Transcription
Last, uh, several months and actually, uh, yesterday, he is not going to touch Social Security or Medicare. But I'm going to show that, let's say, that's not so accurate.
If you're new to my channel, my name is Edwe. I ran the third busiest Social Security office in the country, and now I help you make sure you get all the benefits you earned.
Okay, so we've got a full agenda today. I'm going to talk about, uh, how your benefits are being cut today. I get calls every day and emails, and you can read the YouTube comments. People are not getting what they earned, what they're entitled to from Social Security and Medicare and all the rest of it. So I'm going to show you how that is happening, um, now and how to kind of work the system for you and your family to make sure you get everything you need in retirement.
Okay, so the cuts. What he mentioned is that he's not going to cut anything in the future. He is not going to, uh, cut benefits. He's not going to raise the retirement age by one day, he has mentioned. But that is in the future. However, that is not really a good response from any politician. If they say we're not going to do anything, basically, we're not going to do anything, we're not going to touch it, it means we're just going to let it burn down.
Because what is happening is the trust fund is running out. The trust fund was started in the 1980s, this specific trust fund, and it was intended for Baby Boomers. Guess what? Baby Boomers are retiring. They're using the trust fund. A couple of years ago, in 2023, they pulled $70 billion out of the trust fund, out of the savings. Next year, uh, 2024, we haven't got the numbers yet, but probably about the same, 70 to 100 billion or so was pulled out of the trust fund.
And that trust fund, that savings that Baby Boomers built up for their retirement, they're pulling out of it. They paid for it; they're pulling out of it. Nothing wrong with that. And then in 2034, 2033, the only money that Social Security can pay out is what it actually receives. So we're talking about a 21, 22, 23% cut, um, across the board. And he says he's not going to touch anything.
When any politician says that, okay, that's good in the short term, but it's not good in the medium term because that means, uh, you're not going to address the issue that is on the horizon. So that's not necessarily good.
Okay, but what about cuts happening today? If you're new to my channel, I do a live Q&A. So after I go down the list here, I'll take about, it should take about 10 or 15 minutes to go through this entire list, and then I'm going to open it up to questions. So if you want to stick around and see how people are losing money every single day, stick around for the live Q&A. I've already got a bunch of questions.
Okay, when you pay your FICA tax throughout your life, FICA, part of it goes to Social Security and part of it goes to Medicare. And not only is that to, you know, help you in retirement to get your benefits, disability benefits, survivor benefits, spouse benefits, you know, Medicare, whatever the case may be, that money, part of that money, a very, very small portion of that money goes to help you get your benefits.
So when you turn 62 or 67 or 65 and you want to get those benefits that you earned, you go to the Social Security Administration, and there's supposed to be an employee there that helps you get those benefits. You paid for that help for decades. But the problem is right now, Social Security is at a low staffing level. They're the lowest staffing in over 50 years, and that's the issue.
Because politicians have this, uh, current Congress and this current president, you know, people say he's only been president for two weeks. He was president for four years, and he did nothing at that time. Biden did nothing, or he tried to do something, but he didn't accomplish anything. And the last Congress, the 118th Congress, and the 117th Congress, and the 116th Congress, they did nothing to help Social Security, to help you get your benefits.
So I'm not only blaming this president; I'm blaming the previous one and the previous one and the previous one and all Congress people, senators, House of Representatives for basically the last couple of decades because they are not solving the problem of helping you get your benefits now and to make sure they are not cut in the future. These are benefits that you paid for.
And what are we looking at? What type of people are losing benefits? There are survivor benefits. People don't know that they can file for survivor benefits and hold off on their retirement benefits. So people are making the wrong decision. People are receiving survivor benefits and don't know that they can switch over to their full benefits at 70 years old when maybe their own benefits have maxed out.
People don't know they can delay retirement credits. People don't know they can file for retirement and disability benefits at the same time. People don't know that you can get divorced spouse benefits even if your divorced spouse hasn't even filed for benefits yet. There are regular viewers to my channel who know there are hundreds of different permutations of getting benefits.
And when you go into the Social Security Administration, they're supposed to help you navigate the bureaucracy. But unfortunately, because Congress and the president refuse to get you the help you need, people are having to come to YouTube and get evidence, get, uh, you know, suggestions on how to get their benefits.
And unfortunately, there's a lot of social media people out there that claim they're experts on Social Security who never worked for Social Security, who never adjudicated a Social Security claim in their life. I've done hundreds of thousands. I've helped millions of people out with Social Security. Again, I ran the third busiest Social Security office in the country, and there's pretty much nobody else out there on YouTube that has that experience.
So that's why a lot of people, so make sure you subscribe.
Okay, um, so 50 years staffing, and this fiction, u, I try to be generous, but I'm just going to call it a lie of, um, some House Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene, um, Clay Higgins, who recently, these, uh, they had kind of a show, 100% for political show, said, "Well, everything will be okay, and Social Security will answer the phone and help you out, and everything will be beautiful and awesome, and customer service will be stellar if people just, the Social Security employees just return to work."
That is 100% a lie. If you want Social Security employees to return to work, no problem. But I've gone through this several times on my videos. Teleworking employees working from home is no different than working in the office. There are assigned numbers of appointments every day. There are assigned phones every day, and they are monitored whether they're in the next cubicle or whether they're 10 miles down the street.
But if you want Social Security employees to return to work, that's fine, no problem. But customer service is not going to get better, and people are still going to lose money every day because they're not getting the benefits they're entitled to at the right time, the right check, because they can't get in there.
And so we see another assault. Elon Musk looks like, uh, he has his fingerprints all over a recent email that's sent out to a bunch of employees, federal employees, including Social Security, that says, "Hey, respond, resign to quit, and we'll pay you for the next six months to do nothing."
