Can You Get Medicare If You Retire At 62

Spousal Benefits Can Enable Insurance For An Early Retirement

Can You Retire Too Early? Medicare Q& A with Expert Diane Omdahl

An option that you may have if you are married is to use your spouses health insurance plan, Purkat explains.

I see in many cases, one spouse may be retiring early, but the other is still working full-time, Says Purkat. This is a great situation because if you can cover the years before you turn 62 with your spouses insurance, it can save you a lot of money.

At What Age Do I Qualify For Social Security

You can begin collecting Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. Doing so, however, is often not advisable, since it means lowering your monthly benefits potentially for life.

To collect the full monthly benefit your earnings record entitles you to, you must wait until full retirement age to sign up for Social Security. Depending on your year of birth, that age will fall out somewhere between 66 and 67. For each month you file for Social Security ahead of full retirement age, youll face a reduction in your monthly benefits that will likely remain in effect indefinitely, unless you manage to go through the motions of withdrawing your application soon after filing it.

Should You Delay Social Security Instead

The flip side of the Social Security coin is that waiting to take benefits can work in your favor. You can delay taking benefits up until age 70, which would then allow you to claim 124% of your full monthly benefit amount. The table below calculates the monthly increase rate by birth year:

Delayed Retirement Increase

Early Benefits Can Still Pay Off

However, taking early benefits can still pay off despite the reduced monthly check. But youll want to be sure you budget for a reduced benefit.

No one can predict how long youll live, but if youre facing a potentially significant reduction in life expectancy and are short of income, taking Social Security early may be appropriate, says Neiser.

Married women are also good candidates for claiming early benefits because they are likely to outlive their husbands. Those widows then become eligible to receive the greater of either their benefit or their late husbands benefit.

However, this scenario works only if the husband does not claim his benefits early. By not claiming early benefits, the husband effectively increases the monthly benefit his wife eventually receives. So youll want to calculate how filing early will affect your spousal benefit here.

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About the author

Christian Worstell is a licensed insurance agent and a Senior Staff Writer for MedicareAdvantage.com. He is passionate about helping people navigate the complexities of Medicare and understand their coverage options.

His work has been featured in outlets such as Vox, MSN, and The Washington Post, and he is a frequent contributor to health care and finance blogs.

Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelors degree in journalism. He currently lives in Raleigh, NC.

Where you’ve seen coverage of Christian’s research and reports:

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What Insurance Do You Get With Social Security Disability

In most cases, people receiving Social Security Disability Income are automatically enrolled in Original Medicare after serving a 24-month waiting period.

The CMS waives this waiting period for people with ALS or end-stage renal disease. People with these conditions receive Medicare coverage as soon as they collect SSDI.

How Medicare And Retiree Coverage Work Together

Some employers may offer retiree health coverage, which can be a good option if you are not yet 65 and do not meet other Medicare eligibility requirements. If you are 65, it may be time to enroll in Medicare.

If you are already 65 when you retire and are interested in having both retiree coverage from your employer AND Medicare, the two can work together.

Your Medicare coverage will always come first. Your retiree coverage will work as extra coverage to backup your Medicare plan kind of like a Medicare Supplement plan.

While retiree coverage is not a Medicare Supplement plan, it is very similar. It can cover things like copayments and deductibles, or even extra hospital stay days. All retiree plans are different, though, so look over your plan and call your insurance agent to find out what it covers.

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What Happens If You Claim After Your Fra

If you wait until youre age 70 to start claiming benefits, then youll get an extra 8% per yearor, in total, 132% of your primary insurance amount for the rest of your life. Claiming after you turn 70 doesnt increase your benefits further, so theres no reason to wait longer than that.

The longer you can afford to wait after age 62 , the larger your monthly benefit will be. Nevertheless, delaying benefits doesnt necessarily mean that youll come out ahead overall. You also need to weigh in some other factors, including your expected longevity and whether you plan to file for spousal benefits. You will also need to consider the tax, investment opportunity, and health coverage implications.

Medicare Enrollment Can Be Impacted By Social Security Benefits

Can I get Medicare at age 62?

