Born in 1953 – Need to Sign-Up for Medicare?
If you were born in 1953, you need to make some important decisions this year about Medicare. There is a 99% chance you will fall into one of these three categories:
Category 1 - You are currently receiving Social Security – Medicare will assume that since you are collecting Social Security, you (and your spouse) are either not working or are working part time. This means you are not eligible for health insurance under an employer group health plan. So, they will automatically sign you up. However, if you are covered under an employer group health plan (see below for more information) and you wish to remain on that plan, you will want to contact Social Security (1-800-772-1213) and tell them you do not wish to be enrolled in Medicare. There is a charge of $134/month and they will automatically deduct this amount from your Social Security monthly payment. There is no real need to have Medicare if you have employer plan, so save the $134;
Category 2 - You are covered under an employer group health plan¹ and wish to remain under that plan, then you do not need to sign-up². Just be sure to sign-up within 8 months after your employer coverage ends.
¹ These types of insurance do not count: COBRA, Retiree Coverage, VA Coverage, Individual Health Coverage;
² If your employer plan’s prescription drug coverage is not “Creditable,” then you will want to sign-up for a Medicare Prescription drug plan to avoid a life-long “Late Enrollee” penalty. Your employer will be able to tell you if your plan’s prescription drug coverage is “Creditable.” Most high deductible Health Savings Account (HSA) plans do not have “Creditable” prescription drug coverage.
- Category 3 - You are not receiving Social Security and you are not covered under and employer group health plan – If this is you, you have 7-month window to sign-up. The 3 months before the month of your birthday, your birthday month and the 3 months after your birthday month. If you do not sign-up, then you will subject to a life-long “Late enrollee” penalty. But even worse, you’ll miss out on getting great coverage that is very affordable.
There are three ways you can sign-up for Medicare. Click Here: “How-to instructions on 3-ways sign-up for Medicare.”