Posted on 08/14/2010 6:45:42 PM PDT by Thom Pain
Need help/advice. I'm about to turn 65 and am still employed in private sector full time (and hope to be for many years to come). Need to know if I have to enroll in Medicare now, or wait until I retire (someday). Can anyone steer me to good info?
Last I read, it costs you 7% for every year over 65 if you later decide to sign up.
My husband is 10 yrs. older and so we had to carry ins. for me for 10 yrs and he didn’t sign up and now it would cost him 70% more per month and is out of the question for us.
Seems the people on welfare have it better off than the people who worked their whole life for insurance.
PS.
I an not a welfare guy, i got laid off and my COBRA screwed me.
Mitt Romney demanded i have coverage so hence the Medicaid.
It was only temporary but convenient considering....
I should have mentioned that I was referring to Medicare part B
I signed up for SS when I turned 62, several years ago. Began drawing benefits even though I am self-employed and work full-time. I just pay a little more tax every year but that’s okay for now. Reduction was not that great and I had been paying in for 46 years! Have private insurance but also signed up for Medicare. As long as someone who covers you is employed (spouse or yourself), their insurance will be primary and Medicare secondary. Have had great insurance for 15 years-big deductible but inexpensive. Advised last week that my premium will increase from $250/month to $870/month because they have to add in maternity, HIV/AIDS, mental health, unlimited chemo, etc. to comply with new mandated coverage which I chose not to have before. Can’t afford that so will be forced to have only Medicare. I signed up for Medicare when eligible because penalty was going to be too great if I postponed. Once you sign up you will get a huge book that doesn’t have answers either. Thank God I don’t take meds. Trying to figure out those options is an almost impossible task.
Find Medicare on the internet. It is simply Medicare.gov. It is fairly easy to sign up. You cannot at the moment choose a different plan other than Medicare Parts A & B. In the last part of the year, you can choose other options with other providers. THAT is where the challenge comes in. You can have insurance companies that provide other Medicare plans come talk to you, just as you are buying other insurance.
I signed up for Medicare when I turned 65. They began to take it out of my Social Security funds.
Get ready to starve to death.
The feds send you a card after you respond to which coverage you want which you present along with your regular insurance card.
Warning....you will be hounded to tears by insurance companies selling "gap" insurance and other types of coverage. I've found some of the reps are pretty rude and talk down to me like I'm old and senile or whatever.
Ping for later to read when I want to get to sleep and have insomnia...ha.
Thank god for Romneycare and the taxpayers!!! i woulda just blown off the insurance until my next job.
Wait, what am i saying? lol
You're correct. People are confusing Social Security, which increases if you wait until after age 62 with Medicare, which is age 65 for everyone. Part A is free; I think the other parts might go up in cost if you wait.
You're talking Social Security not Medicare, you can start SS at age 62 with reduced payments all the way out to age 70 with bonus payments added to your base rate. Medicare starts at age 65 period.
My advice, check with your employer's insurance carrier, they may automatically drop you when you turn 65 leaving you w/o health insurance coverage of any kind. Previous post suggested starting six months early, I don't think there is much you can do until you are down to about 90 days.
I retired early and my wife carried the insurance. When she retired they dropped her back from a family plan to single coverage and I paid a grand a month to bring it back up to a family plan. When I turned 65, they dropped me completely and I transitioned to Medicare w/ a supplemental policy to caulk the leaks. They would not carry me past 65. My wife is 63 and still covered by her former employer's health plan as part of her retirement benefits which will end at age 65. Hope this helps clarify things for you.
Regards,
GtG
PS Maybe if you are a member of the UAW/CIO you might get lifetime coverage in you retirement package (or a congress critter, GS-15, or such like), but us peons get the one size fits all coverage. Even retired military get "Tri Care for Life" which is a slightly beefed up medicare.
Call the HR of your company, I presume you have health insurance through your work — they should be able to help you, also, CALL Medicare.
Hopefully between those two you will get the correct info — also keep up your research on the Medicare website.
yes you need to sign up for medicare and you can keep your current insurance as your primary insurance and medicare as the secondary
Another thing to consider:
If you have private insurance, it may automatically discontinue or at least refuse to pay any benefits, once you attain Social Security/Medicare age.
Check the riders and small print.
Ha, You may have a point there.
Wow! I learned more in 30 minutes by reaching out to freepers than I did after hours spent trying to read gov’t websites/forms. Thank you all and I’ll also try to update what I find out from Medicare next week. ( <- remaining ever the optimist.)
Can I delay Medicare Part B enrollment without paying higher premiums?
Yes. In certain cases, you can delay your Medicare Part B enrollment without having to pay higher premiums. If you didn’t take Medicare Part B when you were first eligible because you or your spouse were working and had group health plan coverage through your or your spouse’s employer or union, you can sign up for Medicare Part B during a Special Enrollment Period. You can sign up:
Anytime you are still covered by the employer or union group health plan through your or your spouse’s current or active employment, or
During the 8 months following the month the employer or union group health plan coverage ends, or when the employment ends (whichever is first).
http://questions.medicare.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/16/session/L3NpZC9YcXgxa3U3aw%3D%3D
Call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 for more information or to enroll in Medicare
Exactly so...
It seems some of the posters are mixing Medicare and Social Security rules. Pearls has the right of this, 65 is the magic number.
Regards,
GtG
You may find the posts helpful, BUT you need to check with your company’s HR whether they will continue your insurance after age 65, some companies do, some don’t. Also call SS ( I posted the number earlier) — you need to get the straight info “from the horse’s mouth” so to speak, and make sure you are getting the info that specifically applies to you.
Good luck!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.