So some Social Security employees, it looks like they're going to take Musk and Trump up on this offer. Most of them were, like, close to retirement within the next year or two or three, and they said, "Well, you know, take a six-month vacation." So it looks like some, so that's going to reduce the staffing even more.
So we're probably the people that are going to telework, you know, they might just go ahead and, you know, find other jobs because they're under attack and this new resignation thing. And then there's a hiring freeze. People say, "Well, we'll just get these people out; we'll hire." No, there's a hiring freeze. You can't replace these people.
If there's, like, a bad employee, there are district managers that run Social Security offices throughout the country that would love to fire. They have maybe one or two employees in their office. They would love to fire that. I know because I've fired many, many federal employees. They would love to fire those employees.
But the problem is they can't hire anybody else. So they're like, "Okay, this employee is substandard. They do, you know, 60% of the work, but that other 40%, they're, you know, not that great at. I'd really love to fire that person and bring someone that goes 100%, but I can't. So 60% is better than zero."
So if you let Social Security rehire people and replace people, then yeah, those bad employees would go like that. I guarantee you.
So can Social Security, can Elon Musk come in there and make Social Security more efficient? Can the new commissioner go in there and make Social Security more efficient? Of course. Every organization, if either of those two want advice and someone that doesn't have a kind of a, uh, a dog in the fight, um, reach out to me, and I'd be more than happy, um, because I'm, you know, not a federal employee anymore.
Um, even though it looks like Elon Musk has all my information since he jumped into, but I'll talk about that later.
But anyway, so though there, every time I talk about things like this, there are people in the YouTube comments that said, "Oh, I don't understand people. You're saying bad things about customer service. I called in, I filed my thing online; it was all beautiful." That's fine, but perhaps this is not the community for you. This might not be the YouTube channel for you.
Um, because in this community, we look out for others. So if you didn't have a problem, awesome. Because what happens in the day in the life of a Title II claim specialist, someone that's adjudicating and processing your claim, they have eight to ten appointments today, and they have your particular retirement claim.
And yours is easy, you know, get all your information, date of birth, and everything is correct, your earnings record is correct. They adjudicate your claim; you're done. You're beautiful; you're happy. Customer service is awesome.
And the next one they get is a survivor and spouse benefits, or it's a disability benefits, or it's a surviving child benefits. A little bit more difficult. They take that claim, and they can't work it. They can't adjudicate it because they have to go to the next one and to the next one.
The next one might be easy, easy, easy, and then a difficult one. And those difficult ones start to accumulate, and they get delayed. And because your claim was, you know, beautiful, yours was adjudicated, yours was processed, you got the right check at the right time, congratulations.
But think about all those other people: the surviving spouses, the surviving children, the people that are in disability, um, that are filing for disability. Those are the people that are having to wait. Disability alone is six to nine months, if you're lucky, to get a decision. Surviving child, um, so let's look out.
This community is all about looking out for other people. And to attest to that, we'll start a live Q&A here in a little bit, and we'll show you how to protect your family even though there is this lack of customer service at Social Security. You can't get in. There are ways to kind of work the system to make sure you and your family are protected, to make sure you get the right check at the right time, and you're able to navigate the bureaucracy.
So make sure you share this channel and all the rest of it.
Okay, let's jump into, I try to keep the, uh, the information of the day as quickly, um, as quick as possible.
Um, let's see. Joanne asks, "I'm a retired postal worker. Was not able to get any Social Security when I retired. Was told I had offset to get ex-husband's, so applied after the Fairness Act and today received notice of denial. How can this be?"
It really depends whether your ex-spouse actually paid into Social Security themselves. Did they also work for the Post Office and never paid into Social Security? Whatever the case may be, I don't know your specific case. But there also might be the case.
So if your ex-husband actually worked for Social Security, worked under Social Security, you were married to the person for ten years, you're not currently married, you're at least 62 years old, all the other criteria are met, then it just might be a function of the Social Security Fairness Act just passed a couple of weeks ago, and they still might be working through the system.
So I'd like to know exactly what the notice, the decision letter says. Why did they deny you? Did they deny you because there's just, you know, no money there or whatever the case may be? So I need a little bit more information on that one.
Um, Kathy, "I'm guardian of my son. Am I allowed to withhold some of his funds at a residential care facility for my son's personal needs?"
If you are the representative payee for your son and his Social Security check goes to you, it, for the representative pay, it'll say, um, you know, Kathy and your name for and then your son. So that hard it works.
Um, unless you are, the check is going directly to the residential facility, and then you know, that's between you and that facility. But if the money is going directly to you, you're the one ultimately responsible to make sure those funds go for his welfare.
Um, so yeah, that's, uh, that really depends on, uh, who the check is made out to.
Let's see. Number one, XAT, "According to the handbook, we need to go into the local office before leaving. The only option to inform of a residence change form 7162 will never arrive where I'm going. What to do?"
Luckily for you, the 7162, um, which is someone that lives overseas, um, it's the proof of life form. Because when you live overseas, Social Security doesn't get notification of your passing. So they send you that letter once a year, and if you don't return it, then, well, they give you another option. They give you another one, send you another one, but then, yeah, then they stop your benefits.
Um, but luckily for you, they just changed the policy within the last few weeks that you can attest. You can do an attestation over the phone. So you can call the 800 number from wherever you are, wherever you are in the world, as long as you're not in North Korea or Cuba, um, and just do it over the phone.
So that is a beautiful thing. And one of the things, yes, uh, if you're going to be moving overseas, I highly recommend you file for your Social Security benefits before you go. Because if you try to file for your Social Security benefits overseas, then you'll have to go to a federal benefits unit at FBU, wherever in your local embassy or consulate, and then it takes forever.
