A common misconception about Social Security and Medicare is that you have to be receiving Social Security benefits to enroll in Medicare.
This is not true.
To help clarify how these two work together, let me give you this one critical tip to avoid a Medicare nightmare.
Beware of Auto-Enrollments
If you’re drawing Social Security FOUR MONTHS before your 65th birthday, you will be AUTOMATICALLY enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B.
This can be your benefit, a spouse’s benefit, a widow benefit, or a disability benefit.
If you don’t know that you’re being auto-enrolled, these two Medicare nightmares can happen:
1. You miss your Medicare card.
When you turn 64, you start getting bombarded with insurance mailers, and this can be misleading. People assume their Medicare card is one of these. If you are auto-enrolled, you will receive an envelope in the mail anywhere between one to four months before your 65th birthday containing your Medicare card.
2. You may end up paying double for health insurance when you don’t need to.
If you plan to stay on your employer’s health insurance (either your or your spouse’s) once you turn 65, as well as draw Social Security, you could double pay for insurance if you were auto-enrolled in Medicare.
If your current employee health coverage meets Medicare rules, you can delay joining Medicare.
Medicare Part B in 2022 costs most people $170.10 a month. So, if you’re auto-enrolled and do not need to be, you could be overpaying by a couple thousand.
I recently worked with a client who assumed she had to pay for both, and she had spent over $5,000 in Medicare premiums when she didn’t have to.
It’s important to remember that Social Security and Medicare are two different things. Most people usually start drawing Social Security and join Medicare at different times.
Medicare is a decision around your health insurance requirements or health insurance needs. Whereas Social Security is typically around your income needs.
Medicare is complicated.
Please be thoughtful when you’re drawing Social Security and trying to sort out Medicare. The rules are different, and if you’re not paying attention, it could be an absolute mess.
