Do You Have To Start Medicare At 65

I Am Turning 65 Next Year When Can I Sign Up For Medicare

If you are eligible for Medicare, your initial enrollment period for Part A and Part B begins three months before the month of your 65th birthday and ends three months after it. For example, if your 65th birthday is in June, your enrollment period will extend from March 1 through September 30. If you join during one of the 3 months before you turn 65, coverage will begin the first day of the month you turn 65. If you join during the month you turn 65, your coverage will begin the first day of the month after you turn 65. If you join in the month after you turn 65, coverage will begin 2 months later, and if you join 2 or 3 months after you turn 65, coverage will begin 3 months later. A recent change in law limits these gaps in coverage. Starting in 2023, if you enroll in Medicare during the first 3 months after your turn 65, coverage will begin the first day of the month following the month you enroll.

Once you have Part A and Part B, you are then also eligible to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and/or a Part D plan. If you are already receiving Social Security benefits when you turn 65, you will automatically be enrolled in Part A and Part B. If you are not already receiving Social Security benefits and you want to enroll in Medicare, you should contact Social Security.

When Do You Apply For Original Medicare

You might not even have to apply for Original Medicare, which includes Part A and Part B . Many people are enrolled automatically. That applies to you if youre already getting Social Security benefits when you turn 65.

But even if youre automatically enrolled in traditional Medicare, you do have to take action if you want other Medicare coverage. For example, say you want to buy a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. The government doesnt enroll you. You need to do that if thats what you want. Well get into this more later on.

Can I Get Medicare Before Age 65

You may qualify for Medicare benefits as young as age 20 if any of the following events occur:

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How Rich Is Your Employer Group Health Coverage

Is it great, the best insurance youve ever had? Well good for you! You can rest easy knowing that you are covered well and dont need Medicare yet.

Is your insurance anything less than stellar? Then you might want to think about having Medicare in addition to your group health plan.

As we mentioned, when you work for an employer with 20 or more employees, your group health plan is your primary coverage. Medicare would be secondary.

If you were to have both Medicare and group coverage, your Medicare would supplement your group plan and may reduce some health spending. However, that might only be important to you if you have some health care spending going on and you just want more robust overall coverage. Its up to you.

The Parts Of Medicare

Social Security enrolls you in Original Medicare .

• Medicare Part A helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or limited time at a skilled nursing facility . Part A also pays for some home health care and hospice care.
• Medicare Part B helps pay for services from doctors and other health care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment, and some preventive services.

Other parts of Medicare are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.

• Supplemental policies help pay Medicare out-of-pocket copayments, coinsurance, and deductible expenses.
• Medicare Advantage Plan includes all benefits and services covered under Part A and Part B prescription drugs and additional benefits such as vision, hearing, and dental bundled together in one plan.
• Medicare Part D helps cover the cost of prescription drugs.

Most people age 65 or older are eligible for free Medical hospital insurance if they have worked and paid Medicare taxes long enough. You can enroll in Medicare medical insurance by paying a monthly premium. Some beneficiaries with higher incomes will pay a higher monthly Part B premium. To learn more, read .

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Your First Chance To Sign Up

Generally, when you turn 65. This is called your Initial Enrollment Period. It lasts for 7 months, starting 3 months before you turn 65, and ending 3 months after the month you turn 65.

Avoid the penaltyIf you miss your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period, you may have to wait to sign up and pay a monthly late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B coverage. The penalty goes up the longer you wait. You may also have to pay a penalty if you have to pay a Part A premium, also called Premium-Part A.

You Arent Collecting Social Security Retirement Benefits Yet

Many people choose to delay collecting Social Security retirement benefits until they can retire at the full retirement age and collect the maximum Social Security benefit amount. If you arent yet collecting Social Security retirement benefits, you wont be automatically enrolled in Medicare. You may still receive your Medicare benefits, but you will not be automatically enrolled and must take the steps to manually sign up for Medicare.

For some people, Medicare coverage does not start at age 65 because they are not yet collecting Social Security and are either unaware they had to manually sign up or because they have continued to work and remain enrolled in their employers health insurance.

