Eric Cowford, um, and then we can uh you know, see if it works. Uh see if there's if there's a fit there, okay?

SPEAKER_03 22:40

Sounds good.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

All right, okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

So the program that you Go ahead, yeah. The program that you guys are doing right now is just kind of asking questions about the Medicare program or people looking to get into it or for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Everybody and everything. That's right.

SPEAKER_06 22:55

Anything related to Medicare, Social Security investments, that's it. Our program is all about. Are you started up on Social Security?

SPEAKER_03 23:03

No, I'm still I'm uh a federal employee that I'm currently still working. Okay. And my plan God willing, if I get my 20 years of service, I'm talking May of 2027, which is right around the corner.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

So Congratulations. Yeah. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

So I'm, you know, just trying to get all this stuff in a row, and the Medicare was such a stressor, but when uh my friend referred me to Dylan, that that took some of the ease and the pressure off. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:31

All right. That sounds good. I was just curious, Colleen. Um, so you're you're you're gonna have a civil service retiree. You'll have an annuity from the government, is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 23:41

That is correct. Okay, so and I'm and I'm grateful with that fund that's doing well. I try and follow follow someone within. Good. That kind of researches the industry.

SPEAKER_06 23:51

So it's good. All right, that sounds good. And then I'm assuming you take Social Security uh probably at full retirement age. Is that what you're thinking?

SPEAKER_03 24:00

That's that is what I'm thinking. It's I just if I had that magic wand of what it's gonna be, it that helps make things easier, you know.

SPEAKER_06 24:08

Sure, sure.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

I have a little a few little funds coming from different places that I'm trying to figure out what they will be and how to spread them out, you know.

SPEAKER_06 24:15

Yeah. Well, if you can wait uh to 67, at least you don't have to take a reduction in your benefits. So uh but I will tell you Eric is Eric's a master in Social Security as well. So uh if you work with us, we will bring that into the equation as well to make sure your Social Security is timed properly and your investments are positioned where they need to be so you can um uh have the cash flow that you need in retirement without risk, and then the the money that you don't have to have for cash flow, then you can of course have some of that still at risk uh you know to cover future uh health care expenses, inflation, and taxes. So that's that's that's our approach. We try to take uh someone's assets and then we're gonna put them in one of three buckets, either a liquid bucket, an income bucket, or a growth bucket. And all the buckets are important. We want money in each of those. We just want to fund them correctly. But Eric could go over that with you. I I think you'll like Cam and I think you'll like our approach to the way we do investments. That sounds good. Okay. Well, hey, we appreciate your call today. Nice talking to you.

SPEAKER_03 25:09

You too. Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Let's go to our next caller. Uh we've got James in Michigan. James? Yes. Hey, how are you? Welcome to Medicare School Daily. What questions do you have, sir? Well, uh I was just laid off on Friday.

SPEAKER_05 25:31

Oh, quite honestly, uh I'm trying to sort through what to do at this point. Yes. And uh I can't say I've got a whole list of questions, but there's a very good possibility that I need to engage with Medicare pretty much uh. Sure. Um I'm 71 and a half, so I do have a Medicare card, but I haven't you know signed up to pay it in the past. Do you have part? Does it show part A? Part A only? Yeah, yeah, I think it does. Yeah. I don't have it in front of me, but I believe that's the case.

SPEAKER_06 26:07

Okay, are they going to cover your insurance through the end of this month or are they taking you through June? When when would the insurance at work expire?

SPEAKER_05 26:15

Yeah, they said the benefits um they said everything terminated last Friday. I thought the benefits usually went through the end of the month. Um past discussions, but I don't don't know.

SPEAKER_06 26:30

Well, uh again, uh the normally they do go through the end of the month, but there's plenty of employers that last day of employment, they cut you off the same day. I've seen it plenty of times. Uh and so and so James, you're you're you're fine as far as uh you know, if anything were to happen. Let me let me tell you how I would work this situation if I were you. Uh I definitely would want to start my Medicare B and whatever else you want beyond that, that'd be either a Medicare Advantage plan or a supplemental plan. You want it, you want all that to go into effect 6'1. Okay? Uh that would be that would be the normal way to go about this. Um and the and the way that's going to happen is this. Let's uh let's suppose that, let's say that you start your coverage 6-1, but you had it, you had a heart attack tomorrow. What would happen is you're eligible for Cobra benefits right now. So that would at least you'd have something in place.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

