RFC Social Security & Medicare Planning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A married couple wants to maximize lifetime Social Security benefits. The higher earner should generally delay benefits to age 70 primarily to:
- Qualify for Medicare Part A at no cost
- Maximize the survivor benefit for the lower-earning spouse (Correct answer)
- Avoid the Social Security earnings test
- Increase the family maximum benefit
Correct answer: Maximize the survivor benefit for the lower-earning spouse
Delaying the higher earner's benefit to 70 maximizes the survivor benefit, since the surviving spouse receives the higher of the two benefits.
Question 2: Which Medicare supplement (Medigap) plan covers the Part B deductible in addition to Part A costs for newly eligible enrollees after January 1, 2020?
- Plan F
- Plan G (Correct answer)
- Plan N
- Plan D
Correct answer: Plan G
Plan G is the most comprehensive Medigap plan available to those newly eligible after January 1, 2020, as Plan F was discontinued for new enrollees; Plan G does not cover the Part B deductible.
Question 3: A 62-year-old client earns $35,000 annually and claims Social Security early. In 2024, the earnings test exempt amount below which no benefit is withheld is approximately:
- $21,240 (Correct answer)
- $56,520
- $18,960
- $30,000
Correct answer: $21,240
In 2024, the annual earnings test threshold for those under full retirement age is approximately $21,240; $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 earned above this amount.
Question 4: Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are required by law to cover at minimum:
- Dental and vision services
- All services covered under Original Medicare Parts A and B (Correct answer)
- Long-term custodial care
- Prescription drugs without a formulary restriction
Correct answer: All services covered under Original Medicare Parts A and B
Medicare Advantage plans must cover all services that Original Medicare (Parts A and B) covers, though they may use networks and prior authorization.
Question 5: The Social Security 'file and suspend' strategy was largely eliminated for couples by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 primarily because it allowed:
- Workers to claim spousal benefits before their own PIA was calculated
- One spouse to suspend benefits while the other claimed spousal benefits on that record simultaneously (Correct answer)
- Divorced spouses to collect on ex-spouse records prematurely
- Workers to receive both disability and retirement benefits concurrently
Correct answer: One spouse to suspend benefits while the other claimed spousal benefits on that record simultaneously
The old file-and-suspend loophole let a higher earner suspend benefits while a spouse collected a spousal benefit, but post-2016 rules require the worker to actually be receiving benefits for spousal claims to be paid.
Question 6: A client's Medicare Part D plan has a coverage gap. In 2024, the client pays what percentage of the plan's cost for brand-name drugs while in the gap?
- 100%
- 75%
- 25% (Correct answer)
- 50%
Correct answer: 25%
In 2024, beneficiaries pay 25% of the cost of brand-name drugs in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, with manufacturers covering 70% and the plan covering 5%.
Question 7: Which Social Security benefit is NOT reduced if claimed before the worker's full retirement age?
- Retired worker's own benefit
- Spousal benefit on a living spouse's record
- Survivor benefit claimed by a widow at age 60
- Disabled widow's benefit claimed at age 50 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Disabled widow's benefit claimed at age 50
Disabled widow(er)'s benefits claimed between ages 50–59 are not subject to the early claiming reduction that applies to retirement and non-disabled survivor benefits.
RFC Social Security & Medicare Planning 2
A married couple wants to maximize lifetime Social Security benefits.
The higher earner should generally delay benefits to age 70 primarily to: