And now I must risk oversharing. Bear with me, this is sort of stream-of-consciousness. With any luck I’ll resist the urge to hit the Publish button.
Most days I think of myself as a pretty capable guy. I can build stuff, maintain stuff, scrounge stuff. I can get by on very little money. I can protect myself, butcher food, improvise, extemporize, revise, devise, do the whole “country boy can survive” thing. I’ve gradually gotten pretty good at it, frankly. I shrug at pain, find pleasure in simple things, and always have a Plan B.
The reason I can do those things is because I’ve had to: Because I’m so terrible at all the other things which most people get through just fine without even thinking about it. About the only time I ever went into a DMV office and came back out with what I needed, I had somebody with me to make sure my papers were in order and my blood pressure was under control. I don’t think I’ve ever successfully held onto a vehicle title in my life. The thought of pulling out a complete year’s worth of financial records is simply laughable. My papers are never in order. If I were doing it on purpose it would be like a fetish but it’s more like a weird, very unhelpful phobia. Filling out forms is stressful – filling out government forms rarely goes well. I’ve always been this way, and I can’t seriously suggest that more than 12 years in the desert have improved things.
Point is, I like to imagine myself this rough tough Jeremiah Johnson throwback when what I really am is a paranoid excitable gimp who can’t keep records. Uncle Sugar gets angry when you don’t keep records. You wouldn’t like Uncle Sugar when he’s angry.
And ever since late 2006, my weird pathetic disability was irrelevant. The desert will kill you if you’re careless about the wrong things but it don’t need no steenking financial records or proof of residency or two approved forms of identification. But now I have officially turned 65, broke, going blind, needing the kind of societal connection that absolutely requires all those things, notarized and in triplicate no staples do not fold spindle or mutilate. To get Medicaid/SS you need a bank account: To get a bank account you need a proven verifiable physical mailing address, to get that you need proof of residency and “I don’t actually have an address” is not acceptable.
I’m working on it. I even have friends who are trying to smooth me into it. All will be well. But yesterday I dipped my toe into the bureaucratic shitpool only so deep as to discuss the requirements for a PO box with a post office lady, and I’m so glad I had a project to concentrate on when I got home because I was already so full of fail I was ready to blow. It’s gonna be a … process, I suppose. I have dreaded it, and now it’s here.
You have my sympathies, but please don’t think any of us who have had to deal with the @*$%&!# bureaucracies all our lives like it any better or are any more skilled at it. It’s always hemorrhoid surgery with a rusty butter knife operated by an 85-year-old blind epileptic and just as much fun as that sounds like.
You have my sympathies. One thing you can ask. What would they do if you lived on a boat and, thus, had no fixed address?
Perhaps I’m missing something, but I myself had no issues at the post office giving my land deed as proof of residence. It had no street address, just the Block 20, Section 6, type of thing.
I was wondering how soon you’d run into all this, but didn’t want to worry you prematurely.
That was me . . . not Anonymous.
Joel, you are amazing and you can accomplish anything! Use a neighbor’s address if a PO box doesn’t work out. Think of the bureaucrats you’ll have to deal with as mediocre peons, not the monster state. And remember that little David beat big old Goliath!
Annoying Pollyanna signing off. 😉
Yeah, I meant medicare. Also, I’m not going to apply for social security right now so the bank thing might not be the immediate concern I thought it was. Just trying to get my ducks in a row but I don’t even know for sure what they all are.
Fedgov wants to send you your SS retirement funds via electronic transfer, ergo they demand a bank account. It should not be much of an issue and credit unions tend to be more friendly that McBankers with umpteen zillion outlets. If you are applying for supplemental SS due to disability etc, I can see where they want that.
Seeing you are a bit younger than me, just to the Medicare stuff, do not apply for SS retirement until you are past 66 or 67 (not sure which you fall under, probably 66).
I realize dealing with bureaucracy feels like wiping ass with sandpaper, but next time you are in the nearest city with some credit union presence (one that has been there a while), go on in, with a friend if necessary, and ask questions.
The main one being, can you open an account and is there any fee related to having a checking or savings account. And make clear that you use a mail drop as your actual home is in the desert with no delivery address. This might work, or the PO box routine so the CU feels like they can reach you. E-mail and a phone number also makes them happy.
Most will tell you that if you have a checking account with 300 bucks in it, there are no charges so long as you keep that balance or higher. It is not hard to do if you simply treat that amount as non-existent. I have a fixed amount in my account that does not appear in any or my checkbook records, but I know this round number is there mentally and so long as my account balance in the checkbook does not go negative (by much), am always covered.
Hope things go smoothly, really they should. Heck indigents living on the street seem to be able to collect SS and other benefits even though I have no inkling on how. .
Yup, Medicare first, as you have a 2 month window after your birthday to apply for it without penalties and since you live in the State of Arizona you should be able to do it on line.
As for banking, I agree credit unions are a great way to go. If you are close to a OneAZ Credit Union I would recommend them. Hubby used them back when he worked for the State of Arizona and they were Arizona State Credit Union. First place we headed when we moved here from Kansas. I would stay away from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Bank of the West, if you can. All of them have some very scary banking practices.
Sent you an email with a possible solution!
P.O. Box rules are enforced to varying degrees by the individual postmasters at each location – so it’s hard to say how stringent your PO may be. You may actually qualify for a free box if they don’t do street delivery in your neighborhood. Not sure if it’s worth the trouble though – our PM wants me to show up every year with ID and ‘official’ proof of residency in order to keep the ‘free’ box.
I remember about 25 years ago a friend was a lineman and watchman for a remote ranch. His Az DL just gave an intersection of two forest service roads as his address. It probably helped that when he applied for the license he was at a rural DMV office – they’re a little more used to that type of thing than in a city.
Credit Unions generally offer a better experience all around. Besides – even if only in a tiny way – you’re a shareholder.
66 is good if you aim to get your full SS monthly payment. I suspect that maximizing is not Joel’s biggest concern, though. Anything Joel gets whenever he applies will be way more than he’s been living on all these years.
Yeah, I’ve decided to hold off on SS for now. But I’m told I only have 2 months to sign up for medicare.
I’m curious now. I have medicare and SS. The medicare premium is deducted from the SS. How does the medicare premium get paid if not receiving the SS?
I guess you have to give them money.
That’s my concern. Coming up with the $100-120 monthly premium. And, if you see a doc, coming up with the 20% of the bill that medicare doesn’t cover. Without the SS income, those numbers look a little daunting to me.