But when you get notice of that Cobra here in a few weeks, probably something, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:28

But remember send me some documents and say I have sixty days to decide. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 27:35

Exactly. But you've got to remember, you know, uh uh Cobra is o really only pay second to Medicare. So you you need to get moving. There's no reason to, you know, huge panic, but your B cannot start any before 6-1. Okay, so I wouldn't fret over this, don't stew over it, just get moving. And so what's gonna happen is uh and and and by the way, you work with us, we'll do all this for you and with you. We will. We're one of the few uh agencies in the country that would even tackle this stuff. But what we will do, if you call in, talk to one of our agents, we will uh do the paperwork that's necessary. Uh and and there's two documents. One is called an L564, L564, and all that is is uh is a form that's gonna verify that you've been working and you had insurance at work. Now, uh so you're 71, so let's go back six years. So but basically have you been working with that employer prior to uh like January of 2020? How long have you been with them? Okay, same employer. So we only have to have one form. So the L564, we will we will complete that paperwork for you, at least your portion, and then you're gonna send it to your HR department, and the HR department is going to complete it. And by the way, uh if they are local, you can give it to them, or if you just want to email it to them, it's fine. They'll complete it, get it back to you. That's the L564 verified credible insurance.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Did you write that down? Yes, L 564.

SPEAKER_06 28:49

Okay, good. So that's necessary. And again, we'll do this for you if you work with us. And then the other form uh your employer does not do, you would do it, and that is called the CMS 40B. CMS 40B. Very simple form. Again, we'll take care of it for you, but what it's for is to tell the Medicare when you want to begin your benefits. And so the critical part about that form is to put in the comment section please begin my Medicare B 61-2026. So the L564 verifies you have credible coverage, you can come into Medicare, no penalties, no problems, and the 40B tells them when you want to start your Medicare. And then after that, you have to decide how do you want your Medicare to work? Do you want a supplemental plan or do you want an advantage plan? My view is if you can afford a supplemental plan, and they're not crazy high, uh Josh can give you some some prices here. He'll run some prices here while while I'm talking to you. So what's going to happen is you have to decide which system you would like to use. Now, if you've never done so, if you're not, you don't feel like you're uh familiar enough to make a decision, what I'd recommend go to our website. And uh the website is MedicareSchool.com and there's a video there that's called the Essentials Workshop. It's free. There's no obligation, nothing. You just give us your email address and we'll mail you, email you that workshop. It will take you 50 minutes.

SPEAKER_05 30:08

Repeat that again. I'm writing this all down.

SPEAKER_06 30:10

Yes, sir. I know I'm going fast. Medicare school.com. That's right. That's our homepage. And then on our on our homepage, you'll see a place where it says uh schedule an appointment or watch a workshop. I uh you you need you really need to do both, but I want you for sure to watch the workshop. It's about 50 minutes long, and I promise you it's going to teach you A to Z everything that you need to know of how the Medicare system works so that you can then make a confident choice whether you want a supplemental plan or you want an advantage plan. Uh there they're both they're both Medicare options. I would say this to you. Um I I'm I'm on Medicare now. Uh I I chose a supplemental plan. Number one, I I like the flexibility of supplemental plans. You don't have to worry about networks, you don't have to worry about pre-authorizations, you don't have to worry about renewing your plan every year. They're just much simpler. However, uh I also could afford it. I can afford my premium for a supplemental plan. Some people either can't afford a premium or don't want to. And there's no right or wrong here. It's just how do you want your Medicare to work? And so the plans that have no monthly premiums are called advantage plans. Now, either way I go, either way, either way you go, sub or advantage, you have to be enrolled in Medicare A and B, you've got to pay your B premium. And so people that take an advantage plan oftentimes do so because they don't want to pay a monthly premium for the plan. They prefer to pay as they go. Go to the hospital, pay three, you know, three or four hundred dollars uh a day, have an MRI, pay two fifty, see a specialist, pay fifty. So they pay as they go. Either system you pay. And so I have preferred just to pay a premium and pretty well be done. I went with what is called a G plan. And in Illinois, uh G plans and N plans uh are both very popular. They're they're good plans. But my point is uh watch the workshop because I think it will give you a good understanding of how this system works because you're gonna have to live with this decision. Um if you take if you take an advantage plan and you stay on the advantage plan for more than a year, now you're gonna have to be on that for the rest of your life because if your health changes, you will no longer be able to get uh one of the supplemental plans. And so that's kind of where I lean. I'm not saying advantage is bad because it's not bad, but it's gonna be a different system. So I'll quit yakking about that, but I want to make sure you're clear on that. So let's go through it.

