SENIOR EXPATS AND SOCIAL SECURITY

One of the most important things one needs to do BEFORE relocating to a foreign country is to research your health insurance benefits. The main question is – will my insurance/supplements cover me for illness or accidents sustained outside of the U.S.?

When I moved to Germany over 25 years ago, I was immediately informed as I applied for my working visa, that I had to be insured by a German company in order to remain in the country and satisfy the conditions of acquiring permanent residency. 

Claro! I also maintained my American insurance as I made frequent trips home. It was clear to me that neither country accepted the others policy, so betting on my health became a really expensive issue, especially since I rarely used my insurance in America or Germany.

The amount of money billed by my insurance companies over a period of more than 20 years (appx. $168,000 did not come close to the cost of services I actually received). If I’d invested that money wisely I could have paid for a healthy lifestyle and still saved tens of thousands of dollars for emergency medical care.

Before moving to Mexico, I accumulated lots of information from Expat and World Travelers pages. I read several posts that said Medicare is accepted by some doctors in Mexican facilities. I'd even seen billboards at the Tijuana border advertising doctors who accept Medicare.  Addresses of facilities where Medicare is accepted where also advertised. Therefore, I wasn’t concerned when we decided to move to Mexico. 

When my fiancée and I settled in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco I went about my research to find doctors and facilities near me that accepted Medicare, just to be on the safe side in case of an emergency. Why I didn’t purchase insurance before moving to Mexico I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I am now "retired" and I am a Medicare recipient. Whatever the reason, that was a mistake!

I didn't find a single doctor/facility in Puerto Vallarta who/that would accept Medicare so I called Social Security, Medicare and my supplement provider directly. To my dismay, it was made clear to me that "Medicare would not cover ANY of my medical needs in Mexico", therefore, my Medical coverage is useless.  

Now I’m looking for reasonable insurance coverage, because like many of us, I feel the need to bet against my own health and holistic knowledge and ass-U-me that one day I will actually need coverage.

Armed with this knowledge, I went about the process of trying to cancel my Medicare Part B since Social Security deducts $135.50 per month from my income for undelivered services. Let me tell you, DO THIS BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE U.S.  I have been fighting this battle since May 2019.

First:  To cancel your Part B supplement you are required to fill out a form that is not downloadable from Social Security or Medicare websites like the forms from their other services. Unless you fill out and return a signed copy of this particular application, Social Security will continue to charge you the Part B deduction.

Second:  Social Security will NOT mail you an application in a foreign country.  If you are not returning to the U.S. any time soon, the Social Security represenative will tell you to visit the nearest American embassy and fill out the form there. If you have any issues preventing you from traveling you are plain OUT OF LUCK!

Third: Even if you succeed in submitting the properly filled out/signed application, Social Security will continue to make the deduction for 60 working days (“not including weekends”) after the “date of receipt of your cancellation”. That means if you submitted your request in May (which does not count because they have already deducted the payment), you will pay the deduction for June, July and August before your cancellation is officially processed, a total of 91+ days IF everything goes smoothly. 

All this still doesn’t mean Social Security will stop deducting the payment from your account. In my case, after much ado (I applied for cancellation the first time in May), Social Security processed my application as having been submitted on June 13^th. According to their calculations, the deductions should have stopped in September, so I paid for Part B Supplemental coverage for services officially unavailable to me for 4 months. 

The next misappropriated deduction is scheduled for October 3^rd. When I called today (September 17^th) I was informed that my cancellation process has still not been completed and assured that the deductions will cease within the next 60 days (the time already passed will not be calculated since this is a repeat request) – not including weekends, meaning that I will now pay for October, November and December before my cancellation request becomes official. Possibly then I will be refunded for payments deducted the months of September thru December. The payments from June through August will not be calculated.

Even with the representative reading through my documentation as we telephoned, her answer was only speculative. To put my mind at ease, the Social Security representative agreed to record my official complaint which may or may not expedite the processing of my case. She asked to put me on hold before “taking my information” - which she already had - and then the call was disconnected. I never received a call back and now I have to start the whole calling/explaining process again.

Please take my advice. If you are retired and moving, cancel any benefits and/or supplemental insurance that will not be accepted in your new home country before you move.

Copyright © Sept. 17, 2019

Gentrification and Generational Wealth

In the late 70’s before Harlem went through extreme gentrification, the city decided to sell brownstones for $1. The idea of the program advertised as “Be A Pioneer” was to give locals a chance to buy abandoned properties owned by the city and renovate them, allowing us to become home owners/entrepreneurs in our own community.

