# Are there others here on Disability?



## Ruthanne (Nov 2, 2016)

I am currently on disability and have been for quite some time.  Maybe we can share some tips on how to survive on the benefits we receive.  I don't get much.  One thing I get is a credit from the state for heat in the Winter and that helps quite a bit. In my state it is called HEAP.  I get about 375.00 toward my heating cost in the Winter which is good because I live in an apt. and my heating bills aren't that high any ways.


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## anodyne (Nov 3, 2016)

I am, for going on 3 years now. I was renting a 3-bdrm home and decided to downsize for obvious reasons. I applied for subsidized housing and moved in with my son and his wife until I was notified that a one-bdrm apartment was available. The rent is only $344. I'm also in the HEAP program and since it's an efficiency apartment, I pay an average of $30/mo for both gas and electricity year-round. These easy-to-handle costs allow me to buy cable TV and internet. Though I have no premium channels and it isn't the fastest internet, I feel lucky that I can afford service at all. I have one phone, a cell-phone, not a smart-phone, that my son included in his friends and family plan. I keep usage under limit and don't get a phone bill. I have one small credit card that I use to buy Christmas gifts every year, limit gifts to grandchildren under age 20, and pay it off within 6 or 7 months. This way there's always credit available for vet or auto emergencies.

Took me a year to really get into the swing of things, but it's working well. The only thing I find distasteful are the rules in my state-subsidized apartment community, and not having a private yard. I'd have been happy with a 5'X8' patch of earth so I could make a hobby of growing ornamental plants and a few vegetables. 

Next year I turn 65, and expect a change of income followed by a rent increase and no doubt other changes.


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## Jane (Nov 3, 2016)

I need to get medicare for doctors visits,but can't find any with no premium and no to small co-pay.Has anyone heard of a plan like that?


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## anodyne (Nov 3, 2016)

Jane said:


> I need to get medicare for doctors visits,but can't find any with no premium and no to small co-pay.Has anyone heard of a plan like that?



The only way to avoid premiums and co-pays is if you qualify for a state aid plan (such as Medicaid) and/or one or more of the Extra Help programs through Social Security. Go to medicare.gov and click on the tab that says 'get help paying costs'.


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## fureverywhere (Nov 3, 2016)

My girl is on SSI, fifteen and her condition won't change. Fifteen at maybe eight? They do check-ups every ten years or so. Plainspeak...she is retarded and we have to find a group situation eventually. She doesn't know, find her some friends on her level...


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## Butterfly (Nov 4, 2016)

My sister was on disability for several years before she was 65 -- when you turn 65, you go from SSI to regular social security and Medicare.


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## Jane (Nov 4, 2016)

Do you get more money,what is the difference?


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## anodyne (Nov 4, 2016)

Jane said:


> Do you get more money,what is the difference?



It depends. SS benefits have categories; Head of Household, Married, Primary Earner, Widow, etc.. (Does anyone know if this has changed recently?)

Disability benefits for someone who worked is based on their earned income over a specific period (in my case, the last 3 years of employment). Their benifits can increase or decrease when they turn 65 and begin collecting the standard monthly SS income for their category (Head of Household, Primary Earner, Widow, etc). As my work hours were reduced the last 3 years before I applied for my social security disability benefits, my SSDI income is not great but will increase when I turn 65 and receive the standard amount for my category.

Someone who is born with a "complete" disability and has never been employed generally receives a lifetime monthly benefit that is the "standard maximum". Those with a "partial" disability may get a lesser amount.


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## Butterfly (Nov 5, 2016)

My sister's did increase some.


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## Lon (Nov 5, 2016)

I am on 70% disability for a military service connected hearing loss.


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## anodyne (Nov 5, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> My sister's did increase some.



Mine will too, by a little over $100 I think (after the Medicare deduction). That won't make life more comfortable as the increase will cause me to lose some of the Aid/Help programs that I am currently taking advantage of, and an increase on my rent. So I expect everything to remain status-quo, or possibly get a bit tighter.


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## anodyne (Nov 5, 2016)

Lon said:


> I am on 70% disability for a military service connected hearing loss.



You get that for a lifetime, right Lon? It seems you are lucky; as my father tells it, he applied for veteran's benefits for a permanent post-war health issue and never heard back from the VA. He served in the Korean Conflict and told me that he believed this was a war that the Pentagon/VA wanted to forget. I don't know if that's true but I remember reading somewhere (in the late 90s I think) that veterans of that "conflict" were finally being given benefits due them, however Dad never applied for anything again. He started getting SS when he turned 65, but worked til he was 73, when he had a stroke. He was contacted then by the VA and told he could go live in a retirement home for veterans of foreign wars, but he preffered to stay home. He was then offered home visits from fellow Korean War veterans, and he so looked forward to that, but none came. I assume the VA was unprepared and became overwhelmed when all our WWII veterans began reaching old age (no foresight!).


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## Lon (Nov 5, 2016)

Yes I will get the benefit for life which in my case at age 82 will not be that much longer. I too am a Korean War Vet and had no problem with the VA documenting that my hearing loss was due to the Jet engine noise that I had to endure for the four years of my service, before ear protectors were required. Fortunately I am financially in good shape and will not require any thing else from the VA.


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## anodyne (Nov 5, 2016)

Lon said:


> Yes I will get the benefit for life which in my case at age 82 will not be that much longer. I too am a Korean War Vet and had no problem with the VA documenting that my hearing loss was due to the Jet engine noise that I had to endure for the four years of my service, before ear protectors were required. Fortunately I am financially in good shape and will not require any thing else from the VA.



Well, I salute you, Lon. According to Dad the Korean war was particularly horrific. He was a Navy Gunner.


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## Butterfly (Nov 6, 2016)

anodyne said:


> Mine will too, by a little over $100 I think (after the Medicare deduction). That won't make life more comfortable as the increase will cause me to lose some of the Aid/Help programs that I am currently taking advantage of, and an increase on my rent. So I expect everything to remain status-quo, or possibly get a bit tighter.



That's what happened to my sister -- she got a little bit more money, but lost the Medicare "extra help" so she actually wound up losing a bit.


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## Ina (Nov 9, 2016)

Good information.  Thanks!


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