SPEAKER_05 32:25

One quick question. Do any of those um cover dental, or is that something completely separate?

SPEAKER_06 32:30

Yeah, it'd be separate. Now, sometimes your your advantage plans will give you a little dental benefit, but majority of the time it's only it's only preventive. So I wouldn't call it a you know a real dental plan. You would have to get a dental plan. Now let me ask you this are you single or married? Married. Okay, very good. Is your is your income below $218,000 a year? Income.

SPEAKER_05 32:53

Um so are you talking about the Irma thing or something?

SPEAKER_06 32:56

Yes, I'm talking about the IRM, exactly right. So they're gonna look back at 2024.

SPEAKER_05 33:02

Yeah, I think back in 2024 I was okay. Um last year I was not. Okay, okay. Okay, well, I think 2024 I was okay. Okay, well, okay, then here's what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_06 33:14

Then if you're below the threshold 2024, the rest of this year you will not have an IRMA. Then what's gonna happen if in 2025 you were above the the 218, and which will probably be like 222 next year or something, but if you're above the threshold, okay, so here's what's gonna happen though. Uh then what you can do is you can uh uh appeal your IRMA and the form is called SS44. And again, we'll help you with this. And what will happen is they're gonna look at 2025 for next year, but you can say I retired in 2026, and then what you'll get to do, uh James, is you you can give them uh your 2027 projection. So in 2027, if you think you'll be below the threshold, uh then they'll drop off the IRMA, but you have to go through the appeal process and again reach out to us and we'll help you with that. Okay? But that that makes sense. So this year, if you're uh you know, since we're looking at 2024, you're not gonna appeal anything. We're gonna wait until uh you get assessed that next year and then appeal using your life-changing event, which is work stoppage. All right, Josh ran some numbers for you. Um right now, uh the average, and again, we'll we'll we'll we're brokers, we write for a lot of companies, but right now we we see a G plan in your zip code uh at your age is $190 a month, $190.

SPEAKER_05 34:30

Per person?

SPEAKER_06 34:31

Yeah, per person. That'd be correct. That's you. You're a male, so I I didn't how old is your wife?

SPEAKER_00 34:36

She's two years older than me.

SPEAKER_06 34:38

Oh, okay, very good.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

Has she been on your group plan as well? Yes. Oh, so you're gonna have to do this process for both. Exactly right.

SPEAKER_06 34:45

So does she have does she have A only as well?

SPEAKER_05 34:49

Uh I believe so, because she's on Social Security. So that's good.

SPEAKER_06 34:53

Yeah, she would be. She's at that age, no problem. So uh Josh is right. You you've got to do an L564 for her also. And and really, Jane, just let us do all this for you. It it's so simple.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

If both of you are going on, there's carriers that have, you know, multi-policy discounts. That's pretty pretty attractive as well. Yeah. So this price could could be lower.

SPEAKER_06 35:13

He just did he gave you a standard rate, 190, an end plan is.

SPEAKER_05 35:16

And they take that out as Social Security, is that how it's No, sir.

SPEAKER_06 35:19

No, no, no, the only thing that can come out of your Social Security check will be your your Part B premium. Yep, that's right. And then your drug plan can if you want. I'm not a real fan of that, honestly. And in your area, there are actually some uh uh plans, uh drug plans that are zero premium anyways. I don't know what meds you take, but you can go through all this with with the with the agent. Okay? All right.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

And then for your wife, no, no, no, that's just the discount.

SPEAKER_06 35:44

Okay, very good. So Josh says because you're married, that G plan moves down to about 170 a month with the household discount. 170 and then in plan is 140 a month, household discount 120. So 140 uh reduced to 120 because you are married, and that's an end plan. And I'll talk about on that on that video. You see the difference between G and N. I went with the G, um it just worked for me. Um and they're and they're really they're both good. So you and again, you'll you'll see the differences. Um the good thing is neither one of you, no matter how uh unhealthy you are, healthy you are, there's no health questions, so you can get those uh guarante we call it a guaranteed issue, they will approve those policies and their lifetime. You'll never lose those as long as you pay your premium. So one of the benefits of getting uh that G plan. But you you'll you'll see in the video the two differences, and then we have to have a separate drug plan. And uh there's a couple in your area that have zero premium. Yes. Josh says there are six drug plans in your zip code that are zero premium. Now, if you're taking you know 10, 12 medications every day, probably not gonna be on a zero drug plan. But no, I got no meds. Hardly anything. Good, good. Well, that's probably gonna work.

