When you are first eligible for Medicare you have a 7-month Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) to sign up for Part A and/or Part B. The (IEP) begins 3 months before the month you turn age 65 including the month you turn 65 and ends 3 months after the month you turn 65.
But today more and more of us are delaying our Medicare enrollment past our IEP.
You may decide not sign up during your Initial Enrollment Period because you are eligible to remain on your group health insurance plan or spouse’s plan at work.
Once your Initial Enrollment Period ends and you remain on a group medical insurance plan, you will be eligible to sign up for Medicare any time in the future under the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) rules.
You qualify for the SEP rule if you’re covered under a group health plan based on current employment.
Your 8-month SEP window to sign up for Part A and/or Part B starts at one of these times (whichever happens first):
- The month after the employment ends.
- The month after group health plan insurance based on current employment ends.
- If you are a volunteer, serving in a foreign country.
Often times the SEP rule is not taken into consideration and the Medicare beneficiary assumes there is a penalty if one does not enroll in Part B when first eligible. If you follow the SEP enrollment criteria above, there is no penalty.
Note: COBRA and retiree health plans aren’t considered coverage based on current employment. You are not eligible for a Special Enrollment Period when that coverage ends.
If you do remain on a group health insurance plan when you are first eligible for Medicare, make sure you check with your human resource person to see if the group prescription coverage is “Creditable” meaning as good as or better than what Medicare Part D prescription coverage offers.
If it’s not “Creditable” you may want to sign up for a Medicare Part D plan and still remain on the group insurance. In this case you would need to sign up for Part A only to get on the Medicare drug plan and avoid future penalties.
So if you don’t join Medicare at 65, there are other times you can enroll in Medicare under SEPs. Ensure you identify your SEP and get the proper paperwork from you employer. This paperwork will prove you are eligible to join Medicare and prove you don’t need to pay penalties.
To learn more about whether or not you need to join Medicare, CLICK HERE read my recent blog “The #1 Reason You Don’t Need to Join Medicare”
