A huge decision and I’m terrified

My tongue is sore from biting it...Staap me ...as Popye once said,,,,thas alls i can stand...I can't stands no more...ugg

Hey Logo. Why don’t you just spit it out. You never have anything nice to say anyway so I have come to expect your crap. I will just ignore you like I always do.

Todd1963 said...
I honestly think we will do all right. Still, inflation could make that a lot more difficult in the long run.

When I retire...my income goes to zero. No retirement. No Social security. I will be living 100% on savings. (Coincidentally enough, that’s 2 1/2 years out).

Even people who have solid retirement plans, SS, etc, give retirement at least a passing thought. So it’s no surprise that those of us with no income would give it thought. It sounds like you have done that Todd. You’ve said it yourself. You honestly believe you’ll be alright. I have the same belief Todd. I’ve done ALOT of thinking on my financial situation going forward. And, by my calculations...I honestly believe I will be ok. Although the inflation factor is the real wild card. Inflation is going to be a bear. (My opinion. That’s why I stay out of the political threads here). Matter of fact, it’s already occurring, you know that, which adds to anxiety. What happens when everyone agrees it’s happing? That’s the kind of inflation that concerns me. And the only answer I have for that is...it will do to me what it will do to the vast majority of Americans in this country...it will cut into my financial quality of life. In other words...my standard of living will go down. Absolutely.

Maybe I’m the guy that people point to and say...”what ever you do, don’t do what THAT guy’s doing.” I can PROMISE you...financial planners would say that. My attitude is....

...there’s a limit to how much I’m willing to give up for the unknown.

So, you know what my advice to you is...”go for it”. 😊

And, in 20 years...if we’re both under a bridge...you can always blame me. (For what good that will do ya 😊)

Given your signature I would go if I could.

Island time-just curious how is it you dont get social security

Tod-dont know much about cost of lawyers but sure you have to be careful no doubt there are ripoffs
But you also have to be careful about applying for ssi. So get expert help. Getting recomendation from those who have gone thru it is a good start
Dont be afraid just work thru the details the ones who get into trouble are those who blindly act. That is not you

Todd, the SSA guidelines state that a lawyer can be awarded up to 25% of a person's back pay owed, not to exceed $6,000. Key words "back pay owed". This means the person's claim was denied at onset & they went through the appeals process. Keep in mind too that this applies to an attorney that takes the cases on a Contingency Fee Basis only & it involves an hourly fee. If he/she does not win your case you owe them no money. There are plenty of good SSD lawyers out there that handle these cases with this agreement. They rarely get involved until the person has been denied because the denial is how they start earning their fees. They can review a person's medical records & know if they have a good chance of winning or not.

Once a lawyer is involved SSA tracks what the lawyer has done on the claim such as completion of forms, letters sent to them, this includes your initial interview with the lawyer. That hourly fee is broken into 15 minute increments for work done on the claim by the lawyer. If the lawyer wins the case SSA withholds attorney fees out of the past due benefits owed to the claimant & pays the lawyer directly once the lawyer has provided a Fee Petition to document time spent on the claim.

I never suggest to anyone ever pay a lawyer money up front to handle a SSD claim. If a person pays a lawyer up front, the SSA guidelines are no longer applicable. I personally know some people that did this & regretted it because they were awarded benefits immediately. A friend of mine paid one $4,000 to fill out a form on her initial application, plus she provided a copy of her medical records. I tried talking her out of doing this but she just got scared as many do.

I'm sure you know you cannot be working when you file your claim. You need to visit with your dr immediately to let him know your last day worked so he can establish your date disability began. Go to SSA.gov to the Disability section & read, it's a very informative site. There is a section of forms & one of those forms is for a dr to complete & sign that verifies the individual's diagnosis & disability. Print one off & have your dr complete it, a copy should be included with your application.

Make a folder for your SSD & keep a copy of everything in this folder. You can do this even when applying online. If you get a call from someone at SSA, document who you talked to, date, time & what was discussed. Sounds daunting, but it isn't, you know about record keeping.

I went through this process in 2004 at the age of 52 because of severe crohns disease at my gi dr. recommendation. It took me 3 months to get my head on straight enough to make the phone call to the SSA to get the process going.

I did my own claim & was notified on the 5th month my claim was approved. The forms are straight forward, no trick questions. When you fill out the forms I suggest that you write your answers down on a piece of paper & review them before putting them on the form, details are vital. Between you & your wife you can do this.

Good luck & take care.

Todd1963 said...
The greatest unknown will be trying to invest my money so that it works for me with minimal risk. I think that will be the actual difference between getting bye end Doing pretty good.

When you figure that out please post it here for the rest of us!!! It's the good return with minimal risk part that is really hard to find these days!

JIm

I do have the right people. I have all y’all

I have a question for anyone. Being under 65, and you decide to retire. What do you do for health insurance?

Todd: best piece of investment advice I ever got (from my Dad): Bulls can make money. Bears can make money. Hogs get slaughtered.

Seriously. best of luck to you. It will work out. I'm 3 years out from retirement, and I'm already looking at the numbers. I think it will work if the market behaves itself.

Todd, my apologies. I deleted one of your posts since I deleted the offending one that caused you to respond.

Jim

Regarding your health insurance it is good that your employer plan continues for a year. Then Mandy’s plan will most likely be better for you than either COBRA or an individual plan. Then, after you have been on SSDI for 2 years you go on Medicare. You will not use Medicaid. It looks like Health insurance will be the least of your worries.

Your comment on the disability insurance company helping with the SSDI is something I have seen with several people firsthand. Having worked with several dozen clients and friends trying to get SSDI, a few went on their company disability plan and the the insurance company got them on SSDI in a matter of a month or so. Every dollar of SSDI you get reduces the disability insurance payment. A huge saving for them.

I have only seen one person get SSDI quickly through the Compassionate Allowance application and he was in absolutely terrible shape and not working when he was diagnosed with extensive metastatic cancer. His initial treatment nearly killed him and was probably the reason he got the SSDI so quickly.

On the other hand I watched as a middle age lady suffer through terrible renal and liver problems landing her in the VA hospital just about monthly go through 4 denials and as many appeals over a six year period to finally get the benefit and then passed away in a matter of just a few months.

Next to the loss of a spouse retirement can be one of the most difficult times in our lives. I remember how much sleep I lost struggling with the pros and cons.

Just like with Urologists; investment advisors may place their own interests and bias ahead of yours. Picking a good one can be difficult. For a lot of people without complicated financial issues Target Date Funds can be a simple and sound choice. All of the major Investment Companies have them including Vanguard, TRowe Price and Fidelity. Target Date funds offer a simple solution to diversification and you can withdraw a fixed amount quarterly to help with your needs while letting the remainder work and grow to support future needs. Vanguard has the lowest fees and is a highly reputable Co. I personally deal with TRowe and have for more than 45 years. Just my thoughts and an engineering background.