Depending on your situation, you with either need to enroll in Medicare at age 65 or you may be able to delay. If you continue to work past age 65 and have creditable employer coverage , you can likely delay enrolling in Medicare until you lose that employer coverage. In most cases, people turning 65 will need to get Medicare during their 7-month Initial Enrollment Period to avoid financial penalties for enrolling late. Your IEP begins 3 months before the month of your 65th birthday and ends 3 months after.

Social Security benefits fit in the Medicare enrollment journey in one special way. If you are receiving either Social Security benefits for retirement or for disability, or Railroad Retirement Board benefits, you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B when you first become eligible.

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Cobra Or State Continuation

If Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or state continuation coverage is available to you, it might be a good alternative. This will depend on several factors, including:

How long it will be until youre eligible for Medicare
How much youve already spent on out-of-pocket costs for the year
Whether youre eligible for subsidies in the marketplace/exchange

Whether youd be able to keep your existing medical providers if you switch plans

The American Rescue Plan provides a 100% subsidy for COBRA or state continuation coverage through September 2021. But it only applies if you involuntarily lost your job or had your hours reduced. So while there isnt a COBRA subsidy if youre choosing to retire, you would be eligible for the subsidy if youre being laid off.

If youre not eligible for the COBRA subsidy , youll have to pay full price for your coverage. This can be quite expensive, especially if youre accustomed to your employer paying a significant portion of the cost.

But if youve already met your out-of-pocket cap for the year or are in the midst of complicated medical treatment and dont want to worry about switching health plans, COBRA or state continuation can be very useful in the months after leaving your job.

Do I Have To Apply For Medicare Or Do I Get It Automatically

If you already collect some form of Social Security when you qualify for Medicare, you will be automatically enrolled in both Part A and Part B. Receive a social security disability for a period of 24 months

If you do not collect Social Security when you become eligible for Medicare, you must enroll through Social Security. You can do this online, over the phone, in person, or at your local Social Security office.

If you want to cover prescription medications from Part D of the Medicare program, you must actively enroll in them yourself. This is true whether you are automatically enrolled in Medicare or if you enroll yourself.

Keep in mind that people with Lou Gehrigs Disease or End-of-Stage Rental Disease do not have to collect Social Security for Disability Benefits for a period of 24 months to qualify for Medicare.

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An Example Of Taxed Benefits

Lets say you receive the maximum Social Security benefit for a worker retiring at FRA in 2021: $3,148 per month. Your spouse receives half as much, or $1,574 a month. Together, you receive $4,722 a month, or $56,664 per year. Half of that, or $28,332, counts toward your combined income for determining whether you have to pay tax on part of your Social Security benefits. Lets further assume that you dont have any nontaxable interest, wages, or other income except for your traditional individual retirement accounts required minimum distribution of $10,000 for the year.

Your combined income would be $38,332half of your Social Security income, plus your IRA distributionwhich would make up to 50% of your Social Security benefits taxable, because youve exceeded the $32,000 threshold. Now, you may be thinking, 50% of $56,664 is $28,332, and Im in the 12% tax bracket, so the tax on my Social Security benefits will be $3,399.84.

Fortunately, the calculation takes other factors into account, and your tax would really be a mere $225. You can read all about the taxation of Social Security benefits in Internal Revenue Service Publication 915.

Bridge To Medicare At Age 65

Remember that while you are eligible for reduced Social Security benefits at 62, you won’t be eligible for Medicare until age 65, so you will probably have to pay for private health insurance in the meantime. That can eat up a large chunk of your Social Security payments.

Read Viewpoints on Fidelity.com: Your bridge to Medicare

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Retiring At 62 Or Before 9 Ways To Cover Your Health Costs For An Early Retirement

There are a lot of hurdles to overcome when figuring out how to retire early before 65. However, early retirement health care is one of the most fiscally challenging. Medical care is going to be expensive no matter when you retire, but the picture is more serious for those who retire early, by choice or otherwise.

Medicare isnt available until age 65 and self-insurance in your 40s, 50s, and 60s can be prohibitively expensive. Never mind that you typically face more health challenges as you age and are therefore more likely to use health care.

Use the NewRetirement Retirement Planner to find out now if you can afford an early retirement and explore the following 9 possibilities for how to cover early retirement health care costs:

How Medicare Works If Your Age 62 Spouse Is Still Working And Youre On Medicare

To qualify for Medicare, your spouse must be age 65 or older. If your spouse is age 62 , he or she could only qualify for Medicare by disability.

