Important Medicare/TFL Decision at Age 65

Whether you picked up early Social Security benefits or plan to wait until age 66, if you are still working and enrolled in an employer health plan, you need to contact your local Social Security office at age 65 and properly defer Medicare Part B. Why? Two important reasons: 1) If you delay enrolling in Medicare Part B (because you are covered by an employer plan), you will incur a 10% penalty in premiums for every year of delay; 2) If not enrolled in Medicare Part B, you have no TRICARE for Life until you enroll.

If you are covered by your employer’s health plan and want to delay Medicare premiums until after your working career, you need to coordinate the deferral of Medicare with the Social Security office. You are allowed to defer Medicare if you are covered by an employer health plan that provides equal benefits as Medicare. Properly deferring Medicare will negate the 10% premium penalty for each year you delay in applying for Medicare. However, deferring Medicare, specifically Part B, will also defer your entitlement to TRICARE for Life. Deferring Medicare properly will qualify you for a special enrollment period (SEP) when you are ready to pick up Medicare. The special enrollment period may occur during any month you are covered under a group health plan based on current employment, or during the eight-month period that begins the first full month after employment or group health plan coverage ends, whichever comes first.