[brytlea]

IIRC my Father in Law (also a retired Marine, he was a pilot, what a guy he was!) tried to decline his SS but there was something that forced him not to. I can’t remember what it was, but it may have been that he would lose medical coverage, which reverted to Medicare once he hit that age, rather than whatever the military was doing (CHAMPUS?)
You are sort of damned if you do...

BTW there is nothing wrong with some people receiving a govt check, and the military comes to mind. Thanks for your service and God bless you.

susie

[LowCountryJoe]

I remember CHUMPUS. I don't recall what the acronym stood for. While I was in, the new system that replaced it was called Cry Try Scare Tri Care. All snide names aside, the amount of coverage that my family received amounted to over $800 a month if a premium (plus 2% admin fee) were to have to cover the level of coverage. That was back in 1999 when I looked into extending my then current coverage through COBRA. I opted for private insurance with co-pays.