If You Get Medicare For Disability And Then Return To Work
If you get Medicare due to disability and then decide to go back to work, you can keep your Medicare coverage for as long as youre medically disabled.3 And, if you do go back to work, you wont have to pay the Part A premium for the first 8.5 years.
Part A is premium-free for those with a disability and under 65 only if you get Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits for 24 months or have ESRD and meet certain requirements.4
If youre 65 or older, Part A is premium-free if you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years, you already get retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board, or youre eligible for these benefits but havent filed for them yet.5
You May Like: Is Medical Part Of Medicare
Can It Be A Good Idea To Delay Enrollment In Either Social Security Or Medicare
It often pays to delay Social Security past full retirement age, because in doing so, you get to accrue credits that boost your benefits by 8 percent a year up until age 70. Therefore, if you dont need the income from those benefits right away, you could conceivably sign up for Medicare at 65 and then wait another five years before filing for Social Security.
There are also scenarios where it might pay to get on Social Security before enrolling in Medicare. If, for example, youre still working and have access to a heavily or fully subsidized health plan through your job, you may not have a need for Medicare. On the other hand, you might want your Social Security benefits to supplement your income, pay for travel, or help put your grandkids through college.
Remember, health coverage under Medicare doesnt necessarily come cheap. Between premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance, you might find that your out-of-pocket costs are substantially lower under a group health plan, in which case it pays to stick with it as long as you can.
The Cola Isn’t Directly Applied To Your Monthly Checks
The government applies the Social Security COLA to your primary insurance amount , which isn’t always the same as your monthly benefit. Your PIA is the amount you qualify for based on your work history at your full retirement age . This is anywhere from 66 to 67 for today’s seniors. If you wait until this age to claim, your PIA and monthly benefit amount could be the same.
But many seniors don’t wait until their FRA to sign up. So the Social Security Administration runs an additional calculation to adjust the PIA up or down for those who claim early or late. People who claim benefits under their FRA get more checks, but each one is smaller. And those who delay benefits past their FRA slowly grow their checks a little at a time until they reach their largest possible checks at 70.
Once you’re receiving benefits, you’ll get a COLA every year, and the government has to rerun its calculations to see how much you’re entitled to for the next year. It goes like this:
Recommended Reading: Does Medicare Cross State Lines
Applying For Medicare Online
Applying for Medicare online is a quick and easy process on the Social Security website, taking approximately ten minutes. After you have applied for Medicare online, you can check the status of your application and/or appeal, request a replacement card, and print a benefit verification letter.
You can easily apply online for Medicare and Social Security retirement benefits or just Medicare.
Disabilities Or Medical Conditions
If a person has certain disabilities or medical conditions, they may be able to get premium-free Medicare Part A before they are aged 65 or older.
For example, a person with end stage renal disease may be eligible for premium-free Part A if they also meet one of the following conditions:
- they must also be on dialysis or have received a kidney transplant
- they qualify for Railroad Retirement Board benefits
- they qualify for Social Security retirement benefits
- they have a parent or spouse who is eligible for social security retirement benefits
A person with Lou Gehrigs disease is eligible for Part A coverage in the first month in which they get disability benefits.
A person can use this tool to check if they are eligible and the cost of premiums.
Don’t Miss: How Old To Get Medicare Coverage
How To Apply Online For Just Medicare
Are you within three months of turning age 65 or older and not ready to start your monthly Social Security benefits yet? You can use our online retirement application to sign up just for Medicare and wait to apply for your retirement or spouses benefits later. It takes less than 10 minutes, and there are no forms to sign and usually no documentation is required.
To find out what documents and information you need to apply, go to the .
At What Age Can You Earn Unlimited Income On Social Security
Upon reaching full retirement age, you can earn an unlimited income while still receiving Social Security. Full retirement age varies based on the year in which you were born. That age can range anywhere from 65 to 67 based on your birth year. For those born after 1960, you will have to wait until you are 67 to be considered full retirement age. However, for those born before that, you might be able to retire as early as 65.
December 21, 2018 By Danielle Kunkle Roberts
Social Security and Medicare are tied together in some ways, but in others they are separate. In this post, well go over what you need to know about how the two are tied. Many people think you must enroll in Social Security before you can take Medicare, and fortunately, thats not the case.