SPEAKER_05 36:54

One very minor one.

SPEAKER_06 36:55

All right. So the main thing is get going now, and we'd love to help you. But then remember, later this year, when you get that IRMA letter for 2027, then you're going to appeal and you're gonna give them your life-changing date, which is you you know, you just got terminated here, May, and then you're gonna get you'll get the right to give them 2027 income.

SPEAKER_05 37:15

Okay. Okay. All right. So one real quick question. You know, I know you want me to, you know, you suggest and do that right away, and I I will definitely go on and listen and listen to your webinar right away. Um in terms of making a decision, because I guess I have to allow for time to get to L 50 564 form to employer and back. Right. Um, so like when when does everything actually need to be into Social Security or I'm not even sure who I filed, but yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:47

As as as soon as soon as possible. Yeah, as soon as possible. So you just want to get on that. So if you want to call in, you you better reach one of our agents today. Yeah. Uh we have people you know call in live all the time. So we would transfer you to an agent, and then they will walk you through that process. Uh the forms, uh, what needs to be filled out, where you get those two.

SPEAKER_00 38:05

Go ahead and it'll take a couple of weeks at least for Social Security to process that Part B enrollment for Medicare Part B. But because you have a Medicare number and your wife has a Medicare number, you can actually go ahead and sign up for the supplement plan or an advantage plan if you go with that way. You can sign up for the drug plan because you already have the Medicare number in place. So then we would just make everything and recommend making everything effective 6-1. And so um, yeah, I just I wouldn't put it off too much, especially getting those documents back from your HR. Um And this is why Cobra.

SPEAKER_06 38:39

You're gonna have Cobra eligibility, but once you're on Cobra, Cobra only pays second to Medicare. So if you had a large, you know, if something were to happen, there's gonna be some problems here. So that's why we're saying you want to get moving. I don't there's no panic here, but you know, we don't want to waste any time.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Okay. Okay. Yep. Okay. Well let me give you uh you got your pen? Let me give you our office phone number. It's 800 782 6676. And what are the hours that it's we're open from 7 central to 7 to 7. Yep, 7 Friday, 7. Yeah, so just call in anytime today. Yeah. So I guess that would be 8 to 8. 8 to 8 if you're on EC.

SPEAKER_06 39:24

And any agent you speak with works for us, any of them. Okay. And they're all trained by us, uh, work for us, we know them well. So you'll be in good hands, truly, with anyone that uh uh they transfer you easy to do.

SPEAKER_05 39:35

One last question I just thought of. I I think I know where my card is. I haven't even talked to my wife about any of this. I don't know if she knows where her card is. Yeah. Uh is that an issue if you don't know?

SPEAKER_06 39:47

Not at all. Because here's why. We will have to have your social security number and we can look all that up for you. No problem at all. Yeah, we got a system we can do it.

unknown 39:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 39:55

Social Security number, date of birth, address, and we can find it. Okay? Okay. And then you all get new cards anyways. So they'll they'll they'll once you once that B paperwork has been processed, then they'll send you a new A and B card.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

The number's the same, but you're gonna need that L564 and 40B for both you and your spouse. They're gonna need they're gonna be separate. So form for each one, right? That's right.

SPEAKER_06 40:15

Yeah, because both of you are gonna assess the IRMA because you file do you follow a married filing a joint return?

unknown 40:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 40:22

Okay, good. You'll both have ERMAS, and you but you can use the same dates. Yeah. Your your your life-changing event becomes her life-changing event as well. Okay?

unknown 40:30

Okay. Yep.

SPEAKER_06 40:31

All right, James.

SPEAKER_05 40:32

What other questions do you have? Uh does a life-changing event cover um then the look back for next year's. Yes. Yeah. They just want to know you've retired. Because that's when I really need it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 40:44

Well, you get to use it two years. Yeah, you can use it twice. Yeah, we're gonna be perfect. That's right. Because they're gonna look they're gonna look at twenty-five, you're gonna give them twenty-seven, then they're gonna look at twenty-six this year, and and you're and you you can give them twenty-eight. You so you'll you'll get to appeal twice.

unknown 40:58

Okay?

