Find the Medicare plan tailored for your needs.
To align your Medicare start date with your retirement date, you need to know whether you have employer coverage right now and how long it will last. If your employer coverage ends the same month you retire, you will want Medicare to start that same month so there is no gap.
A $0 premium Medicare Advantage plan is legitimate and common, but the premium is only one part of what you'll pay. Costs like copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums can vary significantly between plans.
A $0 premium Medicare Advantage plan means you pay nothing monthly, but you can still face significant costs when you actually use care, through copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums that vary widely by plan.
If your employer has 20 or more employees, you can usually wait until you stop working to sign up for Part B without a penalty. However,most people still sign up for "premium-free" Part A during their 65thbirthday window just to have that extra hospital coverage.
After losing employer health coverage, you generally have 8 months to sign up for Medicare Part B without a late penalty. This is called a Special Enrollment Period.