Social Security Benefits

The following checklist is designed to help you file for your Social Security benefits correctly so that prompt payments may be made.

ELIGIBILITY

The deceased worker must have credit for work covered by Social Security, ranging from 1 1/2 to 10 years depending on his or her age at death.

WHO MAY RECEIVE MONTHLY BENEFITS

·         A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an entitled     child who is under 16 or disabled.

·         A divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled) if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.

·         Unmarried children up to 18 (19 if they are attending a primary or secondary school full lime).

·         Children who were disabled before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled.

·         Dependent parent or parents 62 or older.

LUMP-SUM DEATH PAYMENT

·         A onetime payment of $255 is paid in addition to the monthly cash benefits described above. The lump-sum death payment is paid in the following priority order: A surviving spouse who lived in the same household as the deceased person at the time of death.

·         A surviving spouse eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.

·         A child or children eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.

APPLYING FOR BENEFITS
You must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply by telephone. Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange for the local Social Security office to take your claim by telephone.

SOCIAL SECURITY TELESERVICE - DOING BUSINESS BY TELEPHONE

You may call Social Security toll-free, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The number to use is 1-800-772-1213. To speak with a representative, call between the hours of 7:00am and 7:00pm on regular business days. At other times and on weekends and holidays, you may leave a message and they will call you back, in most cases, the next business day.

You may use the toll-free number to make an appointment either in a Social Security office or telephone to apply for benefits, transact other Social Security business, or just ask questions.

SSI, MEDICAID AND MEDICARE..... Which is Which?

There is often confusion about what each of these programs provides, specifically Medicaid and Medicare. Below are brief descriptions of each:

Medicare
Medicare is authorized under the Social Security Act and is part of a national health insurance program for the aged and certain disabled persons. Medicare is administered by the Health Care Financing Administration under the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Medicaid
Medicaid is a joint state-federal health insurance program for low-income individuals. It is administered by individual states with federal oversight and regulation by the Health Care Financing Administration. Currently, all resources placed in an irrevocable funeral fund are excluded when an individual applies for Medicaid. Revocable contracts as an excludable resource are limited to $1,500. Please note that the revocable $1,500 limit is reduced proportionally by any irrevocable funeral funds or insurance policies. State Medicaid plans are currently linked to federal SSI eligibility criteria, however, individual states make their own Medicaid determinations using the federal SSI criteria.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI):
SSI is a means-tested, federally administered income assistance program that provides monthly cash payments to the needy, aged, blind and disabled in accordance with uniform nationwide eligibility requirements. SSI is administered by the Health Care Financing Administration under the US Department of Health and Human Services. The limit on countable resources for SSI is $2000 per individual and $3000 per couple. All irrevocable preneed funds are excluded and any revocable preneed funds of up to $1,500* for funeral expenses and unlimited burial space expenses (funeral merchandise) per individual are excluded, with limited exceptions, for SSI eligibility purposes.