SPEAKER_05 40:58

Oh, wow. That's great. It is great. I need I need two years. Yes, you do. Uh, I helped my helped my son buy a buy a house last year, so I took a bunch of a big withdrawal. Oh, well, that'll do.

SPEAKER_06 41:12

Good timing then, because yeah, you can appeal twice. They they they don't they don't care uh what happened, that you just have to put on their work stoppage. Uh that'll be your reason. But we'll help you with that as well. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Nice talking to you. Nice talking to you guys. Have a good day. Take care. Bye-bye. Okay, uh, we've got another caller. Let's go to Bruno in New York. Bruno, are you there?

SPEAKER_04 41:36

Yes, I'm here.

SPEAKER_00 41:38

Okay. Uh, welcome to Medicare School Daily. I understand you've got a Medicare question.

SPEAKER_04 41:43

I do, thank you. Yes. Um just a quick background. I just turned 65 in January. Okay. Um I started Medicare on January 1st of this year. I watched a lot of your YouTube videos. Okay. And I decided to sign up for Medicare Supplement Plan G high deductible plan. Okay. I think that's also called the G Plus plan. I've read. But um my question is, I I read a lot and I thought I I understand that the Medicare the Supplement Plan G plus plan doesn't cover the Medicare Part B deductible. Um but I thought that the payment of the Part B deductible counts towards the Plan G plus uh deductible. And um I was wondering if that's the case.

SPEAKER_06 42:33

Okay. Well, what happens on the high G is this uh the insurance company that you have selected pays nothing until you've met that deductible. So Medicare always pays its part. But the the Medicare be deductible, the 20% coinsurance, if you want the hospital, you had co-pays, all those things, you're gonna have to pay the first $3,000 out of your pocket. So the $283 be deductible is included in that $3,000 amount. Exactly right. So just look at it this way. Uh uh Medicare is the first payer, and you're the second payer on everything until you hit the the the the that that amount, which is right at three grand. And then after that, uh your plan would start paying. Okay? That's the way it works.

SPEAKER_04 43:17

Yeah, the ar Yeah, that's what I thought. That's what I've been reading. But the argument I'm having with my insurance company, which is Blue Cross Blue Shield, is that they're not counting the $283 towards the $2,950 or the $3,000 that I'm supposed to pay.

SPEAKER_00 43:30

Yeah. I I I I don't know why. I have you already have you already used that much in services? Like have you have you? Are you go ahead?

SPEAKER_04 43:40

I'm sorry, I've used about half of that $283 so far, but they're not counting any of it. They're saying I have to hit the $283, and once I hit that, I'll start counting the $29.50.

SPEAKER_06 43:50

Interesting. Yeah, I I honestly have never heard that before. It's not the way it's supposed to work. Uh the way it works is yeah, that $283 is no different than if you had to pay the You know, the the a deductible. Yeah. I mean uh yeah I've I've just never heard that. I'm I'm really sorry.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

But um if you if you end up hitting all the way through 3,000, which I hope you don't, call us back and let us know how they end up calculating that.

SPEAKER_06 44:14

But it makes no sense because basically you that's just another gap. That gap is no different than the excess charge or the a deductible, the co-pace on skill nursing.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

I wonder what the G plus is. I've never heard of that. Yeah. Some marketing name for that. I'm not sure. There's not like a high deductible G plus like attitude.

SPEAKER_06 44:31

Yeah, do they put something else in there? Is there a dental benefit or something? What's the plus stand for?

SPEAKER_04 44:36

No, I think that's just a shorthand for high deductible Part G high deductible distinguish it from the plan G called G plus. I see.

SPEAKER_00 44:44

Okay. All right. Yeah, I w was an honor of that. Yeah, maybe it's like a blue cross thing. Where are you? Are you in New York? Okay. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 44:51

Okay. New York State.

SPEAKER_00 44:52

Yeah. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_06 44:53

Yes, sir. Well, Bruno, uh again, uh uh whoever you gave that information, uh I I've never heard it. I'm sorry. Uh I mean I know how high Gs work, and that is not the way they're supposed to work.

SPEAKER_04 45:04

So my max out of pocket should really be 2950. That's correct.