Yeah, you thought to get benefits in the United States took a long time? Yeah, to do it in FBU, a federal benefits unit, is even worse.
Uh, Do's push for access to the Bureau of Fiscal Services payment system suggests that it also wants control of those mechanisms which pay Social Security and Medicare. Yes, I'm going to do a little video on that today. That's a very scary, um, yeah, development.
Why does the richest person in the world want control of your Social Security checks? Very Animal Farm-ish. But, uh, if you haven't done so already, don't forget, oh yes, please, yes, hit the like button and all that kind of good stuff.
Um, all right, let's see. Um, I took, uh, Social Security three years ago at 62. My PIA, primary insurance amount, the amount at full retirement age then was 370. Is my PIA frozen forever at 370 for calculating young spousal benefits or DC and family max?
No, PIA increases every year when COLA is decided. So COLA increases that every year. And, um, if you work and pay into Social Security and those earnings for that year are one of your high 35 years of earnings, then yes, it will increase on either one of those.
So COLA or, uh, one of your high 35 years of work.
Um, Harry, "Recently married to a Filipino. I will retire in two years. How many years must she be married living in the U.S. for her to be able to be eligible for benefits on my record?"
Um, death benefits? Yeah, each state, each country is a little bit different. I know the Philippines has some different, uh, there's agreements between the United States and particular countries, and some countries have this agreement, and I know the Philippines has.
But it's like a six-month type of back-and-forth type thing. So the best thing is, you know, she has to be, uh, either a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, and then just go on to, uh, the Social Security website and type in payments abroad screening tool, and you just pick, uh, you know, what country you're going to go to and all that, whether you're a U.S. citizen or green card holder, and it'll tell you all of the, uh, the details for that particular country.
Or you can reach out to the federal benefits unit in Manila there.
Um, buddy, uh, Jason used to be there, but I guess he is recently transferred back to the United States. He was the, uh, the boss man there in Manila for pretty much the Pacific.
Warn everyone to contact the Social Security office to avoid LEP.
All right, um, let's see. Thank you for your information. You're welcome. I am 70 years old on survivor benefits but barely getting by. Would like to sell my house, which I own without a mortgage. Wow, but the O, but the not only have to pay capital gains but also pass means tests.
Um, no, um, in terms of capital gains in the IRS, that's, you know, I don't do the IRS stuff. But in terms of Social Security, it doesn't affect your Social Security benefits at all. It might affect your, um, your Medicare Part B premium.
But, uh, that's capital gains for selling a house might affect your Part B premium in two years. You might have to pay a little bit more, but there's, um, the IRS allows an exemption for your, you know, primary home. So you need to talk to your accountant on that.
But, um, but in terms of Social Security, um, number one, uh, because capital gains doesn't affect your earned income, it's not W-2 or net income for business unless your business is to sell houses.
Um, and number two, you're 70 years old. So if you make a billion dollars selling your house, then it doesn't affect your Social Security because you're after, you're past your full retirement age.
Pat, I took Social Security three years ago at 62, and my PIA at, uh, oh, okay, they're okay. I already answered that one.
What I still don't understand why all of us Boomers put in why there isn't enough. Um, just because it was 2.7 trillion, and there's 70 million of you, and it's, yeah, you put it in, but it's just like any bank account. It's like I put in a million dollars when, uh, you know, I was in my 40s. Why didn't it last until I was 80?
Well, a million dollars that, you know, um, I'm not talking about just, you know, example. Um, yeah, it's just, it's running out. So one of the reasons is because they calculated it incorrectly in the 1980s. They didn't think, they didn't think they would need as much as they needed in the 80s because their crystal ball was broken, like all of our crystal balls.
And the crystal ball that was broken the most was not that the Baby Boomers were going to get old. Um, the crystal ball was broken because of this. In the 1980s, they didn't realize that for the regular people out there, our wages would be flat, and, but the economy would boom. But that money wouldn't come to us for the most part; it would go to the rich.
And the rich don't pay into Social Security after $176,100. You don't pay FICA Social Security anymore. For the rest of us, we pay FICA tax on every dollar we make. But once you make over $176,100, you don't pay it anymore.
And they didn't anticipate so much money going outside of, you know, the arena of FICA, and that's the biggest issue right there. So that's the solution. The biggest solution to fix this is to smash that cap so where everybody pays FICA, you know, just like us.
You know, we've paid it on every dollar we've made for decades and decades and decades, and now it's time to share the wealth. Um, so that's one of the biggest solutions.
And we have to get on that quickly because if we wait another year, right now, the numbers are that will solve 73% of the problem. If we would have instituted that a few years ago, it would have solved 100%. But every year we wait, it's going to solve a less percentage of the problem.
So we need to start that immediately. But unfortunately, uh, yeah, it doesn't look, you know, just the people that need to make that decision are going to be taxing themselves because they're the ones making, you know, and their billionaire friends are going to have to pay that and pay that, and yeah, they're not really into paying taxes like the rest of us, right?
Um, let's see. Okay, I answered that one.
Um, Ed, someone in Oklahoma used my Social Security for December 2024. I haven't worked since 2013. What to do? I'm in Texas. Those people in Oklahoma, I tell you.
Yeah, you, if you're in Texas, you never trust anybody from Oklahoma. I went to high school in Paris, Texas, which is right across the Oklahoma border. I love Oklahoma because my county was a dry county; we couldn't drink, so we had to go to Oklahoma, the Red River, to get beer.
So anyway, I didn't say that out loud, did I?
