Should You Sign Up for Medicare if You’re Still Working?

You probably know that you’re supposed to enroll in a Medicare plan when you turn 65 years old. But what if you’re still working, and covered by an employer’s group healthcare plan? You might be wondering… Should I still sign up for Medicare at this time? Or do I have other options?

According to Medicare rules, you might not be required to enroll as long as you’re covered by an employer’s healthcare plan. But the options available to you will depend, to a large degree, upon the size of your employer.

If your company employs fewer than 20 workers, you do need to enroll in Medicare. Medicare Parts A and B will serve as your primary health insurance, and your employer’s plan will serve as secondary insurance. If you don’t enroll in Medicare when you’re supposed to, your group healthcare plan might not pay for your care, or it might pay less than you expect. And when you do enroll in Medicare someday, you will be charged a penalty in the form of higher Part B premiums.

If your company employs 20 or more  workers, you are not required to enroll in Medicare. If you feel that your plan offers adequate coverage, and you don’t want to enroll in Medicare at this time, you can delay your enrollment until you are no longer covered by a group healthcare plan. You will not be penalized for late enrollment in Medicare when you finally do sign up.

However… you might choose to enroll in Medicare anyway. Medicare Part A is free to most people, and it provides hospitalization insurance. It will serve as a backup policy, meaning Medicare picks up the tab for the balance after your group healthcare plan pays for hospital bills. Obviously this could save you a lot of money. And you might also want to sign up for Medicare Part B, after comparing Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket expenses to your current plan. Then you can drop your group health insurance policy.

If you’re turning 65 this year, give us a call. We can help you sort through the above options and decide upon a plan that works best for your healthcare needs and budget.