Ask the Expert: Medicare enrollment rules
Is there any benefit to signing up for Medicare at 65 if you're still working for a large company with full health care coverage? Is there a penalty for waiting until you retire? At full retirement age (say 67) can you apply for Social Security, continue working, and NOT apply and pay for Medicare coverage?
The Medicare enrollment deadline for 65-year-olds who are covered through current employment in a plan that insures 20 or more workers is eight months after they leave the job or when the coverage ends, whichever comes first.
If you fit that description at 67, you can apply for Social Security, keep working and postpone Medicare enrollment.
But readers, take note: If you turn 65 while covered through a current employer's plan that insures fewer than 20 workers, your Medicare enrollment deadline is three months after your 65th birthday.
In either case, if you miss your Medicare enrollment deadline, your Medicare premiums are permanently higher. In the worst-case scenario, you might be uninsured for months.
Each Medicare component has its own rules. Part A, which covers hospital costs, is free for most people. You pay for Part B, which covers doctors' fees, and for Part D, which covers prescriptions. (Part C is Medicare Advantage, which combines A, B and D.)
Is there a benefit to enrolling in premium-free Part A at 65 if you're still working and insured in a plan covering 20 or more people? Perhaps. If Part A covers expenses your group plan doesn't, having both might lower your out-of-pocket cost if you're hospitalized. There’s also a disadvantage: After enrolling in any part of Medicare, you can no longer contribute to a tax-deferred Health Savings Account.
The bottom line
If you'll still be working at 65, double-check your Medicare enrollment deadline — and don’t miss it.
