Collecting Social Security and Medicare if you haven't paid taxes

[progree]

13. One can buy into Medicare if doesn't have the 40 quarters of payroll deductions

As far as Medicare, the payroll deductions only fund Medicare Part A which is the hospital / skilled nursing facility part of it (but not regular nursing home). (It's a common myth that the payroll deductions fund all of Medicare, no they don't. For example Part B is funded 25% by premiums and 75% by the general fund -- which in turn is mostly funded by income taxes, not payroll taxes).

So the only problem is that he will have to pay Part A premiums (which are hefty unfortunately). Or he could do without that aspect of Medicare and still get Part B (outpatient / doctor visits), and Part D (drug coverage). Part B and Part D also have premiums that everyone has to pay, but they are not tied to work credits -- they are the same for everyone (unless you enroll late or have high income e.g. $85,000 Modified AGI. Well, there might be some low income reduced premium programs too -- Medicare is full of that but I don't know the details).

...Otherwise, if you’re 65 or older, you can buy into Medicare by paying monthly premiums for Part A hospital insurance. You can also join Part B and pay the same premiums as other people. In both cases, you must be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident (green card holder) who has lived in the United States continuously for at least five years.

The amount you pay for the Part A premium in 2014 is $234 a month (if you have 30 to 39 work credits) or $426 a month (if you have fewer than 30 work credits). These amounts usually change a little each year. If you continue working until you’ve earned 40 credits (about 10 years' work in total), you’ll no longer be required to pay Part A premiums.

If you buy Part A, you must also enroll in Part B. But you can enroll in Part B without having Part A. You can get Part D prescription drug coverage if you’re enrolled in Part A or Part B. To join a private Medicare Advantage plan or to buy Medigap supplemental insurance, you must have Part A and Part B.

It’s important to know that if you don’t enroll in Part B when you’re supposed to, you risk having to pay a permanent late penalty when you finally sign up, even if you haven’t worked long enough to qualify for Part A without paying a premium for it. (Related article: “Can You Be Penalized for Not Enrolling in Medicare?”)

More: https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-04-2008/ask_ms__medicare_9.html

The article left out the late enrollment penalty on Part D (drug coverage). In my case, even though I don't take drugs (yet), the $30/month I'm paying for drug coverage comes out cheaper than the penalty I would pay for late enrollment in Part D over an average life expectancy (life expectancy for a male at 65 is like about 18 years). The late enrollment penalties for Part B and Part D are little adders to your monthly premium for your entire life, that are proportional to how late one enrolled.

Check into Medicaid too, as others have mentioned.

As for (regular) Social Security -- I don't think there's any way ... Some people have said check into SSI, and I agree with that. As for SSDI, nope, need the work credits.