New enrollment period for changing your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan coverage begins Nov. 15

Social Security

By Chuck Stovall

Questions: I’d like to change my Medicare Part D plan to something that covers more of my prescriptions. Can I do that? How do I do that?

Answer: You couldn’t have picked a better time to ask—the next open season for enrollment in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program begins Nov. 15 and runs through Dec. 31. The Medicare prescription drug program is available to all Medicare beneficiaries to help with the costs of medications. Joining a Medicare prescription drug plan is voluntary, and participants pay an additional monthly premium for the coverage. You can enroll or change plans during this time. Some people with limited income and resources also could qualify for extra help with monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. The extra help is worth an average of $3,900 this year. For more information about the Medicare prescription drug program, visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800- MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048). To learn more about the extra help available through Social Security visit www.socialsecurity.gov or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

Question: A young secretary I work with says she has carpal tunnel syndrome and is going to apply for Social Security disability benefits. Can you get disability payments for something like that?

Answer: That depends. A person can qualify for disability benefits for any impairment or combination of disabling conditions if they are found to be so severe that they keep a person from doing any substantial work for at least a year, or if they are expected to result in death. So if the person’s carpel tunnel syndrome is severe enough to render her unable to work, it is possible for her to receive disability benefits.

Question: All my life I have planned on retiring at age 62, but I heard the retirement age is rising to 67. Does this mean five more years of work for me?

Answer: Not unless you want to continue working. While it is true that the full retirement age is gradually rising to 67, early retirement remains at age 62. So if you go ahead with your plans to retire early, your benefits will be reduced. You also should know that if you choose to keep working even beyond your full retirement age, you can increase your future Social Security benefits. With delayed retirement credits, your benefit will increase automatically by a certain percentage from the time you reach your full retirement age until you start receiving your benefits or until you reach age 70. For example, if you were born in 1943 or later, we will add eight percent per year to your benefit for each year that you delay signing up for Social Security between your full retirement age and age 70. Check out our online Retirement Estimator, which you can use to get quick and accurate estimates of your retirement benefits based on different scenarios, at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. Or read the When to Start Receiving Benefits fact sheet at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10147.html.

Chuck Stovall is public affairs specialist and assistant district manager for the Social Security Administration of Northern Indiana If you have questions about Social Security, e-mail him at charles.j.stovall@ssa.gov. Or, call your local Social Security office.

This is part of the November 11, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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