Um, in terms of Social Security, that type of thing is probably a credit rating type thing. So you need to contact your credit reporting agency and stuff.
Um, the only thing that that would affect is if they worked under your number and reported that in Social Security. So check your earnings record, and if you see earnings there that someone worked under your number, just call up Social Security and say, "Hey, those are not my earnings."
Because what will happen is people will say, "No, don't call up Social Security because that's going to increase your, you know, benefit amount." Yes, it will, but if that person ever gets caught that worked under your Social Security number illegally, then Social Security, five years now, ten years from now, twenty years from now, will come back and take those earnings out.
And if you've been collecting those increased earnings for the last five, ten, or twenty years, they're going to say, "Hey, you shouldn't have collected that extra benefit amount, so you owe us ten, twenty, thirty thousand dollars."
Um, so yes, it will increase your benefit as someone else pays into your Social Security, but you just might get caught, and you might have to pay it back. So it's just good to go ahead and fix it.
Um, Megan, my neighbor, I was placed on SSI at age three because of disability. She is now 66. Does she file for Social Security when she turned 67?
Um, number one, Megan, awesome. This is exactly what I was talking about, but you know, other people out there being selfish, and they just think about themselves. That's not the kind of community we want to build here. We want people like Megan here, um, that looks out for their neighbors.
Okay, so, um, if she's receiving, if she's been receiving disability from SSI, which is a welfare-based program, Supplemental Security Income, when she turned 62 years old, Social Security, if she was entitled to retirement benefits on her own record, they would have forced her to take those benefits because she's on basically a welfare-based program.
And anytime you're on a welfare-based program, you're mandated to take any other benefits that you're eligible for. So, um, no, she should be good.
Um, they should have had her file for retirement benefits on her own record at 62 years old, and she probably did. What happens is if she files for, you know, if she's getting SSI and the max she can get from SSI this year is $967, if she files for retirement or disability or whatever, um, SSDI, the Social Security Disability Insurance, or retirement benefits, if she gets, let's say, $500 from that, then she won't get $967 plus $500.
It'll be the $967 minus $500. So she'll get $500 from regular Social Security and the other $467 from SSI out of the general taxation fund.
Um, so she should be good, but remember, please watch the video I did on living on Social Security alone, where I outlined about 50 other programs that just might help her out or him or, yeah, her out.
Um, so, uh, Medicaid, um, if she has Medicare, get the Medicare Advantage. I usually recommend Medicare supplements, but Medicare Advantage, if you have SSI or Medicare and Medicaid, um, electrical assistance, they got rid of the internet assistance, but yeah, check out my, um, if you look at my videos, uh, I've made two or three versions of living on Social Security alone, so watch that and, uh, and see if, uh, you can help her out with anything else.
Oh, I already answered that one.
Is there any increase in benefits for someone on SSI disability seniors?
Um, yeah, so, yep, so I just talked about that. Um, watch my video on living on Social Security alone, and, uh, yes, see if there's anything else out there for you.
This is not good. A top treasurer is left. Yes, so I'm GNA. I'll talk about that story here, um, in another video.
Um, 19 years regular job, then 17 Texas teacher, retired December 2023, started Medicare January 24, but Social Security is still pending for some reason after several calls.
Um, yeah, if you just filed recently, then Social Security, unfortunately, you know, the Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act, which is only two sentences, yeah, and then they left it to Social Security to do all the details. Typical Congress, and they didn't give Social Security the resources to do this.
So this is 100% the politicians' fault. So reach out to your politicians and say, "Hey, what are you doing to improve customer service? What are you doing to make sure cuts don't happen to our checks in the future?"
Um, and in your particular case, hey, what's going on with the Social Security Fairness Act? Why didn't you guys give Social Security? They're already at a 50-year low of staffing, and now they have to process and adjudicate three million more very difficult claims.
Yeah, it's, uh, it's, and Clay Higgins and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and they're just, yeah, they're just, they have no, well, I think they do have a clue, but they think we're dumb.
So can you get SSI and survivor benefits at the same time? A friend was told no.
Yes, you can 100%, um, but one offsets the other. So just as the same example I just gave, if you are eligible for survivor benefits, any type of benefits from Social Security, regular disability, survivor benefits, retirement benefits, divorce spouse benefits, current spouse benefits, and you're receiving SSI, you have to file for those benefits when you're first eligible.
Because again, SSI is a welfare-based program. So yeah, if your survivor benefits are, you know, $500, $600, then you get that plus you get SSI on top of it for a total of $967. There's a $20 kind of gray area there.
Um, but if the survivor benefits are more than $967, then you'll just go to the survivor benefits, and you'll lose the SSI. But yes, 100%, you can receive both, but again, one offsets the other.
Um, well, all the, I use the government pulled out, they took our money from our Social Security. They need, yeah, yeah, this is an internet myth that we need to, we need to be serious. If we're going to solve the Social Security, you know, problem and make it, you know, strengthen it for the next few decades for us and our kids and grandkids, then we need to stop these internet myths about the Social Security trust fund was stolen.
It's not there; it's all worthless IOUs. So if it's worthless IOUs, why does Wall Street and senators, why are they trying to give it over to billionaires of Wall Street? You know, if this is all fake money, why has Wall Street been chomping at the bit for decades to get hold of that fake money if it's not real money? I mean, answer me that, right?
Um, is there really a benefits card that can be used for groceries, etc.? How do I apply?
Yes, there is, but they are, that's like the biggest advertising scam on the internet probably. But they do exist; it's just the way they advertise them is really, really scammy.
So those are connected to Medicare Advantage plans, and the best ones, the ones with the most benefits, generally, we're talking, you know, nationwide, are the ones for people with Medicare and Medicaid. They're called Medicare Advantage dual eligible plans, and they do exist.