There was one major catch. You had to renovate and live in the property within one year of purchase. The city claimed that renovation costs would run about $30,000, which was needless to say an unrealistic figure. We estimated rennovation for the house we wanted to purchase at $100,000, but the actual costs for most houses could be as high as $300,000.

In any case, my ex-husband and I desperately wanted to purchase a Harlem brownstone and live uptown. I was working as a full time teacher for the board of education, and my ex was a full time musician working 3 gigs – supper club, theater and after hours joint.

I went to my mom with this great idea and asked if she would help us by co-signing a loan so we could get the renovation money. To my surprise, my mom thought this was the most ridiculous idea she ever heard. 

She had grown up in Harlem with her parents and 6 siblings. “No way” she said. “I’ve worked all my life to get us out of Harlem and now you want me to help you get back. You must be losing your mind!”

We lived in Queens in a predominantly white neighborhood and graduated from "good schools". There was no way to convince her. That the future of Harlem was destined to change was beyond her imagination. Her disdain for my stupidity was hurtful. The conversation was quickly over.

My in-laws were very willing to help but for them it was not possible. Without credit we were destined to watch our friends purchase their houses and become successful entrepreneurs and landlords. Some even enjoyed the luxury of living in these beautiful brownstones that made them millionaires 25-30 years later. 

My mom lived long enough to admit that she was wrong, but that didn’t matter to her. She made it clear that even if it were now she wouldn’t help us. The idea was still ludicrous in her mind, and soaring property values had already excluded any thoughts of buying property for less than a half million dollars.

About 10 or more years ago my sister was fortunate enough to take advantage of another program offered by the city. She purchased a small duplex apartment in a condo on 145th street for several hundred thousand dollars. Today the value of her property has doubled.

What’s the point of telling this story?

Generational wealth is something that most black folks don’t discuss or even think about. We are so busy doing for ourselves, trying to hold on to what we’ve got or spend it before we die. 

This was ONE of the most discouraging experiences of my life. However, as I’ve grown older and wiser I’ve begun to understand how the history of slavery has so irreparably damaged us.

Willie Lynch (a British slave owner in the West Indies) who taught "fear, distrust and envy" as a method of controlling slaves specified that 

"Whereas nature provides them [slaves] with the natural capacity to take care of their offspring, we break that natural string of independence from them and thereby create a dependency status....

The Black slaves after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self-refueling and self-generating for HUNDREDS of years, maybe THOUSANDS...  

...CONCENTRATE ON FUTURE GENERATION[S]. Therefore, if you break the FEMALE mother, she will BREAK the offspring in its early years of development...

...by creating a submissive dependent mind of the n#$%^&r male slave, we have created an orbiting cycle that turns on its own axis forever, unless a phenomenon occurs...!" 

We have been conditioned to a subconscious self-hatred that prevents many of us from extending that help to make the world better for our own children and future generations, not just financially, but emotionally and intellectually.

Fortunately, times are changing. Millenials are learning and understanding our history and getting the education that promises stability and success in a country that will never give us our 40 acres and a mule.

We have learned to embrace our success, build positive financial habits and navigate the pitfalls and roadblocks to our success.

Older, wiser and stronger, and always reinventing myself, I’ve had many defeats but many more successes. I’ve learned to push back, preserver and find a way. I’m grabbing the bull by the horns once again, going with the flow and welcoming the abundance of the universe.

The universe has guided me to Mexico where me and my husband have acquired our first home together and are in the process of buying our second home in the beautiful city of Talpa de Allende. 

We are not only thinking about generational wealth for our families, but for anyone who is bold, audacious and adventurous enough to join our holistic community which promises peace, safety, tranquility, good health and luxurious living.

The community has it's own organic farm (pesticide and fertilizer free), fish farm, wells, water rights and is graced by a vortex that feeds the property with an amazing healing spiritual energy. To make things even better it is the first Net Zero development in Mexico. That means we produce our own electricity and sell the overflow to the utility company.

What's the bottom line? The developer is pre-selling the houses so we can get a two or three bedroom house on an 800+ square feet lot between $175-$250,000. We've already visted a model home, explored the property and chosen our lot close to the vortex.

The developer is building 350 new homes on this 180 acre property and I'm completely excited about this new advenutre where we will be one of the first to bring our creativity and talent to help build the brand of this new holistic community.

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller.

Change does not come by fighting the existing status quo. We're building a new model - an ecologically sustainable community that provides all the basic needs of healthy living. Food, water, shelter, electricity, good health, peace, safety and freedom.

Contact me if you want to learn more about our holistic community in Talpa de Allende, Mexico.