When you are turning 65 you will feel like a celebrity. Everyone will be mailing, emailing, and calling you. The key things to know this is your initial time to sign up for Medicare and figure out what insurance plan you want and need to have. Insurance companies & agencies will generally start marketing to you when you turn 64. You have a 7 month window to sign up for Medicare and choose a plan when turning 65. This is within the 3 months of before the month you turn 65, the month you turn 65, and within the 3 months after. This is called your “initial enrollment period”. During this time it’s strongly recommended you sign up for Medicare through Social Security. You can sign up for Medicare online (you need to make an ssa.gov account), over the phone, or at your local Social Security office. If not applying online you generally have to make an appointment with Social Security to apply. Soemtimes it takes a few weeks or even a month for them to have your appointment with you so it’s best to schedule ahead of time with SS for your appointment to sign up. When you sign up you can choose to take only Part A or Part A & Part B. Part A (hospital) is free for if you or your spoused have paid into Medicare long enough, most people get it free. While Part B is $164.90 a month in 2023. It is higher for people with higher incomes. They deduct part B directly from your Social Security check every month. If you aren’t collecting SS then they bill you quarterly for it. If you are still working and have coverage through your employer and want to keep it you should only sign up for Part A (since it’s free and there’s no need to pay for Part B if you aren’t using it.) When you reitire down the road you can pick up Part B at anytime while you’re still working or plan to retire with no penalty as long as you had employer coverage the whole time. If you won’t have employer coverage then it is a good idea to pick up Part A & Part B so you have medical coverage too. You need Part A & Part B in order to join any medicare supplement plan or advantage plan which are a good idea to pair with your original medicare coverage. You can obtain a supplement and/or part D drug plan or advantage plan with or without Part D drug coverage on your own or through your former employer if they offer one.
