§ 406.15 Special provisions applicable to Medicare qualified government employment.

(a) Definition. As used in this section, Medicare-qualified government employment means Federal, State, or local government employment that is subject only to the hospital insurance portion of the tax imposed by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (F.I.C.A.). This includes—

(1) Wages paid for Federal employment after December 1982.

(2) Wages paid to State and local government employees hired after March 31, 1986.

(3) Wages paid to State and local government employees hired before April 1, 1986 but whose employment after March 31, 1986 is covered, for Medicare purposes only, under an agreement under section 218 of the Act.

(b) Crediting of wages that are taxable only for Medicare purposes. Medicare qualified government employment is credited in the same way and in the same amount as social security covered employment is credited for monthly social security cash benefit purposes. However, since only the Medicare portion (not the social security portion) of the F.I.C.A. tax is imposed, Medicare qualified government employment does not help qualify the individual for monthly Social Security cash benefits.