I am a Canadian citizen, married a US citizen years ago and have lived in the USA for 25 years. I have been divorced for 20 plus years and was an independent psychotherapist (self employed) for over 20 years. The USA is my home. Are there elder benefits I cannot claim because of this? Are there elder benefits I CAN claim because of this.... Please help me.... I pay for 24 hour home care now and my retirement savings are being used at a frightening rate of speed.... THANK YOU....
Did you pay into FICA during your working years?
Did your ex himself have a traditional job and he paid into FICA?
((By FICA I mean $ taken out of paychecks to pay into Social Security, MediCARE, etc. ))
Have you ever tried to claim Social Security benefits based on your work history or on his as his spouse but payment based on his work history? You do not have to be a citizen to get SS, you have to be a legal immigrant and the payout is based on your work history. At a minimum I’d suggest that you look at SSA website as to benefits available.
As a self employed person, you might not have paid much into your own personal SS tally, BUT if you have not remarried & were married 10 years, you can tap into exhubs SSA work history to add into yours and base your retirement payment.
If you were married 10 yrs (40 qtrs), you maybe entitled to some of your exs SS. If he had a pension, that should have been negotiated at the time of the divorce. If you have a greencard, you should qualify for Medicaid. Medicare you also should have paid into. You need to call SS and see what you are entitled to. Yiu will need your exs SS#.
If yes, then you can probably (I don't know for certain) get assistance, not gonna be 24/7 in home care. Even people that qualify can't get caregivers, so don't count on it.
If no, then what a mess your choices have made.
You need to contact social services and speak with them, they will be the only ones that can tell you where you stand.
I can say, if you want choices, you should get facility placement while you can self pay. Otherwise you will be facing first available bed placement and that's not an optimal way to get placed.
OP's message implies she was married less than 10 years, so any SS benefits would be based on her own work history contributions to SS. When she says "self-employed," it sounds like she may NOT HAVE done legal paperwork or made SS contributions.
I checked her profile and here is what we get that should make things a bit clearer for our responses. She actually was asking if there are benefits she could still qualify for aside form SS, etc. Since she lives in CA that gives even illegal immigrants benefits she should be ble to find some help from an eldercare agency there.
Here is her profile: I am caring for Judith Allen [self], who is 80 years old, living at home with age-related decline, alzheimer's / dementia, anxiety, depression, and lung disease
Now with that info, you canmakebwetter assumptions. What we also need to know is whether she has other family for support and what kind, if any, health insurance she has.
U did message her to suggest she contact agency in CA to get answers to her questions. Then after that we might be of some help in helping her navigate and offer caring support as she works through the ropes.
Good luck