The Social Security handbook is loaded with rules, regulations and guidelines that most people don’t pay attention to. It was created decades ago and just like some state laws that are extremely outdated, but still on the books, there are provisions in the handbook that seem not to apply any longer. For instance, according to Rule 346.1 people age 72 are eligible for a special monthly cash payment of $276.40 per month if they do not qualify for any other type of Social Security benefit and meet other requirements. The only problem with this outdated rule is that anyone who qualified for this special payment had to turn 72 before 1972. I don’t believe there is anyone left in American who would qualify for this type of payment since they would have to be, at the youngest, 117 years old. Below is a closer look at the rule.
Special Monthly Payment at 72
346.1
Who Can Receive A Special Monthly Cash Payment?
You may be entitled to a special monthly cash payment if you meet the conditions below:
You turned 72 before 1972 (if you turned 72 between 1968 and 1971, you must have earned a specified number of credits (see §211));
You are a resident of one of the 50 States, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the District of Columbia;
You are either:
A U.S. citizen; or
An alien lawfully admitted to the U.S. and have lived in the U.S. continuously for the five-year period immediately before the month you filed the application;
You have properly filed an application for the special monthly cash payment (see §347); and
You do not qualify for a regular Social Security benefit under the fully insured provision discussed in §202.
The special monthly payment ends with the month before the month you die.
346.2
What Is The Amount Of The Benefit?
If you are entitled to the special monthly payment, you will receive a monthly benefit of $276.40. If your spouse is also entitled to the special monthly payment, he or she will also receive $276.40. The $276.40 amount was first payable for December 2008. These amounts may be increased when a cost-of-living increase in benefits is established. (See §719.)
Your special monthly payment amount is reduced by the amount of any periodic benefit under a governmental pension system for which you are eligible. (See §348.)
