I'm currently going through this transition myself and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm 65, started Medicare Part B last year while still working, and just began my Social Security benefits this month. Sure enough, I got hit with the double payment too - Medicare took $203 from my bank account AND SSA deducted it from my first SS check. What really bothers me is that this seems to be such a predictable, routine problem that you'd think there would be better coordination by now. I called Medicare this morning using the 1-800-MEDICARE number that everyone recommended, and just like others have mentioned, the rep immediately knew what I was calling about before I finished explaining. She said "Social Security transition?" and I hadn't even gotten that far in my explanation yet! The good news is they were able to stop future bank withdrawals immediately and started the refund process for this month's duplicate payment. They gave me confirmation numbers for both actions, which I wrote down based on the advice in this thread. The rep said to expect a paper refund check in 6-8 weeks. For anyone else dealing with this - definitely call sooner rather than later. The Medicare rep mentioned that the longer you wait, the more complicated it gets to unravel multiple months of duplicate payments. Also, have your Social Security benefit start date handy when you call - they'll ask for it to verify when the SSA deductions began. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - it made the whole process much less stressful knowing exactly what to expect!

I'm about to turn 65 next month and will be starting Medicare Part B while continuing to work for another year before taking Social Security. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea this coordination issue existed! It sounds like when I do eventually start my SS benefits, I'll need to immediately call Medicare to stop any bank withdrawals to avoid the double payment nightmare that so many of you have experienced. One question for those who've been through this - is there any advantage to setting up the Medicare Part B payments through Social Security deduction from the very beginning when you first enroll in Medicare, even if you're not taking SS benefits yet? Or do you have to be actively receiving benefits for that option to be available? I'm wondering if there's a way to avoid the bank withdrawal setup altogether and prevent this coordination issue from happening in the first place. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed, real-world experiences - this thread should honestly be required reading for anyone approaching Medicare and Social Security eligibility!

dont trust SS to be there when u retire!!! my dad says the whole system is going bankrupt by 2034 and we'll all get reduced benefits anyway so what does it matter

Great question! As someone who's been helping people navigate Social Security planning, I'd add that there's another factor to consider: the "bend points" in the benefit formula change annually. The progressive nature means your first dollar of average monthly earnings gets a 90% return, but earnings above certain thresholds get much lower returns (32% and 15%). One thing people often overlook is that if you're married, you'll also want to consider spousal benefits and survivor benefits in your planning. The higher earner's benefit becomes especially important for the surviving spouse. Also worth noting: while maximizing earnings helps, don't sacrifice your health or family life just to boost SS benefits. The difference between a good salary and maximum salary might only translate to a modest increase in monthly benefits due to that progressive formula structure.

I'm new to this community and wanted to first offer my heartfelt condolences on your father's passing. I recently joined after my own family started dealing with Social Security complications, and I've been really impressed by how supportive everyone here has been. Reading through all the responses, it's clear your brother has a strong case for DAC benefits. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from helping a friend navigate SSA issues is to consider bringing a simple notebook to jot down names and employee ID numbers of everyone you speak with at SSA. My friend found this incredibly helpful when she had to follow up later - she could reference specific conversations and the staff seemed to take her more seriously when she had detailed records. Also, if your brother has any current medical documentation that shows his disability onset date, it might be worth bringing that along too. While he's already receiving SSDI so the "disabled before 22" requirement should be clear, having backup documentation never hurts when dealing with government agencies. The advice everyone has shared here about persistence, preparation, and not taking no for an answer is spot on. Best of luck with this process, and please keep us updated on how it goes! This community clearly cares about helping each other through these challenging situations.

I'm new to this community and wanted to first express my sincere condolences on your father's passing. I recently joined after my own family started dealing with Social Security issues, and I've been following this thread with great interest as we're navigating similar challenges. While I don't have personal experience with DAC benefits yet, I wanted to share something I learned when helping my aunt with her SSA paperwork last month. She found it really helpful to create a simple checklist of everything she needed to accomplish during her appointment - not just what documents to bring, but also what questions to ask and what forms to request. This helped her stay focused during what turned out to be a pretty overwhelming meeting with multiple interruptions and distractions. Based on all the excellent advice shared here, it sounds like your checklist might include things like: requesting form SSA-4-BIC, asking for a protective filing date, requesting benefit calculations for both scenarios, asking about backdating to your father's date of death, and making sure to speak with someone who specializes in survivor benefits if the first person seems unfamiliar with DAC benefits. The wealth of knowledge and support in this community is truly remarkable. Everyone who has shared their experiences - both positive and challenging - has created such a valuable resource. Wishing you and your brother all the best as you navigate this process!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the state tax implications if you live in a state that taxes Social Security benefits. Some states like Colorado, Connecticut, and others have their own rules for taxing SS benefits that might be different from federal rules. Also, if you're doing conversions, make sure you have cash available to pay the taxes from sources OTHER than the IRA you're converting. If you have to withdraw extra money from the IRA just to pay the conversion taxes, that defeats part of the purpose. Since you mentioned your financial advisor brought up concerns, I'd really encourage getting a second opinion from a fee-only financial planner who specializes in retirement tax planning. Sometimes advisors who work on commission might have different motivations than what's best for your specific tax situation. The fact that you're thinking about this strategically before age 73 puts you way ahead of most people. Just take your time and model out a few different scenarios before jumping in!

I'm also approaching this situation (turning 65 next year and considering when to start SS and do Roth conversions) and this thread has been incredibly helpful! One additional consideration I've been researching is the "tax torpedo" effect that can happen when Social Security benefits first become taxable. Basically, when you cross those provisional income thresholds ($25k single/$32k married), each additional dollar of income doesn't just get taxed at your marginal rate - it ALSO causes more of your SS benefits to become taxable. This can create an effective marginal tax rate that's much higher than your actual tax bracket. For example, if you're in the 22% bracket and cross the threshold where SS becomes taxable, you might effectively pay tax on $1.85 for every additional dollar of conversion income (the $1 conversion + $0.85 of newly taxable SS benefits). This reinforces what others have said about doing smaller, carefully planned conversions rather than large ones. The math gets pretty complex, which is why working with a tax professional who understands this stuff is probably worth the cost. Has anyone else run into this "tax torpedo" situation with their conversions?

Just wanted to add one more consideration - since you mentioned caring for your wife who has health issues, you might want to look into whether you qualify for any caregiver credits or if your wife might be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits if she isn't already receiving them. Sometimes there are spousal benefit strategies that can help maximize household Social Security income, especially when one spouse has health issues. Also, if your wife worked and earned her own Social Security credits, you'll eventually be able to choose between your own benefit and a spousal benefit (whichever is higher). It's worth discussing these scenarios with SSA when you call to get your benefit estimate confirmed.

One thing that might help put this in perspective - you can actually run some rough calculations yourself before calling SSA. Take your 19 years of earnings (you can find these on your SSA statement), add 16 zeros, then divide the total by 35 to get your average. That average gets put through SSA's benefit formula to determine your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Since you were earning $160k annually, even with those zeros factored in, you're probably looking at a pretty decent benefit. The formula is progressive, meaning lower earners get a higher percentage of their average earnings replaced, but higher earners like yourself still get substantial dollar amounts even at the lower replacement percentages. The key thing to remember is that your high earnings years will help offset those zeros more than you might expect. Someone who worked 35 years but had many low-earning years early in their career might not be that much better off than your situation.