Also Check: When Can I Enroll In Medicare
Ways To Apply For Disability Benefits:
- If you or your spouse worked for a railroad, call the Railroad Retirement Board at 1-877-772-5772.
Once your disability benefits start, well mail you a welcome package with your Medicare card.
Sign up for Part B if you live in Puerto Rico or outside the U.S.You get Part A automatically. If you want Part B, you need to sign up for it. If you dont sign up for Part B within 3 months after your Part A starts, you might have to wait to sign up for Part B and pay a monthly late enrollment penalty.
This Is The Reason Why
Most people outlive their retirement savings and studies show were living longer than previous generations. With this in mind, we need to prepare for a longer retirement period.
That means if you can delay receiving benefits past age 65, you would receive a higher monthly payment. For most folks, that higher monthly payment would kick in around the time their personal savings has been exhausted.
Although youre evaluating your life expectancy, you need would do well to keep in mind the life expectancy of your spouse. Especially if that spouse plans to collect Social Security Income based on your benefits.
If your spouse plans to make a claim for Social Security Income based on their own benefits, then this is a moot point your spouse would need to make these same decisions that you now face.
The short and skinny, there is no right or wrong answer. Its never too soon to start considering your personal situation and begin evaluating where you are in life right now measure that against how you want to live when you retire.
Every person is unique, and you need to weigh your options before deciding. Take heed of the call to action sang by the band Rush, If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
Its a lot to take in and it should take you more than an afternoon to decide if its in your best interest to claim Medicare without claiming your Social Security retirement income.
When in doubt, break out a pencil and paper and crunch the numbers.
You May Like: Is Any Dental Work Covered By Medicare
Im Working Past 65 But My Health Coverage Is From My Spouses Employer
A pretty common situation to face, if your health care coverage is from a spouses employer, you may be able to delay Medicare or you may need to enroll when you first become eligible. In this case, the employer still needs to have 20 or more employees. However, the big difference is thatemployers can have rules for covered dependents 65 and older that may require the individual to get Medicare at 65 in order to remain on the employer plan.
Therefore, if you have employer coverage through a spouses employer, you need to ask the employers benefits administrator directly about your Medicare enrollment choices.
Sign Up: Within 8 Months After You Or Your Spouse Stopped Working
Your current coverage might not pay for health services if you dont have both Part A and Part B .
Avoid the penalty & gap in coverageIf you miss this 8-month Special Enrollment Period, youll have to wait to sign up and go months without coverage. You might also pay a monthly penalty for as long as you have Part B. The penalty goes up the longer you wait to sign up. How much is the Part B late enrollment penalty?
You May Like: Can You Get Medicare At 60
If You Already Receive Benefits From Social Security:
If you already get benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board, you are automatically entitled to Medicare Part A and Part B starting the first day of the month you turn age 65. You will not need to do anything to enroll. Your Medicare card will be mailed to you about 3 months before your 65th birthday. If your 65th birthday is February 20, 2010, your Medicare effective date would be February 1, 2010.
How Social Security Benefits Can Affect Medicare Enrollment
If you are receiving Social Security benefits when you turn 65, youll be automatically enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B, even if youre working. Your Medicare card will arrive in the mail about 3 months before your 65thbirthday.
Once youre enrolled in Medicare, a monthly Part B premium will be automatically deducted from your Social Security check. If you dont want Medicare Part B, you need to notify Medicare to opt out. There will be instructions for doing this on the back of your Medicare card.
If youre not receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits, you will need to enroll yourself in Medicare when you become eligible.
Also Check: Does Medicare Cover Alcohol Rehab
How Do I Enroll In Medicare If I Dont Receive Social Security Benefits
If you arent yet receiving Social Security benefits, you can still enroll in Medicare health insurance. To do this, you have to enroll manually, as there is no automatic enrollment for those who arent already receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits before they turn 65. Let’s take a look at what your options are.
Key Things To Remember
The main thing you need to keep in mind if you do not receive Social Security benefits but are eligible to enroll in Medicare is of your enrollment periods. Although you wont be enrolled automatically, you will still be able to sign up for any part of Medicare in the same way that Social Security beneficiaries can.
You should also remember that you can have your Medicare premiums deducted automatically from your monthly benefit checks, greatly simplifying your Medicare experience. If you do not collect Social Security benefits, you can also do automatic billing with Medicare Easy Pay.
