Ask Our Experts
By: Source: AARP Bulletin Today Date Posted: 2004-03-05 15:33:00-05:00
The AARP Bulletin's Ask Our Experts column provides answers to important questions affecting older Americans. Read below for this month's column, or review our archive of previously published questions and answers sorted by topic. (Note: Recent news or changes to regulations may affect the guidance offered in this previously published column.)
Submit your own question to the Ask Our Experts column via our easy-to-use online form.
Q. How can I find out if I'm entitled to pension benefits from previous employers? Is there a central source I can contact?
Unfortunately not. Centralized sources for such information exist in some other countries but not in the United States. Your best bet is to try to contact your former employers directly.
If a former employer that once provided defined benefit pensions (that is, traditional pensions with specified monthly benefits) is out of business, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may be able to help you.
PBGC is a government corporation that insures defined benefit plans. It maintains a pension search directory that identifies people owed pensions from plans that have ended. —Expertise provided by John Turner
Q. My wife and I have both worked all our lives and have accumulated enough credits to qualify for Social Security. Will our benefits be reduced because both of us will be collecting?
No. If both of you qualify for Social Security based on your work records, you can each collect on that record without any reduction.
It's important to note, however, that there are two main ways a person can qualify for Social Security benefits: either on your own work record or by being a spouse or other immediate family member of a worker who's paid into the program. Under the spousal-benefit rule, wives and husbands are entitled to an amount that equals up to half of the working spouse's benefit.
If you qualify for more than one benefit, you will receive a benefit equal to the highest amount for which you qualify. This determination is made by the Social Security Administration (SSA) when you apply for benefits.
To learn more about retirement benefits, call the SSA at (800) 772-1213 and request Publication 05-10035, or find the booklet online. —Expertise provided by Laurel Beedon
Q. Does Medicare cover glaucoma testing?
Yes, it does, but only for people judged at high risk for the disorder. This includes people with diabetes, a family history of glaucoma and African Americans 50 or older. A screening is allowed once every 12 months and must be done or supervised by an eye doctor who's legally allowed to perform this service in your state. If you have questions, call Medicare at (800) 633-4227. —Expertise provided by Craig Caplan
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