SPEAKER_06 45:09

That's exactly right. It's just yeah, it's just a gap. It's not unique to any any other gap within that's uh within that plan. Okay? Because that's the rules. Yeah, push on them. I would for sure say, hey, show me that in writing. There's plenty of information out there to show you that uh the way that the G works is you're the second payer up to that full amount. All the gaps you're responsible for. Okay. Okay. Okay, thanks for your help. All right, yeah. Yeah, we appreciate the phone call. Nice to talk to you, sir.

SPEAKER_04 45:35

You too. Thank you. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Okay, we've got another caller. Let's get to um Karen from Illinois. Karen from Illinois, are you there?

SPEAKER_02 45:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Hello, welcome to Medicare School Daily. I understand you have a question about your supplement plan G. Is that right?

SPEAKER_02 45:53

That is true.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

Okay, we're here for you.

SPEAKER_02 45:55

I I am on I am not on the G plan. I'm trying to get onto the G plan. Okay. I started Medicaid. I started um disability in 2013. I would put obviously on an advantage plan.

SPEAKER_00 46:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

Well, right now I'm on the advantage plan for Medicaid writer. However, I have to meet $1,000 $35 a month to spend there. I get any. Yeah. Yeah, spend down.

SPEAKER_06 46:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

And I mean, I I heard I heard that I'm not able to switch to a um a supplemental plan. Is that true?

SPEAKER_06 46:42

Uh you you will be eligible for one. Here, here's the way I would see this. If this spin down amount is gonna continue on, I would pull out of the Medicaid system, okay? Because it's not doing you any good whatsoever. Now, if you're saying, hey, Marvin, uh, I mean I can come back in in a year, that's a whole different story. But if you get a thousand thirty-five spin down, Medicaid's worthless for you. So I would cancel that. And then what's gonna happen is this effective 9-1 of this year, 2026, you're gonna be able to get that G plan if you want it. You can get an N plan as well. You can get either one of the G or the N, and you can apply for that three months in advance. Uh so you know, you're let's see, we're eight. So really you can apply anytime now. Um and that the G plan, I promise you, will go effective 9-1, 2026. Okay? Uh no one no underwriting, nothing, but you need to really officially you need to drop that Medicaid effective 9-1, because here technically what happens. If someone's on Medicaid, they really are not supposed to get uh a supplemental plan. Uh that you know, if the because the government is saying, hey, if we're helping you cover your Part B uh premium or helping you financially, then we're not we don't we don't think you're someone that should be affording a Medicare supplemental plan. So since you're not getting any benefit, I would highly suggest just drop Medicaid totally. Okay? And Josh ran some prices for you. Uh go ahead. I'm sorry. Okay. Uh are you married or single?

SPEAKER_02 48:05

I am single.

SPEAKER_06 48:06

Single kid. Okay. All right. Right now, Josh said in your area, uh the G plan is about right around $150 a month, and the N plan is $100 a month. So G is $150, N is $100. Do you know the difference between the G and the N?

SPEAKER_02 48:23

Yes, there's two I listen to you guys all the time.

SPEAKER_06 48:27

Okay, very good. So you're familiar, so you just have to decide, you know, is the $50 uh extra worth and not having to pay excess if and when those occur, no co-payments, and all that. They're still both both are great. You if you've listened to us long enough, you know.

SPEAKER_02 48:41

I'm at the doctor at least three times a month.

SPEAKER_06 48:44

Yeah, then you need to get a G plan. Don't don't don't waste your time on the end. So I would definitely get a G plan.

SPEAKER_02 48:50

Can I can I basically say that the G plan is like budgeting my medical care?

SPEAKER_06 48:56

In in what fashion? Are you talking about your your your your your spin down?

SPEAKER_02 49:01

In other words, if my spend down is eleven whatever, uh it's ridiculous because moving getting on the G plan is cheaper.

SPEAKER_06 49:10

Oh, absolutely. That's what I'm saying. I drop the Medicaid and and for those of you out there listening that don't know what she's talking about, uh when you go on Medicaid, uh Medicaid determines based upon your income and assets how much you have to spend before they pay anything. And so she has to spend $1,035 uh before Medicaid pays a penny. And that's why I'm saying it is not is it's of no benefit to you at all. Drop it. Um for sure. You're gonna come out well because what are you gonna have to pay? You're gonna pay your $202.90 for your your your your Part B, and you're gonna pay your $150. So now we're at $370, you're gonna have to have a drug plan. So you've got a wonderful package uh for basically $400 a month. Okay, that and that's what you want to do. Okay? Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 49:53

Okay. I just wanted to make sure I could. So I just have to call them. Yep. Yeah, you could call them that I want to drop.

