I got what I paid for.

[Raven]

After almost 50 years of paying taxes and contributing to Social Security and Medicare, I am now a "recipient". I consider it a return on my investment, BTW. I signed up for SS and Medicare last winter and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do and how very nice the "bureaucrats" I dealt with were. Yesterday I had my annual physical and presented my Doc's office with my medicare card and my medigap card half expecting some red tape. Not a beat missed and no copay. This is what happens when government gets involved in your life...things go pretty smoothly. :-)

[peace13]

1. : ) Good on you! n/t

[Raven]

2. Thanks. All the credit goes to the government that has delivered

on its promise made to me all those many years ago.

[Mz Pip]

3. That was our experience, too

Mr Pip never even had to go down to a SS office. It was all done over the phone. Had a very minor glitch with the Medicare Part B supplemental coverage but that was taken care of with a phone call to Kaiser to change the coverage from regular Kaiser to Senior Advantage.

Super easy.

[Raven]

6. I did SS on line. There were 2 glitches, one dealing with my Ex and

the other dealing with a retirement system I had been in 30+ years ago. I swear the SS people I talked to were on a mission to be those things worked out and me enrolled ASAP. This was government at its absolute best as far as I'm concerned.

[Ernesto]

4. Me too!

I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it all went.

[Romulox]

5. I don't begrudge you any benefits, but these programs aren't "investments", and considering them so

leads to a lot of destructive ideas, imo, such as the idea that the rich are "ripped off" by such programs if they are asked to pay more into them.

[Raven]

9. I see your point but I think they really are "investments" in America

and in the so called "safety net" for everybody.

[SharonAnn]

21. They are "Earned Benefits". We paid into them, and earned them.

[Romulox]

22. These benefits are taken out of the wages of current workers. That's how it should be, but

let's not pretend that drawing on these benefits is like making a withdrawal from a bank. SS/Medicare are intergenerational compacts, with all that that entails.

[whathehell]

24. Not so much for the Baby Boomers, who've paid for their retirement AND that of their parents.

[Romulox]

26. No. They haven't. Social Security is 100% Pay-As-You-Go. Which means young people pay for Boomers

:hi:

[whathehell]

31. Yes. They have. In 1983, Reagan, Greenspan and Pat Moynihan

decided to DOUBLE the Social Security tax in anticipation

of a "shortfall".

We paid for both our own AND our parents retirement.:hi:

[INdemo]

7. I am curious what my co-pay since used my cared just Monday

but I like the prescription co-pay..Yes it is nice and to think Canadians of all ages have this healthcare.

[Bandit]

8. Just think, with that doctors visit you probably cheated some Defense Contractor

out of making more bullets or bombs... How we gunna kill the brown people if you keep going to doctors? :shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

10. Very happy for you, but do you have a pension to go along with the SS?

If you don't mind me asking?

Don

[Raven]

13. No pension, if you mean from an employer, but I have an IRA and

savings. I was self employed for many years.

[NNN0LHI]

19. You were very smart to create your IRA not having a pension

Reason I brought this up was I just didn't want some of the younger DUers to be confused into thinking that just SS would be enough for them when it comes time to retire.

If all I had was just SS to rely on when I become eligible it wouldn't be enough to live on comfortably. Be enough to maybe just barely make it but it would be a constant struggle.

Thank you for your post.

Don

[FourScore]

11. OMG!!! You're the victim of a PONZI SCHEME!!

Clearly Raven, you are completely clueless to the danger that lurks. You poor, poor soul! Run for your life, I tell you, RUN!!!!!

(Do I really need the sarcasm smilie? Better do it.)

:sarcasm:


K&R

[Raven]

14. Oh, oh! Does that make me a criminal? Aiding and abetting a

criminal scheme? Will they be coming to take me away? :-)

[FourScore]

15. Your only hope now is to make sure you vote for the Democrats

in every election for the rest of your life! And to tell all of the other victims of this massive Ponzi scheme to do the same!!!

:hi:

[Raven]

17. Maybe I'll start a Ponzi Scheme abettors support group. :-)

[FourScore]

23. Good idea, Raven!!!

I'm sure you'll get through this.

:fistbump:

[TBF]

12. We really need to just eliminate the age thing and open Medicare up -

think how much better it would be if everyone had access and could pay in (maybe sliding fee based on income?). Employers wouldn't have to deal with it, workers could get preventative care that often keeps you from getting more seriously ill. I see it as the only humane choice.

Of course capitalists don't really care much about humanity as we saw in the recent debate ...

[Raven]

16. You know, the other interesting thing is that I had a talk with my

Doctor about this yesterday. He and I practically grew up together so we have some pretty candid conversations. He now has tons of older patients. He seems to be doing very well and his office is unbelievably efficient. I have NEVER had to wait, he follows up exams with a letter summarizing tests results and blood pressure etc. Yesterday I asked him if this Medicare stuff was a hassle for him and he looked at me in surprise and said "No, not at all. You just have to be organized and efficient about it." The other thing that I love about him is that it is obvious that he loves what he does.

[Cleita]

27. Welcome to the club. You will like it.

I really wish we could get Medicare for everyone, but it will never happen until we force the insurance companies out of health care. I believe the doctors could do it if they band together and demand legislation banning for profit health insurance and HMOs from inserting themselves into access for basic health care. Then it would open the possibility of Medicare being introduced as an alternative to fill the gap.

[MineralMan]

18. I did that last year. So far, I've had no problem getting

my medical treatments and checkups covered 100%, between Medicare and the affordable supplement I chose. This is how it should work for everyone.

[lsewpershad]

20. I can

attest to that.

[TomClash]

25. The Republican Response

"You would have been much better off if Wall Street had managed your money for you."

"Why are you sponging off the taxpayer? Why do I have to pay for your old age?"

"You should earn your living and if you can't then you should . . . die (Wild Cheering and Stormy applause!)"

This message is Bullshit brought to you by the Republican Party. I don't approve this message. Good luck in your retirement.

[Blue_In_AK]

28. That was my experience, too.

The whole thing was very easy. I just got my Medicare card this month, so I'm not sure how that's going to go, but we'll see going forward. My family physician has told me that I can stay with her "for now," but she doesn't know if they'll still be accepting Medicare patients as time goes on, so I may have to do some hunting around for a doctor in the futre. Unfortunately, my orthopedist DOESN'T take Medicare and my knee injection costs about $1500 semi-annually, so I'm not sure what's going to happen there because I doubt that the GPs will have anything to do with it.

[Brigid]

29. Watch out! Watch out!

The evils of socialism are at work! :sarcasm:

[exelwood]

30. Welcome aboard!

I have to admit SS is pretty sweet. I took it at 62 as soon as I was eligible because if I waited until 66 it would take 9 years to get the money I have been paid taking it early. I'm not sure if that time frame holds for every earner but based on my situation it would have taken that long. I would have to hit 75 just to break even. I feel like the four extra years I got while young enough to enjoy early retirement made it worth it.

The process was smooth as glass, my only hiccup was having to get a copy of my DD 214 for military service but that is literally a matter of a letter to the records department and they communicated with SS, no delay at all in getting my money. The SS and military records people were unbelievably helpful.