I am going to give you a verbatim list from a United Healthcare booklet, “A Simple Guide to Medicare”, and I would recommend that you pick one of these up or go to Medicare.gov for more information.
Basically, you have a seven-month enrollment period for Medicare (IEP). It begins the month you turn 65, the 3 months before, and the 3 months after. It begins and ends a month earlier if your birthday is on the first of the month.
You may be able to delay enrollment if:
1) The employer has 20 or more employees
2) The employer provided health insurance is considered “credible”
3)The employer doesn’t require the covered spouses to enroll in Medicare at age 65 in order to remain on the employer’s plan.
You must also get a certificate of “credible drug coverage” from the plan administrator. You must have this documentation to avoid a Part “D” penalty if you plan to delay enrollment.
I hope this helps. There is a lot of information available from Medicare.gov that will help you avoid some of the pitfalls of enrolling at the wrong time.
Great, thank you!
1 & 2 apply. My current plan is a grandfathered pre-ACA plan that may not be considered credible as it does not cover preventative care, but other plans are offered that would likely be considered credible & could switch to one of them before my 65th birthday.
My employer-sponsored plans are so much better & cost so much less than Medicare that combined with the flexibility of the job has me thinking I should work there as long as I am able.