Heres an example of when a younger spouse whos not yet on Medicare might help you save money.

Suppose you reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare, but you havent worked long enough to qualify for premium-free Medicare Part A.

And suppose your younger spouse has worked at least 10 years while paying Medicare taxes. When your spouse turns 62, youll qualify for premium-free Part A. Your spouse wont qualify for Medicare until they turn 65, but their work record will help you save money by getting Part A with no monthly premium.

NEW TO MEDICARE?

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Taxes On Your Benefits

Your Social Security benefits may be partially taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds. Regardless of how much you make, the first 15% of your benefits are not taxed.

The SSA defines combined income using this formula:

Your adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits = your combined income

If you file your federal tax return as an individual and your combined income is $25,000 to $34,000, then you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits. If your combined income is more than $34,000, then you may have to pay tax on up to 85% of your benefits.

If youre married, filing a joint return, and your combined income is $32,000 to $44,000, then you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits. If your combined income is more than $44,000, then you may have to pay tax on up to 85% of your benefits.

The Downside Of Claiming Early: Reduced Benefits

If I Retire at Age 62 Will I Be Eligible for Medicare at that Time?

Consider the following hypothetical example. Colleen is 62 as of 2022. If Colleen waits until age 67 to collect, she will receive approximately $2,000 a month. However, if she begins taking benefits at age 62, she’ll receive only $1,400 a month. This “early retirement” penalty is permanent and results in her receiving up to 30% less year after year.

However, if Colleen waits until age 70, her monthly benefits will increase another 24% over what she would receive at her FRA, to a total of $2,480 per month.1 If she were to live to age 89, her lifetime benefits would be about $112,000 more, or at least 24% greater, because she waited until age 70 to collect Social Security benefits.2

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Spouses Who Dont Qualify For Their Own Social Security

Spouses who didnt work at a paid job or didnt earn enough credits to qualify for Social Security on their own are eligible to receive benefits starting at age 62 based on their spouses record. As with claiming benefits on your own record, your spousal benefit will be reduced if you take it before reaching your FRA. The highest spousal benefit that you can receive is half of the benefit that your spouse is entitled to at their FRA.

While spouses get a lower benefit if they claim before reaching their own FRA, they will not get a larger spousal benefit by waiting to claim after their FRAsay, at age 70. However, a nonworking or lower-earning spouse may get a larger spousal benefit if the working spouse has some late-career, high-earning years that boost their benefits.

Proposed Changes To Allow People To Qualify For Medicare At 62

The most prominent proposal is the Medicare at 50 Act sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown. Asking for the age to be lowered by 15 years may be too much of a stretch other proposals call for a more moderate age 60 or 62 as the age of eligibility.

The basic premise of all of these plans is simple: Instead of being able to access Medicare at 65, individuals would have the option of buying into Medicare at an earlier age.

Will I Get Medicare At 62 If I Retire Then

If you retire before the age of 65, you may be able to continue to get medical insurance coverage through your employer, or you can purchase coverage from a private insurance company until you turn 65. While waiting for Medicare enrollment eligibility, you may contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program to discuss your options.

Here are other ways you may be eligible for Medicare at age 62:

Or, you have been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease

You may qualify for Medicare due to a disability if you have been receiving SSDI checks for more than 24 months
Are getting dialysis treatments or have had a kidney transplant

Medicare information is everywhere. What is hard is knowing which information to trust. Because eHealths Medicare related content is compliant with CMS regulations, you can rest assured youre getting accurate information so you can make the right decisions for your coverage. Read more to learn about our Compliance Program.

Can I Get Medicare Early If I Retire Early

If you retire earlier than age 65, you will not be eligible for Medicare. Although Medicare is often thought of as insurance for retired people, the Medicare age requirement is still 65. Some people continue to work past age 65 and have insurance coverage through their employer. Many people retire before they turn 65 and must purchase health insurance or are covered on their spouses insurance plan. Although you may be eligible for social security retirement benefits if you retire early, it does not change your age requirement for Medicare health insurance coverage.