Your Social Security

By DAVID BROWN

If you didn't sign up for Medicare Part B medical insurance when you first became eligible for Medicare, you now have an opportunity to apply - but time is running out. The deadline for applying is March 31. If you miss the deadline, you will have to wait until 2009 to apply.

Mr. Brown is District Manager of the Social Security Administration's Downtown New York Office.

Medicare Part B covers some medical expenses not covered by Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), such as doctors' fees, outpatient hospital visits and other medical supplies and services that are not covered by Medicare Part A.

When you first become eligible for hospital insurance (Part A), you have a seven-month period (your initial enrollment period) in which to sign up for medical insurance (Part B). After that, you have to pay a higher premium - unless you were covered through an employer's group health plan or a group health plan based on a spouse's employment. You are given another opportunity to enroll in Part B during the general enrollment period, from January 1 to March 31 of each year. But each 12-month period that you are eligible for Medicare Part B and do not sign up, the amount of your monthly premium increases by 10 percent.

You can learn more about Medicare by reading our electronic booklet, Medicare (SSA Publication No. 05-10043) at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10043.html. You may also call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to ask for a copy. Or visit the Medicare Web site at www.medicare.gov. You may also call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

Social Security is proud to be a part of the America Saves campaign.

America Saves is a nationwide campaign involving a broad coalition of more than 1,000 nonprofit, corporate and government agencies, groups and organizations. The campaign was designed to help individuals and families save and build wealth.

America Saves helps people by providing information, advice and encouragement on saving for important things like a home, education and retirement.

Saving for retirement is a critical goal that sometimes gets forgotten in the day-to-day management of money.

According to financial experts, you will probably need at least 70 percent of your annual working income when you retire to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. For the average American worker, Social Security will replace about 40 percent of his or her pre-retirement earnings. The remaining 30 percent will need to come from private pension plans, savings or investments. That's why it's important to save for your retirement - even if it's not easy to part with those extra dollars.

Many people believe that low- and moderate-income families cannot afford to save and build wealth. Yet research shows that there are "savers" and "spenders" in all income levels and almost everyone has the ability to build wealth over time.

We at Social Security share the goal of America Saves: to encourage all Americans to save, and to help them do just that.

You can also use the free resources provided by Social Security. Every year, about two to three months before your birthday, workers 25 and older receive a Social Security Statement in the mail. The statement gives you an estimate, based on current earnings, of what you might expect in Social Security retirement benefits. And by using our online Retirement Planner, you can personalize various financial scenarios to determine what your individual retirement plan should look like. Visit the Retirement Planner at www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2.

For more information, visit www.americasavesweek.org.