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He doesn't get the full SSA until age 67, and it won't be much at all if he takes it early, but I doubt he can afford the monthly cost of Medicare on his
small salary (under $15,000.00. He is able to work part time. If the State puts him on the Buy-in, the State covers the cost of the Medicare premium. Does anyone know the law in this area or who I can ask? Thanks, KBHKBH

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Call the local Area Agency on Aging. Or, the Minnesota Dept of Human Services :

(contact us link at bottom) https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/adults/health-care/health-care-programs/programs-and-services/income-asset-limits.jsp
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My sister was on something similar in her state. When she turned 65, she had to get medicare, but her medicare premiums were paid for by Medicaid due to being low income. When she turned 67 and started receiving full SSA, her Medicare premiums were no longer financed by Medicaid.
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I agree, call your Office of aging. When I looked up "buy in" Medicare Advantages popped up. Personally, I am leary of these. Medicare contracts out to these companies. The problem is, you must stay in their network to get their "Advantages". One of which is "maybe" paying the Medicare premium, which for me is about $144. But, this maybe a good plan for him. Even with straight Medicare you need a secondary insurance to pick up the 20% Medicare doesn't pay. So you have to compare straight Medicare and the cost of a supplimental to the cost of a Medicare advantage.

I took my SS at the age of 62. I had worked f/t and p/t jobs. I would have received 100% at 66. If I had waited till 66 I would have received about $950 a month instead of the 750 I did receive at 62, I figured over a period of 4 years I would receive about 30k taking it at 62. When I divided that by the difference of the $950 and $750, it would take me 15 years or so to make that difference up if I collected at 66. He could collect at 62 and still work because they now allow you to make a little over 18k a year. If he wanted, he could put that SS into CDs or an IRA and collect some interest. Not sure about this, but if he continues to work collecting SS, his SS will be eventually adjusted accordingly. My GF, a widow, collected her SS early but worked till she was over 70. By this time her lifetime earnings surpassed her husbands so an adjustment was made and she received $300 more a month in SS. So waiting until 67 may not really be that good it all depends on how much he earned in a lifetime. At 62 u get 75%, waiting till full retirement is 100% and till 70 135%. You may want to see if someone at Office of aging can work this out for him.
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Chicagoannie21 Apr 2021
Super helpful...thank you for so generously sharing real-life numbers and information.
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KBHKBH, in addition to contacting the Minnesota Dept. of Human Services to find out how it will help or completely cover various Medicare premiums, I suggest contacting your local Social Security office to get exact SS benefit estimates if starting at current age, age 67, and age 70 (or any age in between). While age 67 is the "full benefit age" for anyone born in 1960 or later, the initial monthly benefit will still increase 6%-8%/year (about 0.65%/month) until the maximum is reached at age 70. The advisability of whether to start SS earlier or later than "full benefit age" depends on each person's individual and family circumstances. The websites below have SSA primers on these issues, but I would still contact the local office as well.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/otherthings.html
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html
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Here is another good resource:
https://opensocialsecurity.com/
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Best response is by Labs4me. Follow up with an application for Medicaid. She may also qualify for food stamps.
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