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Enrollment Windows Are Limited

If you’re thinking about delaying your enrollment in Medicare, keep in mind that there are enrollment windows that apply. After your initial enrollment window ends, you can only sign up for Medicare Part A and B during the general annual enrollment period from January 1March 31, with coverage effective July 1.

And you can sign up for Part D during the annual enrollment period from October 15December 7, with coverage effective January 1 of the coming year.

So if you delay your enrollment, you could be paying higher premiums when you eventually do enroll, and you’ll have to wait until an open enrollment period in order to have access to coverage. If you’re only enrolled in Part A, for example, and you get diagnosed with a serious illness in April, you’ll have to wait until the following January to have Part D coverage, and until the following Julymore than a year in the futureto have Part B coverage.

Keep all of this in mind when you’re deciding whether to enroll in the parts of Medicare that have premiums.

When You Can Enroll

The “initial enrollment period” for Medicare consists of the three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday. If you want your coverage to start the month you turn 65, sign up during that first three-month period.

If you are already receiving Social Security, Medicare will automatically enroll you. If not, you must enroll on your own either online through Medicare.gov or at a Social Security office.

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The Cost Equation: Will Medicare Save You Money

If your employer requires you to pay a large portion of the premium on your group health insurance, you may find Medicare cheaper and the coverage adequate. So compare your current coverage and out-of-pocket expenses including premiums, deductibles, copays and coinsurance with your costs and benefits under Medicare, which may also pay some expenses not covered by your group plan.

Do I Have To Sign Up For Medicare

Thinking about how to sign up for Medicare at age 65? You might not have to worry about Medicare enrollment its automatic for many people.

But even if youre enrolled in Original Medicare automatically, that might not take care of all your needs. Original Medicare doesnt cover routine dental care or prescription drugs, for example. Well get to additional coverage options later.

So how do you know if youre going to be automatically enrolled in Medicare?

• Generally, if youre already getting Social Security retirement benefits when you become eligible for Medicare, youre automatically signed up for Part A and Part B.
• If youre not getting Social Security benefits yet when you turn 65 for example, if you decided to delay your benefits youll need to sign up.

Watch for your red, white, and blue Medicare card to arrive in the mail around three months before your birthday. Your coverage begins the first day of the month of your 65th birthday for most people. If you turn 65 on the first of the month, your coverage begins the month before your birthday.

When do I sign up for Medicare?

You can sign up for Medicare at any time during the seven-month period that begins three months before your 65th birthday, includes your birthday month, and extends three months past the month you turn 65.

Learn about Medicare enrollment if you qualify for Medicare before age 65 due to disability.

When will your coverage begin if you sign up during your IEP?

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Did You Answer Yes To Question 2

If you are still working, then we immediately move to the next question, which is how many employees does the company that you work for have? Your answer will determine whether or not you will need to sign up for Medicare at age 65.

Was your answer, less than 20 employees?

Then you will need to as soon as youre eligible. If you fail to enroll in Medicare when you become eligible while working for a company that has less than 20 employees, you will incur late enrollment penalties. Medicare is primary when you work for a small company, so you need both Parts A and B.

Was your answer, 20 or more employees? Great, then you have options.

If You Havent Signed Up For Medicare At All Yet

If you did not sign up for any part of Medicare at 65, the best thing to do is either to call Social Security, or to go to your local Social Security office to enroll in Medicare A & B. Theyll ask you when you want Medicare to start, and you can coordinate it with the termination of your group plan as best as you can. Theyll have all the forms you need to get signed up for both Parts of Medicare.

Now the next step is that

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Do You Have To Sign Up For Medicare At Age 65

• Are you required to sign up for Medicare when you turn 65? The answer is more than just a simple yes or no. Be sure to find out when you should sign up so that you dont face a late enrollment penalty or a lapse in coverage.

When you turn 65, you may have the opportunity to enroll in Medicare. But is it mandatory to sign up?

Technically, it is not mandatory to sign up for Medicare at 65 or at any age, for that matter. But its important to consider the situations in which you might decide not to enroll in Medicare at 65 so that you can make sure not to have any lapse in health insurance coverage or face a Medicate late enrollment penalty.

