Mr. Mike and Lisa from our recent livestream asked a critical question: “If Texas is successful with their endeavor to secede from the United States, what happens to Medicare and SSDI benefits?”
This ranks as the most frequently asked question since the Texas Nationalist Movement began. The answer involves both current federal law and practical negotiation strategies for an independent Texas.
The Bottom Line: Your Benefits Continue
Federal pension benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, and disability payments, are earned benefits you paid into throughout your working life. Current federal law allows these payments regardless of where you live, with very limited exceptions.
Americans already receive Social Security and SSDI benefits while living abroad in virtually every country except those under banking sanctions for state terrorism sponsorship. This existing policy serves as the legal precedent for Texans receiving benefits after independence.
The Texas Numbers
The stakes are enormous. Over 4.7 million Texans rely on Medicare as of September 2024, making Texas the third-largest Medicare population nationally. Approximately 470,000 Texans under 65 qualify for Medicare due to disability, which directly links to SSDI benefits.
Texas currently overpays $103-160 billion annually to the federal system while receiving approximately $74 billion in federal pension payments. An independent Texas would have the financial capacity to honor these commitments if necessary.
The Medicare Challenge
Medicare presents unique challenges. Traditional Medicare does not provide coverage outside the United States, unlike Social Security payments which continue internationally. However, Medicare eligibility remains intact – you can maintain coverage and access benefits when returning to the United States.
For current beneficiaries, Medicare Part A hospital insurance remains available without monthly premiums even while living abroad, providing protection upon return.
The TNM Negotiation Strategy
The Texas Nationalist Movement advocates a “no-surrender approach” on Social Security specifically. TNM President Daniel Miller outlines three potential negotiation scenarios:
First, the U.S. could continue paying current beneficiaries while Texas assumes future obligations for new retirees. Second, Texas could take over all payments with appropriate asset transfers from the federal system. Third, a hybrid transitional arrangement could ensure no beneficiary loses benefits during the changeover.
For younger Texans still paying into these systems, TNM proposes offering choices: continue in the U.S. system through existing international agreements or opt into a Texas-designed voluntary retirement system similar to current state employee programs.
The Federal System’s Weakness
Consider this reality: the Social Security Trust Fund faces projected bankruptcy by 2034. Independence might actually provide better long-term security for retirees than remaining in the current failing system.
Texas would design healthcare and social programs specifically for Texans, potentially offering more comprehensive coverage than the current federal system provides.
The Legal Mechanism
Benefit continuation would require formal treaties between the U.S. and Texas governments. The U.S. already maintains Social Security agreements with 30 countries, establishing clear precedent for such arrangements.
U.S. citizens qualified for SSDI can continue receiving benefits when living outside the U.S. in most countries, and this framework would apply to an independent Texas through negotiated agreements.
Your Security in Independence
The fear that Texans would lose earned benefits reflects conditioning designed to maintain dependence on a failing federal system. These are not welfare payments – they are earned benefits you paid for through decades of work.
With Texas’s economic strength as the world’s 9th largest economy, an independent Texas would have both the legal precedent and financial capacity to ensure no Texan loses benefits they earned. The question isn’t whether Texas can afford to honor these commitments, but whether the federal system will survive long enough to honor them.
For comprehensive details on benefit transitions and TEXIT planning, visit texitnow.org where TNM maintains detailed FAQs addressing these critical questions.