And those grocery cards do exist. You can buy groceries and pay your rent and electricity and all kinds of good stuff with those things. They do exist, but they're advertised really scammy.
You've got some, you know, health insurance agent or company that finds the best one in the country in one particular zip code in one particular, you know, West Virginia or East Texas or something, and then they advertise it on Facebook to everybody, and everybody calls them up, and then they say, "Oh yeah, well, you don't live in this particular city in West Virginia, so you don't get it."
And then they do the hard sell and try to sell you something else. So yeah, don't, uh, don't fall for it. If you, you know, can reach out to CHAP, they can look to see if one of those is available in your particular area.
So they are pretty much zip code specific. Um, so there just might be ones like that in your specific zip code, but, uh, yeah, um, they can, they'll let you know there.
Um, John B, and then this is also the open enrollment period. So if you made a, if you picked a Medicare Advantage plan and you're like, "Oops, I shouldn't have picked this plan; it doesn't have my doctors; you know, it's a terrible plan," you can switch.
Um, you can switch one time during January, February, March during what's called the open enrollment period. So today's the last day of the month, so if you want to switch, call up CHAP, and they can switch, and you can have a brand new plan tomorrow, February 1st.
Um, you can also, I always recommend Medicare supplements first. So always, always, always check out Medicare supplements first, a Plan Medicare Plan N or a Plan G, so that way you don't have prior authorizations, you don't have networks, you know, those declining networks.
But they do come at a cost, so that's one of the reasons most people choose, well, 51% of people choose Medicare Advantage plans is because of that zero cost and those extra, you know, bells and whistles and stuff like that.
But, um, yeah, um, sometimes it might not be worth it, so the extra bells and whistles and zero premium because you do have prior authorizations and limited networks and everything.
So Penelope B, John B, 8% a year, so 24% from age 67 to 70.
Okay, looks like Penelope is answering somebody's question. Sounds like, uh, you're answering a question about delayed retirement credits. Yes, if you delay your retirement, you don't collect your benefits after your full retirement age, then you get 8% per year, um, added to your benefits.
Travis, what's up, Travis? I'm retired, 74 years young, widower, receiving 1545 a month Social Security. I will soon be marrying a younger lady with minor children. Can I get dependent benefits for minors who are my stepchildren?
Yes, if you are providing half support. So, um, yeah, when you, uh, file for those benefits, the children can get up to 50% of your full benefit amount. Absolutely. But you just, a Social Security employee has to ask you some more questions to determine whether you're providing half support to these, uh, stepchildren.
Yep, easy, easy, easy. Done it a few hundred thousand times.
LJ, retired, I am 67, receiving divorced spouse survivors. I have been working part-time to pay off debt faster. Should I stop doing this based on recent developments in Congress?
Um, divorce, I've been paying part-time. I, yeah, I don't see any developments in Congress that, uh, would necessarily, you know, make you change your mind. I'm not sure what development you're talking about, but yeah, if you're working part-time, you're going to pay off your debt faster, and divorce, uh, you're receiving your divorce spouse benefits, then yeah, I don't see anything that, uh, um, chill peeps.
President Musk and First Lady are on this.
Okay, um, cuts, cuts, cuts, and we, the ones bleeding. Yes, yeah, not sure where did the 70 billion go. Well, 70 billion in 2023 went into your paychecks. So if you're receiving Social Security, um, look at your bank account. That's where part of that $70 billion in 2023, so probably we haven't got the final numbers for 2024, how much they pulled out of the trust fund.
So there's like 2.7, 2.6 trillion in the trust fund, and in 2023, they pulled out 70 billion and gave it to you, put it in your checks. In 2024, probably more, 80, 90, 100 billion was taken out of the Social Security trust fund, the savings account that Baby Boomers built up, and it was given, put in your check.
So if people say, "Uh, it's all fake money," there's a challenge for you. If you think that trust fund money is fake money, that money is in your check. So that's probably 20% of 10 or 15% of your check. So if you think that 10% of your check is fake money, then, uh, I'm sure there's an animal shelter in your community that will think that's real money, so give 10% of that fake money to your animal shelter or something.
So there you go. Just got approved for long-term disability through the school district. Can't get pension. I told need to apply for Social Security disability. Now what happens if I get denied or when I told for retirement age in two years? I'm 65 in September.
Yeah, so these insurance companies that your long-term, uh, disability, you know, they're, you know, they probably have some type of thing where if you get approved for disability benefits, they have to pay less. And so that's why they are kind of forcing you to file for Social Security disability because they make out.
Um, and but if you're, if you're denied, then, then in terms of Social Security, then you're denied. But you always, you know, you should, if you think you're truly disabled, unable to work, then you file an appeal, and you appeal that.
Um, if you're approved for disability, so you're 65, your Medicare probably already started unless you're receiving health insurance from work, current work.
Um, when I turn, yeah, if you get denied, um, and you don't want to file again, then you can wait till your full retirement age to collect your retirement benefits.
So Kathy, my older son received Social Security Disability off of his dad's benefits as disabled. He lost those benefits over an erroneous marriage in 2015. How can he get them back when he receives VA dependent benefits?
Okay, so yeah, so he was getting disabled adult child benefits, and when a disabled adult child marries, those benefits stop. But unless the disabled adult child marries another disabled adult child, there's actually, uh, somebody introduced a congressperson introduced a law, a bill in Congress to end that thing that you're allowed to get married, but I'm keeping an eye on that.
It's just a, it's just a bill right now, so pretty much it was just introduced the last week or so, but I'm keeping an eye on that. But as of right now, yes, a disabled adult child that gets married to anybody other than another disabled adult child, their benefits will end.