SPEAKER_06 49:58

Yeah, drop it.

SPEAKER_02 49:59

I can do it on the internet, right?

SPEAKER_06 50:01

Yeah, I would assume you can you can you can cancel on the internet and then make sure that you um uh and what I would do is this uh you know uh just just you want to start your G91. Josh had his note to me here.

SPEAKER_00 50:13

No, no, I was just gonna say, and then you can call our office and we can help you get set up on the drug plan, the supplemental, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 50:19

I already I already spoke to one of your recommendations. Oh, colleagues and have it all set up. The other thing is I do have a count I did write to you guys, so just ignore what I wrote.

SPEAKER_06 50:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 50:35

Okay, sounds good.

SPEAKER_06 50:36

All right, sounds good. Well, we'll try our best. We we have a hundred employees, so there's emails go around all kinds of places. So uh we'll we'll we'll uh Josh or I won't respond then since you told us we don't have to. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 50:47

Yeah, it's a Charlie something is my name.

SPEAKER_06 50:50

Okay, okay. That sounds good. Well it was wonderful talking to you, and thanks for letting us serve you as well. Take care, Karen.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 50:58

Okay, see you bye. I just think it's important that um uh you know that everyone understands that even if you do qualify for Medicaid, sometimes it doesn't help you. That's included a lot.

SPEAKER_00 51:09

So that's a high spent down. Walk me through how that works then. So are they saying before they're gonna pay for anything, she's got to do what?

SPEAKER_06 51:16

Yeah. She has to spend $1,035 out of her own pocket. In other words, she is on a medical. Really? Yeah. Anything related to anything a Medicaid is going to say. So basically she's the point to have any benefit. Yeah. Right. Uh so somebody sold her like a decent plan or something, or what's the Well, I it could be in Illinois that maybe below 65, you cannot get a supplemental plan. I assume that's probably what's happening there. They followed the federal guidelines.

SPEAKER_00 51:38

She knew, um maybe because she's been watching our show or reading or whatever, that once she turns 65, she's treated as though she's new to Medicare. Doesn't matter that she's on disability. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_06 51:56

Exactly right. Now, when someone has a $50 a month spin down, maybe that's worth it, especially with part B being $202.90. Yeah. Yeah. So that that makes sense. But when we have that kind of I tell yeah, I say it this way. If you if you get a spin down that's $250, $300 a month or more, probably, yeah, just get rid of it. It's not really going to help you.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

Interesting.

SPEAKER_06 52:13

Plus, plus, if you keep that, then you can't get a supplemental plan.

SPEAKER_00 52:18

Many of you are going to work past 65, but there's some special rules. There's a lot of things you need to know so that you delay that correctly, and you don't end up finding yourself down the road when your coverage changes uh without coverage or maybe not able to get the all the plans that you would like to get, or whatever plan you would like to get. So um, if you are working past 65, uh tune in tomorrow's show. We're gonna be talking all about uh working past 65, what you need to know, the documents, the ways to uh stay around or get around the penalties, um, everything you need to know to be able to get on Medicare after 65. If you need uh immediate help and want to be uh serviced by our uh our company, we would love to help you. We're a team of insurance brokers, right? And we have people right outside these studio doors that love to educate and love to help people enroll, compare all the options, whether that's comparing G versus N or comparing advantage plans to supplemental plans or just if an advantage plane is right for you. We'll help you determine which is the right one. We'll help you get on drug coverage, we'll help you uh set up dental coverage, vision coverage, whatever it is that you need, um, as well as doing all the tricky government forms, the appealing of the IRMA, the filing, the L564, all of these things that kind of encapsulate getting on Medicare successfully, we would love to help. Um, we are free of charge to you. There's no additional expense to work with us. We're insurance brokers, so we're paid by whatever insurance company you choose to enroll in. So uh we would love to help you. The phone number to get help is 800-782-6676, 800-782-6676. And as always, if you want to be a part of the Medicare School Daily Show, call in, ask your questions, share your experience. The phone number is right there at the bottom of the screen. You call in any day, Monday to Thursday, 11 to noon, Central Time, 833 824 2004. We will talk to you tomorrow. All right.