Social Security application at age 70 - is birth certificate required when already on Medicare?

I just went through this process with my mom who turned 70 in January. Since she was already on Medicare, she didn't need to provide her birth certificate again when applying for retirement benefits. The SSA already had her birth verification on file. As long as your brother has his Social Security number and basic info for the online application, he should be fine. One tip though - tell him to apply 2-3 months before his birthday to make sure everything processes in time for him to get his first payment in his birthday month.

Your brother is correct. If he's already enrolled in Medicare, the SSA will have already verified his date of birth during that application process. However, it's still a good idea to have identity documents accessible just in case there are any discrepancies in the system. When applying online through his mySocialSecurity account, he'll need: - Social Security number - Bank account details for direct deposit - Information about any previous marriages (if applicable) If the SSA needs any additional documentation, they'll contact him after he submits his application. But in most cases where someone is already on Medicare, they don't need to reverify the birth certificate.

my mother in law didnt need her birth certificate when she applied for ss but they did ask for her marriage license because she was getting benefits on her ex husbands record make sure he has all that stuff ready if hes been married

JUST FYI - I DID need my birth certificate even though I was on Medicare already!!! The online system glitched somehow and they said my birthdate didn't match what they had on file (it DID). Had to go to the field office and wait FOUR HOURS with my birth certificate. Tell him to find it NOW or order a new one. The SSA is a MESS these days!!!

I had such a nightmare trying to call SSA when I ran into a problem with my application last year. After getting disconnected six times and waiting on hold for hours, I discovered a service called Claimyr. It saved me so much frustration! They got me connected to a real SSA agent in less than 10 minutes. You might want to tell your brother about it in case he runs into any issues during his application process. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com. It was honestly worth it after the headache of trying to reach someone at SSA directly.

I applied for my retirement benefits last year and everything was super easy until they suddenly needed proof of my name change from 40 years ago!!! Totally threw me off because I'd been on Medicare for years. So even if your brother probably won't need his birth certificate, tell him to be prepared for unexpected document requests. My benefits were delayed 2 months while I tracked down my marriage certificate from 1983!

Just to clarify some of the confusion in this thread: The SSA typically does not require a birth certificate for retirement benefits if you're already enrolled in Medicare, as your identity and birthdate have already been verified. However, there are exceptions that might trigger additional verification: 1. If there are data inconsistencies between systems 2. If your name has changed since your Medicare enrollment 3. If you're claiming benefits on someone else's record 4. If there are flags on your account for any reason For a standard age-70 retirement claim on your own record when already on Medicare, approximately 90% of applicants complete the process without needing to provide additional identity documents. The best approach is to apply 3 months before he wants benefits to begin, which gives time to resolve any unexpected document requests.

Another thing your brother should be aware of - when applying at age 70, make sure he specifically indicates he wants benefits to begin at age 70, not the current month of application. If he applies 2-3 months before turning 70 (which is recommended), the system will default to starting benefits immediately unless he specifies the later start date. This ensures he gets the maximum delayed retirement credits (DRCs) he's entitled to.