Will Disabiltie decrease when 65 yrs is reached

[lmunchkin]

John has been recieving Disability check for a little over a year now.  My question is will it drop down when he reaches age 65 next year?  They send a summary out showing what you receive of Social Security (65)  and what you recieve if disabled.  I would think not, but then Ive been surprised by some things with regard to Federal Govt.

I know he would still be working had it not been for ESRD past age 65.  The extra money every month DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!

God Bless,
lmunchkin

[boswife]

ya know munch... I worried about that too as i was told that yes it does decrease. Im guessing different states are different, but i didnt see a change when hubby came to that age. I know i was watching for it, but i know i was also destracted with carring for mom and hubby and loosing my mind bout then, but im pretty sure that i would have caught that.  I sure hope not though for your sake.   

[lmunchkin]

You are a good person Boswife.  You care so deeply and I admire that about you.

Well Im thinking it won't, cause he would still be working past age of 65 had it not been for ESRD. I know he has enough credits because he has been paying Social Security for years.  It would be a shock if they dropped his monthly premium because he is 65.  The man has worked his ass off for many years and that would be a "slap" in his face and a downright disgrace IMO!

But it would not surprise me in this given economy.

lmunchkin

[smcd23]

No, it will not decrease at age 65 (actually 66 since that's most peoples full retirement age now). The way I explain it to folks is that by taking disability, you are essentially taking your full retirement benefit early. So you get the highest possible amount because you're disabled, and it will not change so long as you are still disabled. The only reason some folks see a decrease is because of Medicare. But if you're on disability for ESRD, chances are the medicare is already coming out.

[Chris]

I was told it does decreaseby a rep from social security at a seminar I went to a couple years ago. He said it would go down to $685 or 600 something. I had notes, but do not know what I did with them. Either way it sounds like I'm screwed if I live that long and need an apartment.

[smcd23]

Chris it shouldn't go down at all! I work for SSA and unless I've been doing it wrong for almost 10 years the only reason it would decrease at 65 would be the Medicare deduction, but if you already have Medicare coming out, then it would remain the same.

[Chris]

It's not the first tme I was given wrong answers by a rep from the local office, but learned that if 4 out of 5 dentist agree, forget about what dentist #5 said!

[smcd23]

Sadly, a lot of times wrong info is given - not that it's entirely wrong, but it's not the right information for every situation. As we all know, people with ESRD are a special group so a lot of SSA rules are different for ESRD patients than regular folks. Trust me, I hear all sorts of strange things on a daily basis!

But I can assure everyone that there is no rule or rules that will reduce someones Disability when they reach retirement age. Think of disability as taking your full retirement early because you're disabled. The only thing that can change that is if you willingly switch from disability to retirement (and there are few situations where you'd want to do this, or where it would be beneficial, but those situations are NOT the norm and I'd say 99% of people here would not benefit) or if for some reason you were not on Medicare and you elected to take it based on age at 65 - then your benefits would be reduced by the Part B premium amount.

[lmunchkin]

Thanks yall for your thoughts.  I had his SW check on it for us, and Smcd, you are right.  It will not go down when he reaches 65.  When it comes to Fed govt, any thing can change on a fly!!!  At least for now, it will remain!

Again, thanks all,
lmunchkin