But if it's an erroneous marriage or they have since got divorced, then, um, file for benefits, uh, file an appeal, refile for benefits, and, uh, um, Social Security will make the determination whether they can restart those benefits.
The VA dependent benefits, no relevance whatsoever.
Um, we keep voting for less government and less taxes, and we get neither, just less service. Are you kidding?
Yeah, getting the hint? Yes, yes, that's, uh, yeah, that's another thing they say, uh, um, you know, the only way that's going to raise, you know, we can either raise the retirement age or raise taxes.
Um, no, those are not the two options. We're talking about raise the retirement age. No, I don't think we should raise the retirement age. I think 67 is fine for me personally, you, but, um, and they say raise taxes. No, we're not talking about raising taxes on us because we pay taxes on every dollar, FICA taxes, Social Security FICA taxes, and every dollar we earn.
We're talking about making it fair so people that make over $176,100 pay taxes, FICA taxes on the money they earned over that. They pay up to the $176,100 like the rest of us, but they don't pay after this.
So if you make $50,000 a year, you pay FICA 6.2% on every penny, every dollar you make. If you make five million, you don't pay 6.2%. I calculated it out; you pay 0.43% because you only pay for the first $176.
Yeah, so it's crazy.
Um, anyway, so we need to make it fair. So I'm 62, only get $700 in Social Security. Any way I can get more? They said 32% of ex-husband's Social Security is less than anything I can do.
Okay, yeah, if you only get $700, then, uh, number one, um, yeah, for SSI, the only time you get SSI, the Supplemental Security Income, that extra, you know, couple of three, $267 is if you're disabled at 62. Other than that, you have to wait till you're 65 to apply for SSI.
Um, but if you're only receiving $700, I would definitely, you know, reach out to Medicaid in the state, Department of Social Services, Department of Welfare, whatever they call it in your state, and apply for Medicaid, and hopefully that'll, you know, help you with at least health care there.
Um, yeah, um, and then when you're 65, you apply for Medicare, and if you have Medicaid, Medicaid will pay for your Medicare. And again, watch that video I did on, uh, the 50 things that, uh, might help you out.
So why is payment shown on the Social Security site different from the number that Social Security tells you is your top amount from the delayed retirement credits when you take it at 70?
Social Security site says higher amount for benefit and family max.
Yeah, the Social Security, you won't, you won't get a perfect amount until you actually file a claim. So the Social Security website assumes different things. It has it in there. It says, "Okay, you made, you know, X amount last year, and we assume you're going to continue making that amount next year and the year after, whatever the case may be."
And then when you call Social Security, they give you kind of a today without necessarily projection in the future. So that's one of the differences. But to get a 100% accurate number, you have to file a claim, go through the process, and then, you know, then it'll tell you exactly what the number is.
I'm a retired three years and receiving my Social Security benefits. My husband, 70, still works and also receiving his Social Security. If I applied for current spousal benefits, would it affect his Social Security benefit amount?
No, absolutely not. When a spouse receives benefits, whether it's your current spouse or divorce spouses or whatever, it doesn't affect that person's benefit at all.
So yeah, you're retired, your husband still works and also receives, um, so for you to apply for spouse benefits, you have to apply for your own benefits first. And then if his benefits is twice your benefit amount, your full benefit amount, his full benefit amount is twice your full benefit amount, then you can get, uh, the difference from his.
But you have to file for benefits on his record, and no, it does not affect his benefits at all.
So, all right, um, all these lawyers and positions who government makes you say, yeah, they, it's all politics, and it's, again, it's both parties. Even, you know, President Biden, he passed that Social Security Fairness Act, and he said this is the first time in decades that Social Security has been expanded.
No, it's not that. That wasn't an expansion. That just gives 3% of retired government workers an extra percentage that other people equal to them don't get. There's nothing about expansion, so it was just a political, yeah, um, yeah, I'm frustrated on all sides, so understand that.
F begins next week; the price is going up from the tariffs.
Yes, and that's another thing that's going to hurt going forward because COLA is based on, you know, a basket of goods. That's how they determine COLA every year is by a basket of goods, and they compare it with one year with the next year, and that's how to determine, you know, whether COLA is going to be 2.5 or 8.7 or something like that.
But when those basket of goods goes up because of tariffs, that means COLA next year is going to go up, you know, more than 2.5 or 3%. And you're like, "Oh great, more COLA." Well, that's because prices went up, and a larger COLA equals more out of the trust fund.
More out of the trust fund every year means that trust fund is going to be depleted sooner. So the cuts won't happen in 2033 or 2034; they might happen 2030 or 2031, a year or two years early. So those tariffs have ripple effects throughout the economy, including on your Social Security check.
Um, let's see here.
Um, the hiring freeze can be reversed. Yes, absolutely. Yes, it can be unfrozen.
Um, yes, 100%. But with Social Security, if the president and Congress said, "Okay, you know, um, you know, if Marjorie Taylor Greene and, uh, Clay Higgins and all those other politicians, you know, realize that they were just lying when they said, 'Tork ending Tor will solve all the customer service,'" if they say, "Okay, yeah, we were wrong. It's the fact that there's a 50-year low in staffing. We will give Social Security enough employees to take care of the American people so Ed can go back into retirement and don't have to make these videos anymore because people will get their help from Social Security where they should get their help from."
The problem is that's going to make customer service worse for about a year because it takes a good three or four months of training, eight hours a day, four days, five days a week of training for three or four months to train a Social Security employee on the 20,000 pages of policy.