When Do I Apply For Medicare If Im Still Working At 65

What if youre still working when you hit 65? If you qualify for Medicare, but youre not getting Social Security benefits yet, you usually dont get enrolled automatically in Medicare.

Some people decide to:

• Enroll in Medicare Part A as soon as theyre eligible. Even if your employer plan has hospital coverage, Part A is premium-free for most people. If your employer plan has hospital coverage, and you have a hospital stay, your plan and Medicare Part A will coordinate benefits to work out payment of your hospital costs.
• Delay enrollment in Medicare Part B. Theres typically a monthly Part B premium, and if youre covered by an employer plan for now, you may be able to save money by delaying enrollment in Part B.

But youll want to make sure you sign up for Medicare Part B when your employer-based coverage ends. Theres a Part B late enrollment penalty, but you can generally avoid it if you sign up for Part B during a Special Enrollment Period when your other coverage stops.

Its important to be sure about what youre doing so that you can avoid Medicare late enrollment penalties. Contact your employer- or union-based health plan administrator with any questions you have to help ensure a smooth transition to Medicare coverage.

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A Late Enrollment Penalty

You’d only be subject to a Part A late enrollment penalty if you’re not eligible for premium-free Part A coverage. Most Americans don’t have to worry about this, as they have at least ten years of work history, or are/were married to someone who does. But if you’d have to pay a premium to buy Part A coverage, there’s a penalty if you delay your enrollment.

The penalty is a 10% increase in your monthly premium. In 2020, the Part A premium is $458/month for people with 0-29 quarters of work history, and $252/month for people with 30-39 quarters of work history. So those premium amounts would increase to $504/month and $277/month, respectively, if you’re subject to the late enrollment penalty.

But unlike the penalties for Part B and Part D, the penalty for late enrollment in Part A does not last forever. Instead, you’d pay it for twice as long as the amount of time you delayed your enrollment. So if you were eligible for Medicare for three years before enrolling, you’d have to pay the extra Part A premiums for six years. Keep in mind that the Part A premium changes each year , so the actual amount you’d be paying would vary for each of those six years.

When Your Coverage Starts

The date your coverage starts depends on which month you sign up during your Initial Enrollment Period. Coverage always starts on the first of the month.

If you qualify for Premium-free Part A: Your Part A coverage starts the month you turn 65.

Part B : Coverage starts based on the month you sign up:

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Should I Sign Up For Medical Insurance

With our online application, you can sign up for Medicare Part A and Part B . Because you must pay a premium for Part B coverage, you can turn it down.

If youre eligible at age 65, your initial enrollment period begins three months before your 65th birthday, includes the month you turn age 65, and ends three months after that birthday.

If you choose not to enroll in Medicare Part B and then decide to do so later, your coverage could be delayed and you may have to pay a higher monthly premium for as long as you have Part B. Your monthly premium will go up 10 percent for each 12-month period you were eligible for Part B, but didnt sign up for it, unless you qualify for a “” .

If you dont enroll in Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period, you have another chance each year to sign up during a general enrollment period from January 1 through March 31. Your coverage begins on July 1 of the year you enroll. Read our publication for more information.

Signing Up For Medicare Part D At 65 If Youre Still Working

To make sure you have prescription medication coverage, you need either from work, Medicare Part D, or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage. Your employer can tell you if your workplace coverage is creditable, meaning its as good as or better than Part D.

Once you , you could lose your workplace prescription coverage, and you may not be able to get it back.

If you dont have either and you dont enroll in Part D on time, youll pay higher Part D premiums.

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Not Turning 65not Leaving Group

Turning 65?This is the easy part!If you are already drawing Social Security Income, Part A and Part B will start automatically for you.

You can verify this by calling Social Security or logging into your Social Security account online with this link to verify benefits.

Not drawing Social Security right now?You can sign up for Medicare three months before your 65th birthday.

It is important to know that if you wait beyond this point, you will have to wait for coverage to begin and, after 3 months there could be life-long penalties.

Then you have 3 options:

1) You can easily apply online for Medicare to start, using this link: