So. Much. Efficiency. A Social Security Saga.

So, I got old. Suddenly! And with that came all kinds of old person milestones. Social Security. Medicare. Getting the senior discount at Zingerman’s Bakehouse (15% on Mondays).

(For the youngsters in the back - once you hit 65, you are eligible for Medicare, the federal health insurance program for oldsters. The assumption is that you will also be taking your monthly Social Security benefit at age 65, so the Medicare premium (no it’s not free!) is deducted from that payment. If you are deferring your monthly SS benefit, then you can pay the Medicare premium from your bank account or a credit card.)

I have a late February birthday, and I applied for Social Security (SS) in early November 2024 (Yes, 16 months ago - I said it was a saga, right?) to start collecting my benefit in February 2025, and to also start Medicare. PLENTY of time to get approval - which the Social Security Administration (SSA) states should take 30 days - prior to needing to start Medicare February 1 2025. But since I did not need the benefits until February, they hedged just a bit “If you have a future month of entitlement, you should receive a letter in the mail approximately thirty days before your benefits should start.” I did the math. That’s January 1 2025.

Once I applied, it all disappeared into that black hole of government opacity. Online, my status was “pending approval” and “under review” well into December. And then…JANUARY. Now I was worried. What did I do?? What could they possibly be reviewing all this time? Was it my donations to World Central Kitchen? My volunteering at an environmental non-profit? Some other deeply subversive radical left activity like going to concerts at the Ark? I called the local SSA office in Lansing - can you even still do that? - and the helpful rep said “that doesn’t seem right” and emailed the regional office in Chicago to nudge things along.

Meanwhile, I decided I better get on board with Medicare, so on January 11 (having still heard nothing), I made a 3-month premium payment of $555 online using a credit card, knowing I could get a refund if my social security got approved and Medicare deductions started.

My Social Security was approved a few days later, because of course it was. And Medicare deductions started as expected in February. I got on the online chat to see what I needed to do about getting my $555 back and I was inexplicably told that I needed to be on Medicare Part B for 6 months before I would get a refund (which would happen automatically). Which made no sense. Why specifically Part B? Why 6 months? The agent could not explain - it was apparently in whatever script they were provided. Another chat a few weeks later elicited the same response. I was also told that the refund will be a check - an actual paper check, mailed to my house - since the initial payment was not paid from the checking account on file and they do not process refunds to credit cards (yet, I can pay with one. Huh.).

“Well, how efficient,” was my snarky brain thought, and I figured I would see something by summer.

MEANWHILE…on MARCH 5, a $435.90 payment from SSA hit my checking account. No information as to what it was - no email, no letter, nothing in my online account. It just showed up. And at the time, there was chatter about SS adjustments that, honestly, I was pretty sure I wasn’t eligible for, but hey, who was I to question? It never occurred to me that it might have anything to do with the Medicare refund - the numbers didn’t match. 

So, I kept watching for my $555 refund. June - nothing. July - nothing. August - nothing. I chatted with SSA again on SEPTEMBER 3, and now the answer was that refunds go out Sept 1, so it might be 2 weeks before a check or direct deposit showed up (so it could be a direct deposit! But it would take 2 weeks! What?). Three weeks later, when I checked back again via chat, I got the same information, so I finally just called. This rep confirmed that I would get a check, and it should have been issued September 2. They did not see any info in the account so they were “escalating” the case and I would get a phone call.

Which, of course, never happened. The call or the check.

I called again in OCTOBER. Now I was told the refund had already been issued, via direct deposit, on March 5. Yep - that mysterious $435.90. NOT A CHECK. NOT AFTER 6 MONTHS ON MEDICARE PART B. Most importantly - NOT $555.

My head exploded.

OK not really. Much. But…seriously??? NO ONE COULD MANAGE TO TELL ME THIS? For SEVEN MONTHS?

I calmly noted that $435.90 is NOT $555.00. This rep said it was “not clear” but it looked like they took taxes out. I felt the need to point out the obvious: “But - it’s not income.” The rep was also perplexed (bless these poor reps, I mean, come on) and submitted the case to…someone. Maybe Elon. Because - you guessed it - nothing happened.

In NOVEMBER, I called again. This time, I was told to submit a “Request for Reconciliation” Form SSA-561(08-2025) UF OMB 0960-0622 (no I did not make that up), which they would send me, which would take 10-14 days, because, snail mail. I found the form on the SSA website and submitted it online in about 10 minutes.

And I heard nothing.

On JANUARY 9, they posted a preliminary 1099 in my account, showing a non-taxable payment of $555.

My head exploded. Again. I tried calling but the wait was 140 minutes, so I figured I’d wait a month or so. I mean, it’s been a year, what’s the rush?

I called on MARCH 3 2026. Note that this has been going on for over a year now. Also note that the wait was again 140 minutes, but this time I was given a call-back option that I was, admittedly, not real optimistic about. But surprise! I got a call about an hour later.

Yes, $122.10 had been deducted for taxes, according to this rep. This is the automatic default for any SS payment, when you have tax deductions set up. The solution? They will issue a new 1099 for 2025 that shows the amount I actually received, $435.90 - which might take 60 days, which would be…after April 15! Brilliant! Then they will direct-deposit the remaining $122.10 - someday haha -  but since it’s 2026, that will have to go on the 1099 for 2026.

My tax guy is gonna love this. I cannot imagine how much this has cost in SSA staff time - all for a refund that most places would process in less than 5 minutes.

Are we feeling efficient now?