Government agencies make things difficult. I managed to find the Venice Social Security office yesterday hidden away in a shopping center. It took me twenty minutes of circling the surrounding lots to finally find it. I was prepared for a long wait but there were plenty of open spaces by the entrance. The front door was open, but a security guard quickly greeted me. He said that I would need to call for an appointment since most of the staff was working from home. I was disturbed because there was no phone number listed on the letters I received. If they wanted me to call why didn’t they provide the number rather than just give me the address? Instead, I wasted an hour driving there to find it.

I got the phone number off all the posters plastered to the front door and sat in my car to make the call. I had to sit through a number of recorded messages and after I listened to them all they had me confirm that I still needed more information. It took a long time to finally get through to a live person. To make a long story short, they could not help me and I would need to wait for another letter. 

What I don’t understand is that Medicare payments are based on income (IRMAA) from two years prior. If you lose your job or retire, it’s considered a life changing event and you can apply for a reduction. However, if you take a bunch of money out of your IRA to buy a retirement home, it’s not considered as such, even though it affects your income and increases what you pay for health benefits.  It makes no sense!