One thing is for sure when it comes to Medicare,
there are a lot of different enrollment windows,
and rules, and exceptions to the rules
when it comes to determining
when exactly you need to apply for Medicare.
And if you don't apply for Medicare at the right time,
you could face a potential lapse
in coverage, or even worse, you could face lifelong penalties.
So today, I'm going to dive into exactly
when you need to enroll in Medicare,
and depending on your situation, it may be different than you think.
So stay tuned.
Hi, I'm Stephanie Abt.
It is a rainy, stormy day here in Austin, Texas.
And I want to talk a little bit more about
when exactly you need to enroll in Medicare, which is
one of the most common questions we get here.
I'm a licensed independent insurance broker
and my team and I help seniors
all over the country to navigate the world of Medicare
and to find and enroll in the best type of Medicare plans
to meet their needs.
I have a couple other videos that talk about how
exactly to enroll in Medicare and I'll link those below.
But for today's video, I want to talk more about
exactly when to enroll in Medicare
based on your specific situation
so that you can avoid any lifelong penalties.
And if you stick around until the end, I'm going to share some tips about
when not to enroll in Medicare,
which could potentially save you a whole lot of hassle
and potentially some tax penalties too. So be sure to stick around for that.
There are many, many different enrollment windows
established by CMS,
the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services
when it comes to Medicare enrollment,
right? So there's the initial enrollment period,
the general election period, the open enrollment period,
the annual election period.
And it can be very confusing to keep these all straight and
for today's video,
I'm not going to dive into each and every enrollment period,
but I am going to talk about the ones that you need
to know when it comes to signing up for Medicare
so that you can avoid penalties down the road.
So when you're turning 65 and you're getting ready to enroll in Medicare,
what you'll want to be aware of is your initial enrollment period,
also known as your IEP.
And this is a 7-month window.
It starts 3-months before the month you turn 65.
It includes your 65th birth month
and it goes up to 3-months after
the month you turn 65,
and this is the window that you get to enroll in Medicare parts
A and B so that you can avoid any future penalties.
And as long as you enroll in Medicare parts A and B
in the early part of that window, the 3-months before
your 65th birth month, then your Medicare part A and B
coverage will start on the first day of the month
that you turned 65.
What many people don't realize, however,
is if you enroll in Medicare in the latter part of that window,
after you turn 65,
your Medicare part B coverage could be delayed.
Now, as long as you enroll in Medicare
at any time during the 7-month
Initial enrollment period window,
your Medicare part A coverage will always start on the
first day of your birth month.
Even if you wait and enroll in Medicare
in a month or two after you turned 65, Medicare will make
your part A coverage retroactive
to the first day of the month you turn 65.
But with part B, it's a little bit different.
The chart on the screen goes into more depth about when your part B
coverage will begin based on when you enroll in Medicare.
So that's something you'll want to be aware of.
If you enroll in Medicare in the latter part of your initial enrollment period window,
your part B coverage could be delayed.
Now, just like any good rule. There are some exceptions.
So if you're born on the first of the month,
then your Medicare eligibility date is actually the first day
of the month prior.
So for example, if you were born on July 1st,
then your Medicare eligibility date is actually June 1st,
and your initial enrollment period begins 3-months prior
to June 1st, includes the month of June,
and goes up to 3-months after June.
Prior to turning 65,
then the government will actually go ahead and
enroll you in Medicare parts A and B, and you'll receive your red, white,
and blue Medicare card in the mail from CMS
prior to your 65th birth month. And you actually don't need
to do anything at all.
You'll be automatically enrolled in Medicare parts A and B,
but if you're not yet collecting social security benefits,
then you will typically want to enroll in Medicare
during your 7-month initial enrollment period window in
order to avoid penalties.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to go online
to ssa.gov/medicare.
And I will link a video up here that goes into more depth about
exactly how to enroll in Medicare online.
You can also call social security to enroll in Medicare over the phone,
or if your social security offices are open, you can go down in person.
Now, a common misconception about
enrolling in Medicare is that
absolutely everyone has to enroll in Medicare
when they're turning 65 during their initial enrollment period window.
If not, they will face life-on penalties.
And that's not necessarily the case. Now since Medicare part B
isn't free,
you have to pay a monthly premium when you enroll in Medicare part B.
Many people will choose to delay enrolling in Medicare
part B if they are actively employed and they have health insurance
through their employer,
or if their spouse is actively employed
and you have health insurance benefits through your spouse's employer.
In these cases, you can delay your Medicare
enrollment altogether without any penalty.
And in most cases, employer insurance and Medicare
don't work that great together when it comes to claims.
So it's rarely really to your advantage to have
both Medicare part B and your employer plan at the same time.
The exception to this rule is if your employer or your spouse's employer
has less than 20 employees.
In this case, your employer insurance is actually
secondary to Medicare.
So it's usually in your best interest to enroll in Medicare parts
A and B when your first eligible.
The other exception is Cobra or retiree benefits.
These don't count when it comes to delaying Medicare part
B without penalty.
It must be an actively employed employer health plan.
So if you do decide to delay your Medicare enrollment,
because you're actively employed or your spouse is and you're receiving
employer-based health coverage,
then you'll want to be aware of your Medicare part B
special enrollment period, also known as your SEP.
Your part B special enrollment period
allows you to enroll in Medicare at
any time that you are actively employed or your spouse is if
you're covered under their plan,
and it lasts up to 8-months after the end of your employment,
or when your employer-based health coverage ends, whichever sooner.
You can use this part B special enrollment period
to enroll in Medicare part B and your coverage will begin
either the first day of the following month,
or it can begin the first day of any of the following three months that you choose.
A little trick that you'll want to be aware of though, is that you cannot use
your part B special enrollment periods
while you are in your initial enrollment period.
And this can be kind of tricky for people that are turning 65
and still working, but planning to retire
1, 2, or 3-months after they're turning 65.
In this situation, Medicare will use the IEP,
the initial enrollment period rules to determine your coverage effective date
based on when you enroll.
If you have delayed Medicare part B while you were working,
and now you're ready to transition off of your employer
insurance and use your part B special enrollment period,
there are a few extra steps you need to take.
You will need to provide proof of your prior creditable coverage
through the employer health plan.
And I have a video that I'll link up here that walks you
step by step through the different ways that you can enroll
in Medicare using your part B special enrollment period.
Another important note that could save you a lot of money
is that if you are working at age 65
and you are actively contributing to a HAS,
to a Health Savings Account,
it's important to know that if you enroll in Medicare parts A
and/or B, or if you enroll in social security benefits,
then you may incur a tax penalty if you continue to make
HSA contributions.
So if you do plan to enroll in Medicare parts A,
B, or social security benefits;
you want to stop all HSA contributions.
This video reviews more about Medicare and HSA rules.
And so you'll really want to watch that if this situation sounds like you
so that you can avoid any potential tax penalties down the road.
Okay, so we've gone over a lot today in this video about
your Medicare enrollment and when and when not to
enroll in Medicare.
And I know, and I hear it all the time for my clients that trying to keep
all of these enrollment period windows straight can be very confusing.
So hopefully today's video was helpful for you.
If you did find value in the video, please go ahead and subscribe
to the channel if you haven't done so yet. Be sure to like the video
and leave all of your questions and comments for me below.
I am an independent Medicare insurance broker and my team and I
are licensed in almost every state.
So if you have any questions about Medicare,
if you need help finding the right Medicare plan for your needs,
please don't hesitate to give us a call.
Our service is completely free of charge and we would be more than happy to assist.
Thank you so much for watching today and we'll see you soon.