Received a statement from the Social Security Administration (SSA) recently.
Included in there is a comment about Medicare. Even if you do not retire at age 65, you may need to sign up for Medicare within 3 months of your 65th birthday to avoid a lifetime late enrollment penalty. Special rules may apply if you are covered by certain group health plans through work.
Glad I read that while I perused through the SSA statement. The event is a few years away for me. But, I probably need to set myself a reminder or two now, so it doesn’t slip my mind.
Question to others
If the event has passed, how do you remind yourself about the requirement?
If the event is coming up within the next few years, how would you remind yourself?
At age 64 n 6 months, have a date with your wife to deep dive review the current Medicare rules
As a married team, choose your Medicare path.
At 3 months before 65th birthday, sign up for your chosen plan/s … to begin on your 65th birthday.
Medicare Advantage … Or
A,B,D and Supplemental Plan (F,G,N, etc)
Arrange your intro to Medicare healthcare appointment.
During the first 12 months, you’re eligible for a complete “baseline” physical, at no cost to you.
IIRC, there is a (6-month?) grace period, from
3 months before 65 birthday to 3 months after,
to do the paperwork.
After that, there are penalties.
ralph
Edit to add:
Familiarize yourself with GoodRx, CostPlusDrugs (Mark Cuban),
Other low cost drug places
It may sound ludicrous, but I would set up a reminder in my phone’s calendar. Or more likely, reminders. Everything I have to remember about future events goes there. In my case I would set it up so I had multiple alerts ahead of time, perhaps monthly when it is getting close.
This is easy. Siri, assuming iPhone, can set up a reminder years in advance, you just need to tell her the date you want. I assume Android calendars have the same function, somehow.
Personally, I would set up more than one, because I tend to push them off if they’re not immediate, and then, whoops, “I forgot.”
@RHinCT & @Goofyhoofy - I was thinking of attaching a sticky to things I check on at least once a year. But, the phone idea does work too. And yes, the reminder was going to be several times. But thanks for the suggestion
@buynholdisdead - use Google Apps for other stuff. But I have not used Google Calendar. Will look at that app, and ship a task to it, a few years in advance? There’s time to learn
I have recurring themes that it keeps track of. Birthdays. Wedding anniversary(I am happy to say I am always on time), and graduations. I just set one up to remind me of medicare on my birthday in 2027. I can see it on the calendar. We will see if it works. LOL
I have an iPhone (and Apple computers, iPads, etc.). They have a calendar program I used for both your questions. In addition to events being on a calendar date, you get alerts emailed to you.
Most folks have given you the answers you were looking for re: setting up reminders. I would also like to contribute a very valuable thing to also consider: please check with your state’s SHINE program. It is a free program conducted by unbiased volunteers who can help advise you on the various options wrt Medicare and the various add-ons that are available. They will also let you know about any late fees, or other hidden costs that are also out there. Best of luck!! https://www.shiphelp.org
It’s been a while so I could be wrong but I started taking SS at age 62 and as I recall the SS folks told me not to worry about it that they would take care of Medicare when I turned 65. And they did.
I’ve been watching this post since it went up. To be honest, I’m kind of shocked that someone would even ask this question. Don’t we all have important dates that we PUT ON THE CALENDAR? Isn’t that just a common sense everyday thing?
There are situations where you may not want to take Medicare at 65. The most likely case would be because you still get group health insurance through a large employer plan. In particular, you lose eligibility to contribute to a Health Savings Account once you sign up for Medicare — even just Part A. This is because to contribute to a Health Savings Account, you can only be covered by a High Deductible Health Plan. Medicare Part A is not considered a High Deductible Health Plan, so once you’re on it, any contributions to a HSA must stop.
In my case, altho T took it at 62, in order to get the full amount I would have had to hang on to 65+8 months, the situation was such that I’d likely be living out of a suitcase off in some out of State (CA) area where I would effectively had to start over, work wise, politically. etc.. So the Co Offer got my attention, and I bailed a few months prior to 62. in '02… Glad I did as the Co as well as the rest of telecom spiraled down, never recovered, multiple changes from WeCo/LU to Alcatel, and finally Nokia, where I still receive my pension… 23 yers ago!
"I’ve been watching this post since it went up. To be honest, I’m kind of shocked that someone would even ask this question. Don’t we all have important dates that we PUT ON THE CALENDAR? Isn’t that just a common sense everyday thing? "
You had a 48-month or 60-month calendar handy? Good for you. I will be quite frank – I have never seen a 48-month calendar. I have not seen a 60-month calendar. I asked the two questions in the OP based on the fact that my time-frame was further out and sought advice that might be helpful for others who might be in a similar situation. That is, figure out a process to remind oneself of an important date multiple years out.
@38Packard - First off, Howdy, it has been awhile.
Given all the changes planned by the current “regime”, it certainly might be helpful getting more up-to-date advice & thoughts on Medicare. I will make a note to see what resources are available in my state. I
