Dear Larry,

As a Licensed Social Worker, LMSW, I have an elderly hospice client who immigrated from Canada, with her husband, and they both quickly became naturalized citizens. Her spouse worked for the FAA and instead of paying into the SS system, he was told it was better to pay into the FAA's Federal Employee, retirement program. My client is wondering: now that her spouse is deceased, even if he did not pay into the SS system, and since she never worked here in the US to pay SS taxes, are there any medicare benefits available for her; since Medicare is a part of the SS system?

Best, Tim

Dear Tim,

I'm 99 percent sure she is qualified for Medicare benefits starting at age 65. Please check with Social Security on her behalf.

My best, Larry