And after the three or four months of training, they are 100% reviewed. So all their cases, they're reviewed for like six months or more. So even if, you know, Social Security got 20, 30,000 employees or whatever, yet tomorrow, customer service would still be bad, if not worse, for the next year until all those employees got fully trained because it takes people to train those people, and that takes away from, you know, people in the offices.
So yeah, um, 25 calls in two days to finally get a phone interview in March.
Yeah, that is completely unsatisfactory, as we used to say in the Marine Corps, completely unsat.
So call your politician, and, uh, so when you're on hold, um, for an hour or two hours or three hours, um, pop up your laptop, your computer, get on to your politician's website, the two senators, the House representatives represent your district, and say they have on their websites, it has this thing, "I need help with a federal agency," and you put down there, "I need help with the federal agency. I need the damn federal agency to pick up the phone. I need you to staff those offices so those people can help me with my survivor benefit, with my disability, to get my check changed, deal with an overpayment, whatever the case may be. I need staff on the other side of that call or the other side of that phone to help out."
Um, yeah, so what can you file electronically, if anything, for your Social Security benefits, or must you get an appointment to file for all your concerns?
Um, yeah, the Social Security Administration is, you know, they're doing, uh, you can file for retirement online, you can file for disability online, you can file for spouse benefits online.
Um, SSI, they just added SSI, Supplemental Security Income, part of the application online to start the application. You can't do survivor benefits yet, um, but you can't do independently entitled divorce spouse benefits yet.
And so there's still some, uh, limitations, but still, even if you do it online, there's someone on the other side of that computer that looks at your claim and reviews it, determines whether everything is good, you know, you picked the right month of entitlement, you chose the right benefits.
You should have, wait a second, you said you were disabled; why didn't you file for disability? You said you were married; well, let's see if you are eligible for any benefits.
So, you know, just filing online, there's still a human being that has to review that.
So, um, Trump has stiffed so many contractors.
Okay, all right.
Um, Social Security office was very busy today.
Yeah, yeah, very busy every day, unfortunately.
Um, I have learned so much from Dr. Ed.
Yeah, perfect, great, awesome. And you are part of the awesome community that, uh, you know, you listen to these things, you let, you listen to me drone on for an hour every day, um, for your own purposes, but for all those people around you say when you talk to, you know, your barber or that's someone that cuts your hair, I'm not really familiar with that whole concept, but anyway, I just let it fall out naturally.
But yeah, if you're a hairdresser, your weight, uh, someone at the gas station, restaurant, or whatever the case may be, um, you ask those questions, "Hey, weren't you married before? And, you know, getting survivor benefits? Are you getting dis, are you going to file?"
And, you know, just, you know, um, yeah, send them over here, and we can help them out.
Uh, like Kathy, I've been spreading your site. Perfect, thank you.
Um, it seems to be easy enough to file for straight Social Security benefits online.
Yes, if you have an easy case like that, and you're, you don't have what's called scrambled earnings, that your earnings record is correct, you were born in the United States, and therefore you probably don't need a birth certificate, um, your age and name or everything is correct on your Social Security card, on the internal records, then yeah, to file for retirement is very, very easy, um, online.
But again, you know, that takes away from, you know, the person on the other side gets 10 of those a day, and they have one difficult one, but they can't get to the difficult one because they get another 10 easy ones they have to, you know, have to review.
And so those difficult ones add up, and the stack on the desk gets larger and larger.
You're a rock star. I appreciate your honesty, Dr. Ed, for president.
Wow, that would be a very scary thing.
Um, anything complicated, like trying to bring in a marriage certificate, divorce decree, etc., good luck in most Social Security offices, especially now. Must go in person with those docs.
Yeah, yeah, that's unfortunate.
Um, again, the reason is because Congress refuses to support Social Security, and they've had to go to an appointment-only system the first time since 1935. This has never happened before that they've had to do this.
Yeah, it's unfortunate.
Um, I received SSI since, um, I received SSI disability since age five, 45. I'm now 59. Are there any cuts for me?
Let's hope not. Um, I know under President Trump's previous administration, that's one of the things he was focusing on was SSI, Medicaid, and disability.
Um, so people say, "Well, he said no cuts," but in terms of disability, they have mentioned efficiency, fraud, waste, and abuse. So making it more difficult to get disability and making it more difficult to keep disability and SSI is, you know, you're probably, yes, 100%. Your SSI is disability, so funding for all of those.
Yeah, um, I contacted CHAP, and there are no Medicare Advantage plans in my area. Any suggestions?
Yeah, you must be way out in the desert of the country or something like that. There's usually like one, but I know the company, and, uh, in some respects, it might be, um, well, yeah, if there's none in your area, that one probably went out of business. It was just a terrible one.
So wow, yeah, um, has some Medicare Advantage companies pull it out of entire states, and they're cutting back.
And so, okay, thank you for the Super Chat. Thank you very much for the support. You are too awesome.
Um, Joanne, what's up, Joanne? Yes, married for over ten years. Husband is drawing, worked till his full retirement age, always paid into Social Security, receives military pension and Social Security. I have no record of my own.
You may be right; maybe I should refile.
Yes, 100%. If you, it doesn't matter whether you're insured or not insured from Social Security; that means nothing. If you're eligible for benefits as a spouse or divorce spouse, then you're good.
And the fact that your husband is drawing, again, that's not relevant either necessarily. Um, if your ex-husband is at least 62 years old and you've been divorced for two years, then, um, you can file for benefits on that person's record even if they, you know, haven't filed.
But, uh, yeah, um, yeah, not sure why you were denied the first time around. Refiled, or maybe you were receiving a non-covered pension; you were a teacher or something like that and didn't pay into Social Security, um, and the windfall elimination, or excuse me, the government pension offset stopped your benefits.