Read Also: Does Medicare Cover Labor And Delivery
Employer Or Military Retiree Coverage
If you or your spouse has an Employer Group Health Plan as retiree health coverage from an employer or the military , you may not need additional insurance. Review the EGHPs costs and benefits and contact your employer benefits representative or SHIIP to learn how your coverage works with Medicare.
Medicare Part B Premiums And Deductibles
In 2021, the Medicare Part B monthly premium is $148.50 if you earn up to $88,000 as a single income tax filer or $176,000 as a married filer.
The Part B deductible is $203 for 2021. Please note that premiums increase in tiers at higher income levels.
For 2022, the Part B monthly premium is $170.10 if you earn up to $91,000 as a single income tax filer or $182,000 as a married filer. The 2022 deductible is $233 for the year.
Also Check: How To Bill Medicare For Home Health Services
What Is Social Security
For millions of pensioners, disabled people, and families of retired, disabled, or deceased employees in the United States, Social Security is the foundation of their financial security. Approximately 169M people in the U.S. pay Social Security taxes, with 61 million receiving monthly benefits. The majority of Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system.
Social Security Disability Insurance
When people discuss Social Security benefits, they are usually referring to retirement benefits. However, Social Security also administers disability benefits to qualified individuals.
A full discussion of this insurance program is outside of the scope of this article, but you can find some more details from the Social Security Administration page on disability insurance.
People who have received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for 24 months are eligible for Medicare Part A and Part B, even if they arent yet 65 and dont receive Social Security retirement benefits.
Individuals who qualify for SSDI coverage and have Lou Gehrig’s disease qualify to receive Medicare benefits sooner, starting on the first month of their SSDI coverage.
Read Also: Does Medicare Pay For Assisted Living In Ohio
Are There Plans To Reduce The Medicare Enrollment Age
Some legislators have proposed measures to lower the Medicare eligibility age. Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a bill that would make all Americans eligible for Medicare in 2019. Representative Pramila Jayapal wrote a similar bill in 2021. Neither bill passed.
When this article was published, no changes had been made to the Medicare eligibility age.
How To Get A Social Security Card
You May Like: How To Receive Medicare Card
If You Delayed Medicare Because You Were Still Working
If you delayed enrolling in Medicare Parts A and B because you were still working, then you can enroll online for both Part A and Part B.
There are also two forms you need to fill out and send in to Social Security. This shows that you were covered under employer or other creditable insurance. As long as you can provide proof of coverage then you wont have any penalty for not signing up when you were first eligible at 65.
If You Do Medicare Sign
-
Send any friend a story
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
Give this articleGive this articleGive this article
Tony Farrell turned 65 four years ago the age when most people shift their health coverage to Medicare. But he was still employed and covered by his companys group insurance.
When his birthday came around, he began researching whether he needed to move to Medicare, and determined he could stick with his employers plan, said Mr. Farrell, a marketing and merchandising executive for specialty retailers. At the time, he was working for a company that makes infomercials in San Francisco.
Four months later, Mr. Farrell was laid off, but he kept the companys health insurance for himself and his family under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act , the federal law that allows employees to pay for coverage as long as 36 months after a worker leaves a job.
I just thought, this is great the coverage wont change, he recalled. I was just relying on my own logic and experience, and felt that if I didnt need a government service, I wouldnt sign up for it.
But Mr. Farrell unknowingly ran afoul of one of the complex rules that govern the transition to Medicare and now he is paying the price.
You May Like: Are Lidocaine Patches Covered By Medicare
How This Affects Your Social Security Checks
To put this in perspective, let’s say you have an FRA of 66, applied for Social Security at 62, and have a PIA of $1,680 in 2022. You’d receive a monthly benefit of $1,089 this year after shrinking your benefit 25% for early claiming and subtracting your $170.10 Medicare Part B premium.
Here’s how the government would figure your 2023 benefit based on the information above:
A $1,204 benefit in 2023 is actually a 10.6% increase over your $1,089 benefit for 2022. Had you just added 8.7% to your $1,089 monthly benefit, you’d only get about $1,183 per month.
The extra money comes from the fact that Medicare Part B premiums are decreasing in 2023. So seniors won’t have as much withheld from their checks for healthcare as they do this year. This results in an even bigger benefit increase for those who are already on Medicare.
