At Savvy Social Security Strategies, we want to normalize feeling confident and educated on your Medicare and Social Security choices. We believe that it doesn’t have to be confusing and overwhelming and that beneficiaries shouldn’t have to guess and hope that they made the right decision. We believe in kindness, education and empowerment of choice.
Tabitha is a graduate of Marshall University with an undergraduate degree in International Affairs and a minor in Economics. She had visions of international humanitarian work working on poverty alleviation programs and was on her way to graduate school when her daughter fell incredibly ill and needed constant care. Suddenly, not only was graduate school out of the picture but so were most employment opportunities. Panic about the future began to sink in when a friend approached her with a part time employment opportunity selling insurance. This would allow her to stay home when needed and work when her daughter was healthy enough.
Going into her first week of work in insurance, she was depressed about her future and wondered if she was ever going to be able to feel happiness in this new career path. Luckily, everything changed with her very first in person appointment.
Susie was a 72-year-old woman that has asked for help buying a Medicare plan. She lived alone in a small one-bedroom apartment, had no living family, was diagnosed with early onset dementia and had tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills. Susie was desperate for help and admitted she was struggling so much with her medical expenses that she was living on one can of tuna a day because that’s all she could afford to eat. Susie’s circumstances taught Tabitha that she didn’t have to travel around the world to help alleviate poverty.
Tabitha learned that Susie was low income and qualified for a state program that would pay for Susie’s part B premium and a federal program that would reduce her medication costs to $0. Tabitha also realized that Susie already had a Medicare plan, she had just forgotten to show the card at the doctor’s office. Over the next couple of months, Tabitha was able to get all of Susie’s medical bills correctly re-billed and increased Susie’s income by $600 a month. The last time she met with Susie, Susie’s entire kitchen was full of fresh fruit and vegetables and was thrilled she was no confined to cans of tuna.
It’s been 7 years since that first appointment and Tabitha could never imagine a different career. Not only has she continued learning how to save her clients from poverty, but she’s expanded to helping clients get the most from their Social Security benefits. Additionally, she founded Bringing Back the Village, an umbrella organization of senior advocates that offer free workshops and seminars on how to be a better community for senior citizens. Because of her work and advocacy in her community she is often referred to as the go to woman for seniors. With a focus on networking, educational seminars and a kind and factual approach she’s often invited in by HR departments as the retirement specialist and by churches and local organizations as a senior advocate.
Tabitha is the founder of Bringing Back the Village, an umbrella organization of experts in the senior industry. Their goal is create a kinder, healthier and stronger community for our senior neighbors.
Tabitha’s program called “WV It Takes A Village” consists of individuals who bring their expertise to the table to help senior citizens succeed in their every day lives, but recently this has been a challenge due to the Coronavirus, but they’ve come up with a solution.