Dear John: I have a problem with the Social Security Administration regarding my Medicare payments.
Social Security sent me a bill for $419.60, due in 12 monthly payments. I paid by check for four months, then told it to automatically take the remainder of the money out of my checking account.
The problem is, it took all 12 payments.
Separately, I called Social Security and requested to start collecting my Social Security payments. The agent on the phone told me I could collect going back eight months.
He said I would receive a lump-sum payment of $9,574. After that, I would receive $1,082 every month and my Medicare payments would be taken out of that money.
I explained that three months of Medicare were already paid out of my checking account. The agent said that Social Security will automatically review the payment and will sent me back the extra it took out.
That did not happen.
Thank you and hope to hear from you. M.L.
Dear M.L.: As you already know, I phoned my contact at the Social Security Administration headquarters in Maryland, who jumped right on the matter.
You were phoned the next morning, and headquarters explained that it might still take a couple of months to sort things out. But at least you know that someone at the Brooklyn office will now pay attention — with his very cooperative bosses and me looking over his shoulder.
I’m sure you will now get whatever money is owed you as quickly as possible. And I’ve asked you to let me know the outcome.
As important, I hope the workers at all Social Security offices nationwide learn a lesson from this. Retirees can go over your heads and make trouble.
I had to condense this letter because it was much too long. But before I get more letters about Social Security than I can handle, let me suggest this: If you are having trouble with workers at a particular office, tell them you are going to call The New York Post and their lives will become miserable. You can even show them this article if they don’t believe you.
If that threat doesn’t work, drop me an e-mail or a letter, and I’ll try to help.
Dear John: Why is it that the supposed anti-establishment candidates never bring up the subject of term limits? Not one candidate has brought it up.
I think it’s the only way the government has any chance of getting to a reasonable level of legitimacy.
Would be interested in your discussing it in a column. L.T.
Dear L.T.: I’ll discuss it now.
My guess is that anyone who gets elected to office — including the presidency — thinks he or she is very important and that he or she is doing people a favor by sticking around for as long as allowed. Who wants to give up being a big shot?
Plus, politicians have a political party to answer to.
Dear John: I always enjoy your jaded view in The Post.
I recently drove past an Amazon distribution center near Woodbridge, NJ. I learned that most of the hundreds of employees are hired for 20 hours a week — thus, not eligible for benefits.
I wonder how these folks are counted in the Labor Department stats. Your insights would be appreciated. B.R.
Dear B.R.: If any of the people employed at that facility happened to be visited or called by Census Bureau canvassers, they will be counted as employed in the survey that says the jobless rate is 4.9 percent.
If they tell the canvassers that they are only working part time but would like a full-time job, then they would be among those counted as unemployed in the U-6 survey, which is also done monthly by the Labor Department and shows the jobless rate at 9.9 percent. Most newspaper and TV types don’t even know that and other broader surveys exist.
If they are picked to be surveyed, their response counts for about 5,000 households, since these are weighted scientific surveys.
Hope that helps.
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