[Nfbofsc] Social Security, SSI, and Medicare Facts for 2019

Sat Dec 8 14:41:53 UTC 2018

Social Security, SSI, and Medicare Facts for 2019 by John Paré About this
time each year we provide you with details regarding annual adjustments in
the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), and Medicare programs. In 2019 approximately 67 million
Americans will see a slight cost-of-living (COLA) increase (2.8 percent) in
their benefit amounts. Thus, come January, monthly checks will be a few
dollars higher. The 2019 amounts appear below along with some concepts which
are always good to know about the Social Security and Medicare programs if
you want to understand your rights. The COLA adjustment (if any) is based
upon the consumer price index (CPI-W), which measures the inflationary rate
against the wages earned by the approximately 173 million workers across the
nation over the previous four quarters starting with the third quarter of
the previous year. Okay, here are the numbers. Tax Rates FICA and
Self-Employment Tax Rates: If you have a job, you know that you do not bring
home everything you earn. 7.65 percent of your pay, for example, is deducted
to cover your contribution to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability
Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund and the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust
Fund. Specifically, 6.20 percent covers OASDI, and 1.45 percent is
contributed to the HI Trust Fund. Additionally, your employer is required to
match this 7.65 percent for a total of 15.30 percent. For those who are
self-employed, there is no "employer" to match the 7.65 percent. Thus, a
self-employed individual pays the entire 15.30 percent of her income. These
numbers will not change in 2018 whether an individual is employed or
self-employed. As of January 2013, individuals with earned income of more
than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an
additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes not including the above amounts.
Maximum Taxable Earnings For the OASDI Trust Fund, there is a ceiling on
taxable earnings, which was $128,400 per year in 2018 and will jump to
$132,900 in 2019. Thus, for earnings above $132,900, there is no 6.20
percent deducted for OASDI. As for Medicare, there is no limit on taxable
earnings for the HI Trust Fund. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Quarters of Coverage I always like to compare the OASDI Trust Fund to an
insurance policy. You have to pay a premium to participate. Therefore, to
qualify for Retirement, Survivors, or Disability Insurance benefits, an
individual must pay a minimum amount of FICA taxes into the OASDI Trust Fund
by earning a sufficient number of calendar quarters to become fully insured
for Social Security benefits. In 2018 credit for one quarter of coverage was
awarded for any individual who earned at least $1,320 during the year, which
means that an individual would have needed to earn at least $5,280 to be
credited with four quarters of coverage. In 2019 the amount increases to
$1,360 for one calendar quarter or $5,440 to earn four quarters of coverage
for the year. A maximum of four quarters can be awarded for any calendar
year, and it makes no difference when the income is earned during that year.
Basically, the taxes you pay into the OASDI and HI Trust Funds are your
premiums to participate in the Social Security and Medicare programs. The
total number of quarters required to be eligible for benefits depends on the
individual's age. The older the individual, the more quarters are required.
Furthermore, a higher average income during an individual's lifetime means a
higher Social Security or SSDI check when benefits start. Remember the above
quoted numbers for quarters of coverage to become fully insured are only
minimum amounts. Trial Work Period (TWP) This concept is often
misunderstood. The amount of earnings required to use a trial work month is
based not upon the earnings limit for blind beneficiaries, but rather upon
the national average wage index. In 2018 the amount required to use a TWP
month was only $850, and this amount will increase to $880 in 2019. If you
are self-employed, you can also use a trial work month if you work more than
eighty hours in your business, and this limitation will not change unless
expressly adjusted. Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) The earnings limit
for a blind beneficiary in 2018 was $1,970 per month and will rise to $2,040
in 2019. Remember this is not the TWP amount. This is to say that the TWP
can be exhausted even if your income is well below $2,040 per month. See the
above information about the TWP. In 2019 a blind SSDI beneficiary who earns
$2,041 or more in a month (before taxes but after subtracting unincurred
business expenses for the self-employed, subsidized income for the employed,
and impairment-related work expenses) will be deemed to have exceeded SGA
and will likely no longer be eligible for benefits. Social Security Benefit
Amounts In January of 2019 the average amount of SSDI benefits for a
disabled worker is estimated to rise by about $34 to $1,234. Pursuant to the
Social Security Act, a cost-of-living adjustment occurs automatically when
there is an increase in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index
for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI-W indicated an
inflationary rate of 2.8 percent between the third quarter of 2017 and the
third quarter of 2018. Thus, there is a corresponding COLA increase in 2019
and an increase in monthly benefit amounts. Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) The federal payment amount for individuals receiving SSI in 2018 was
$750 and will increase to $771 in 2019, and the federal monthly payment
amount of SSI received by couples will rise from $1,125 to $1,157. Student
Earned Income Exclusion In 2018, the monthly amount was $1,820 and will
increase to $1,870 in 2019. The annual amount was $7,350 and will be $7,550
in 2019. The asset limits under the SSI program will remain unchanged at
$2,000 per individual and $3,000 per couple. ABLE Act Signed on December 19,
2014, the ABLE Act will have a significant impact on resource limits
associated with the SSI and Medicaid programs for those who were blind or
disabled by the age of twenty-six. Traditionally, SSI beneficiaries have
been required to adhere to strict resource limits: such as a maximum of
$2,000 in the bank for an individual receiving SSI benefits. Under the ABLE
Act, however, the amount on deposit in an ABLE Account can be much higher.
ABLE Account contributions must be designated specifically for purposes such
as education, housing (with a cautionary warning to follow), employment
training and support, assistive technology, health, prevention and wellness,
financial management, legal fees, and funeral and burial expenses. The
required implementing regulations are being enacted in most states. Check
with your financial institution of choice for a status of ABLE Act
regulations in a specific state. As to the warning about ABLE Account
