Advice | Toni Says
Hi, Toni: I turn 65 this month and would like to retire in three-six months. I have questions after studying your Medicare Survival Guide Advanced edition and Medicare.gov.
First, if I enroll in Medicare Parts A and B now, can I postpose paying for Part B until I retire? And would it be better to wait until I retire, and then apply for Medicare Parts A and B?
Thank you so much for your expertise! — Karen from Clear Lake area
Karen: You have a few different Medicare enrollment options available to you that are not mentioned in the Medicare & You handbook.
This special time is called the “Medicare effective date schedule.” It is a very important window of time for those only turning 65 — not those past 65 and after 90 days leaving their current employment with benefits.
The Medicare & You handbook does discuss the “Initial Enrollment Period.” It states, “a you enroll in Part A and/or Part B the month you turn 65 or during the last three months of your Initial Enrollment Period, the start date for your Medicare coverage will be delayed.”A
The “Medicare effective date schedule” is the seventh-month period that occurs three months before turning 65, the month you turn 65 and three months after turning 65 when your Medicare begins at different times.
Below is a simple explanation of the Medicare effective date schedule:
• Enrolling anytime three months before turning 65, your Medicare begins the first day of the month you turn 65.
• Enrolling the month you turn 65, Medicare will begin one month after you sign up.
Karen, if you enroll in September, then your Medicare begins Oct. 1.
• Enrolling one month after you turn 65, your Medicare will begin two months after you sign up.
Karen, if you enroll in October, your Medicare begins Jan. 1.
• Enrolling two months after you turn 65, your Medicare will begin three months after you sign up.
Karen, if you enroll in November, your Medicare begins March 1.
• Enrolling three months after you turn 65, your Medicare will begin three months after you sign up.
Karen, if you enroll in December, your Medicare will begin April 1.
Let’s say you wait until January to retire which is past your Medicare effective date schedule time schedule, we would advise you to apply at your local Social Security office for a Medicare SEP (Special Enrollment Period) with form #CMS L-564 which is signed by your company’s Human Resources. Your Medicare would begin Feb. 1, not March 1 or April 1, as if you had applied during your Medicare effective date schedule.
Is that Medicare rule confusing or what? Yes, Karen, if you enroll in Medicare Part A and B, whether working full-time or not, your premiums begin the month that your Medicare Part B begins.