But yeah, now that the law is no longer in effect, I would definitely refile 100%.
Um, let's see. I'm going to jump around here. We've only got a few minutes left, so I'm going to jump around to see anybody that I don't recognize.
Lisa, can my 91-year-old mother collect my stepfather's government annuity and her Social Security if he passes?
Um, so I don't know about the annuity, government annuity. That's, I have to contact, uh, whatever agency, OPM or whatever. But yeah, in terms of, uh, Social Security, um, if she was married, um, currently married, if it was a divorce type situation, married for ten years or longer, um, if they're currently married, as long as they've been married for nine months and married when he passes, um, and his benefit is larger than his, than absolutely.
But remember, if, uh, if his benefit is twice as much as hers, then she can collect those spouse benefits now.
So, um, yeah, find out, uh, how much they are, and don't look at the checks. That's the MBA. You need to look at the PIA. And what does that mean? The MBA is the monthly benefit amount, how much gets direct deposited into the account.
Don't look at that because one person might have filed early and the other one not, and Medicare might be taken off and y-y-y. So you don't look at those numbers; you have to look at the PIA. The PIA is the benefit amount they would have received at full retirement age. That's how Social Security determines.
So one has to be twice over twice the other. So if that's the fact, then she just might be eligible for benefits right now. If not, then, um, if his benefit is even a dollar more than hers, then when he passes, she might be eligible for that.
So, um, verify your doctors on those Advantage Plans. Yes, that is the number one thing. Anytime you call CHAP and you say you want an Advantage plan, that's the first thing they do is, "Okay, let's go with your doctors."
There's dozens and dozens and dozens of plans in your area, but let's find one that covers as most doctors as possible. And then when they do that, then they check, um, your prescriptions and try to save you as much money on prescriptions.
And then after you do the doctors and the prescriptions, then you look for, you know, uh, savings, and this one's $100 a night for hospital; this one's $200 savings. And then you look for those other bells and whistles, you know, gym membership and transportation and grocery cards or whatever the case may be.
So you go down the list, and CHAP does do that 100% free for you, so give them a call.
Um, I haven't paid into Social Security for 20 years. I keep the fruits of my labor as the founding fathers intended.
Yeah, so, okay, all right. Yeah, it is social; it's, yeah, that's a social part of Social Security. Yeah, it's a, you know, it's not a private retirement account; it's not an IRA. It is Social Security.
Yep, so absolutely.
Um, let's see. Um, just started watching this update, and I'm ten minutes into it, and I'm still waiting to hear how my benefits are currently being affected. Nothing yet.
Well, again, that, um, this channel might not be for you then, um, because it's not just about you. You're hopefully watching for all those people around you.
So if your benefits are good, you did everything right, Social Security treated you right, they calculated your benefits correctly, you got the right benefits, awesome, good for you, good for them, look great for your local office, awesome.
But, uh, let's think about other people other than yourself and think about your neighbors and relatives and associates and co-workers, and, uh, yeah, go out there, and let's, uh, let's get people, yeah, a lot of people out there struggling.
All right, let's see.
Um, now I'm approved that I got them in reapplied in August, but now the only back pay is when they got my documents in last month. How do I appeal, and do you think it's worth it?
Okay, I'm not sure exactly. I, that sounds like a second question, but, um, anytime you disagree with the actual decision, so when someone at the Social Security office is saying you're going to get X amount, that's not a decision. You don't get an actual decision until you get that letter.
So once you get that letter, it says, "Here's how much you're going to get. Here's how much back pay you're going to get. Here's when the month is going to start." Then at the bottom of that letter, it gives you your appeal rights.
And the first level in appeal is a request for reconsideration, SSA 561. So if you disagree with the month of entitlement, which is the back pay there, then you submit that 561, and, uh, you say, "Hey, no, I first contacted you this month, and so I should get the back pay for, you know, two or three or four or five extra months."
Is it worth it? Then, you know, it's, it, to do a 561 is really, really easy. Um, it's, you just download it on the internet. Um, it only has a couple of lines to put in what you're appealing, so you can just put, like, "See attached," and add another piece of paper on there, send, submit it to Social Security.
Make sure you keep a copy, submit it to Social Security, and another employee will look at your case and determine whether the first employee made a correct decision. And if they didn't, then they'll fix it.
So, yep, David, when it comes to full retirement age, if you work for a company 30 or more years and reach the required retirement, one to be able to retire with full benefits.
Um, okay, yeah, that sounds like, uh, yeah, and full retirement age, uh, they determine your benefit amount by your high 35 years of earnings.
So, Ohio farmer, how much Social Security income do you receive in your retirement as a rough percentage of your total retirement based on the fact that Social Security employees have government?
Okay, I'm not sure what that means, but, um, so Social Security benefits are based on your averaged indexed monthly earnings. So if your average earnings index for a wage index is $10,000 a month, you will get a 35% return.
If your average indexed monthly earnings per month is a thousand, you get 90%. So the lower earning, the lower income workers get a higher percentage, and that's what the Social Security Fairness Act makes unfair is that these 3% get a higher percentage like they are low-income workers, and I completely disagree with it, but that's the law.
And anyway, so there, I lost that battle.
Um, I think all, you know, teachers, the other 97% of teachers and firefighters and everybody out there should get a higher percentage of their benefits like those 3%, but, uh, that's not what Biden and Trump also supported that as well, and politicians bipartisan supported it.
It was 100% political BS, but, uh, it's the law now, so anyway.
All right, I am over time. We're at an hour, and I apologize I didn't get to all your questions there. I will be back tomorrow. I think I might be back tomorrow, um, or the next day, um, and get your questions.