contributions for housing, it is important to note that SSI beneficiaries
may still face the traditional $2,000 resource limit for ABLE Account funds
designated for housing. Thus, SSI beneficiaries should consider the many
other purposes not subject to the traditional resource limits when making
ABLE Account contributions. Because there are also tax advantages associated
with ABLE accounts, both SSDI and SSI beneficiaries should consult a
financial advisor about establishing an ABLE Account. Medicare Medicare
Deductibles and Coinsurance: Medicare Part A coverage provides hospital
insurance to most Social Security beneficiaries. The coinsurance amount is
the hospital charge to a Medicare beneficiary for any hospital stay.
Medicare then pays the hospital charges above the beneficiary's coinsurance
amount. The Part A hospital inpatient deductible was $1,340 in 2018 and
increases to $1,364 in 2019. The coinsurance charged for hospital services
within a benefit period of no longer than sixty days will remain at $0, as
it has for the past several years. From the sixty-first day through the
ninetieth day, the daily coinsurance amount was $335 per day in 2018 and
will rise slightly to $341 in 2019. Each Medicare beneficiary has sixty
lifetime reserve days that may be used after a ninety-day benefit period has
ended. Once used, these reserve days are no longer available after any
benefit period. The coinsurance amount paid during each reserve day used in
2018 was $670 and in 2019 will be $682. Part A of Medicare pays all covered
charges for services in a skilled nursing facility for the first twenty days
following a three-day in-hospital stay within a benefit period. From the
twenty-first day through the one hundredth day in a benefit period, the Part
A daily coinsurance amount for services received in a skilled nursing
facility was $167.50 for 2018 and will rise just slightly to $170.50 in
2019. Most Social Security beneficiaries have no monthly premium charge for
Medicare Part A coverage. Those who become ineligible for SSDI can continue
to receive Medicare Part A coverage premium-free for at least ninety-three
months after the end of a trial work period. After that time the individual
may purchase Part A coverage. The premium rate for this coverage during 2018
was $422 monthly and increases to $437 in 2019. The annual deductible amount
for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) in 2018 was $183 and will rise to
$185 in 2019. The Medicare Part B monthly premium rate for 2018 was $134 per
month and will rise to $135.50 in 2019. For those receiving Social Security
benefits, this premium payment is deducted from your monthly benefit check.
Individuals who remain eligible for Medicare but are not receiving Social
Security benefits due to work activity must directly pay the Part B premium
quarterly-one payment every three months. Like the Part A premiums mentioned
above, Part B is also available for at least ninety-three months following
the trial work period, assuming an individual wishes to have it and, when
not receiving SSDI, continues to make quarterly premium payments. Programs
That Help with Medicare Deductibles and Premiums: Low-income Medicare
beneficiaries may qualify for assistance through four Medicare Savings
Programs. We will discuss three of them here and leave the fourth one alone
because (to qualify for it each year) you must already be on it, and you
know who you are. Note: the amounts below may change in 2019. We begin with
the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program (QMB) and the Specified
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary program (SLMB). To qualify for the QMB
program in 2018, an individual's monthly income could not exceed $1,032, and
a married couple's monthly income could not exceed $1,392. To qualify for
the SLMB program in 2018, an individual's monthly income could not exceed
$1,234, and a married couple's monthly income could not exceed $1,666. Both
the QMB and SLMB programs are administered by the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services in conjunction with the states. The rules vary from state
to state, but the following can be said: As of 2018, resources (such as bank
accounts or stocks) could not exceed $7,560 for one person or $11,340 per
couple. Under the QMB program, states are required to pay the Medicare Part
A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) premiums, deductibles,
and coinsurance expenses for Medicare beneficiaries who meet the program's
income and resource requirements. Under the SLMB program, states pay only
the full Medicare Part B monthly premium. Eligibility for the SLMB program
may be retroactive for up to three calendar months. The third program, known
as the Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWI) Program, pays Part
A premiums only and has resource limits of $4,000 for one person and $6,000
for a married couple. As to these programs, resources are generally things
you own. However, not everything is counted. Examples of things that don't
count include the house you live in, one car, a burial plot (or $1,500 put
aside for burial expenses), and furniture. If you qualify for assistance
under the QMB program, you will not have to pay the following: Medicare's
hospital deductible amount, the daily coinsurance charges for extended
hospital and skilled nursing facility stays; the Medicare Part B (Medical
Insurance) premium, the annual Part B deductible; and the coinsurance for
services covered by Medicare Part B, depending on which doctor you go to
(these services include doctor services, outpatient therapy, and durable
medical equipment). If you qualify for assistance under the SLMB program,
you will be responsible for the payment of all of the items listed above
except for the monthly Part B premium, depending on your circumstances. If
you think you qualify but you have not filed for Medicare Part A, contact
Social Security to find out if you need to file an application. Further
information about filing for Medicare is available from your local Social
Security office or Social Security's toll-free number 800-772-1213. Remember
that only your state can decide if you are eligible for help from the QMB or
SLMB program and also that the income and resource levels listed here are
general guidelines, with some states choosing greater amounts. Therefore, if
you are elderly or disabled, have low income and very limited assets, and
are a Medicare beneficiary, contact your state or local Medicaid office
(referred to in some states as the Public Aid Office or the Public
Assistance Office) to apply. For more information about either program, call
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on its toll-free number
800-633-4227, or visit Medicare.gov .

Steve Cook

District 2 State Board Member of the NFB of SC

1st Vice President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the NFB
of SC

1st Vice President of the Columbia Chapter of the NFB of SC

 <http://www.nfbofsc.org> www.nfbofsc.org

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