Hi Larry, I am a SHINE councilor and counseling my brother who is retiring in Oct. on the options within Medicare. Additionally I want to know if he can collect SS benefits, he is retiring from Keolis (BOSTON's MBTA commuter line service contractor), he states that he will receive a pension and does not think he can also receive SS benefits. I do not agree, since Keolis is not a railroad per say I would think he can receive both. What is you thoughts.

Rich

Hi Rich,

I'm not familiar with the Boston MBTA employee pension program, but if your brother has at least 40 quarters of Social Security coverage he should be able to receive Social Security benefits. He must be at least age 62 or disabled to be eligible, though. And, if your brother doesn't pay Social Security taxes on his wages and receives a pension from his employer, that could cause him to receive a lower Social Security benefit rate than normal (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf).

The maximization software available on this website should be able to help your brother determine his best strategy with regard to Social Security benefits, provided that he has at least 40 quarters of coverage.

Best, Jerry