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Confused about Working, Medicare and Spouse Benefits – Ask Rusty

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2019
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by Russell Gloor, AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor
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9 Comments
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social security-rusty-marry-girlfriend social security benefits benefit increase medicare benefits retireeDear Rusty: I will reach my full retirement age (FRA) in September of 2020 at age 66. My wife will be 64 at that time and will start drawing her SS at 1/2 of my benefit because it will be more than hers, even if she reached her FRA. My question is, I know I will need to sign up for Medicare Part A this year at age 65 but do I need Part B at this time? Both myself and my wife work for the same company and have insurance through them. I will have insurance for one more year through the company until I retire at 66. Another question is when I retire at 66 and my wife retires at age 64 at 1/2 my benefit, will she be able to sign up for Medicare because she is drawing SS benefits? Or will she have to wait until 3 months before she turns 65? Signed: Planning Our Retirement

Dear Planning: Signing up for Medicare when you turn 65 is optional if you have creditable employer coverage. If you enroll in Part A, and you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) you and your employer must both stop contributing to it the month before you turn 65. Whether you should take Medicare Part B (coverage for doctors and other outpatient services) at age 65 depends upon whether your healthcare coverage through your employer is considered a “creditable” alternative to Medicare Part B coverage. Generally, if it’s a group plan with more than 20 participants it will be considered creditable, but you should check with your HR department to make sure. Assuming your employer coverage is “creditable”, you can defer enrolling in Part B until your employer coverage ends. At that time, you’ll enter a “special enrollment period” during which you can enroll in Medicare Part B (and Part D drug plan) without a late enrollment penalty. You can enroll in Part B (and Part D) a little before your employer coverage ends so as to avoid any lapse in health care coverage.

If your wife claims her Social Security benefit at age 64 when you claim your SS at age 66, her own benefit will be reduced, and her spousal benefit will also be reduced from 50% of yours because she is claiming the spousal benefit earlier than her full retirement age. Any time any Social Security benefit is claimed earlier than one’s full retirement age it is reduced. Taken 2 years before her FRA, your wife’s spousal benefit will be about 42% of yours, not 50%.

Your wife cannot enroll in Medicare simply because she is collecting Social Security; she’s not eligible for Medicare until she is 65 (she can enroll 3 months earlier for coverage to start the month she turns 65). If your wife retires from work before she is eligible for Medicare, she may use COBRA coverage until she reaches age 65 and her Medicare coverage begins. If your wife claims her Social Security to start when she retires at 64, she will be automatically enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B just prior to her turning 65 years of age, but if she continues to work and still has creditable employee (not COBRA) healthcare coverage from her employer at that time and wishes to delay enrolling in Part B (to avoid the premium), she can do so until her employer coverage ends. Then when her employer coverage ends, she should enroll in Medicare Part B (and Part D plan) during her special enrollment period so as to avoid any future late enrollment penalties. Finally, you should both be enrolled in Medicare Part A (hospitalization coverage) because it is required to collect Social Security benefits after age 65. Medicare Part A coverage is free for anyone who is eligible to receive Social Security benefits.

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].

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Charles Emery
Charles Emery
1 year ago

my question is; my wife works in the home and takes care of her mom (she lives with us), she is on my insurance through my job. If I go on Medicare at 65 she will only be 63, where does her insurance come from then?

JW Long
JW Long
5 years ago

Rusty, I will turn 67 in September and am not enrolled in Medicare nor am I receiving SS benefits. I am still on my wife’s insurance from her work. We had planned for me to start SS benefits when I turn 72 (at a higher dollar benefit). However, my wife who is 55, has now decided to retire in two years , so there is really no dollar advantage for me to wait to collect SS.

Question is If I start collecting SS this Fall (2019) and (obviously) enroll in Medicare Part A, am I still eligible to use her health insurance as I have been until she retires?

Hoping in MO
Hoping in MO
5 years ago

Rusty, i will be 65 (1954) in a few months and my husband just turned 66 (1953). we plan on him not collecting SS until he turns 70. i work full time and it may come down that i may be laid off in the near future. i was hoping not to claim my SS until full retirement age 66, but will need the income that may be lost. Can i collect SS and unemployment in the state of MO without my unemployment benefits being less because of SS? Also, i just missed the year that we both would be able to claim each others Spousal benefits at 50%. But my husband will be able to claim 50% of mine. with that in mind, if i claim SS and have to apply for unemployment benefits, can my husband still claim his SS BUT restrict his SS till age 70 so he can claim 50% of mine? or do i have to wait till I am 66 to claim SS so he can collect 50% of mine?

not sure if i have this correct, but him filing SS now but restricting and claiming spouse benefits will not effect his SS benefits when he does start at age 70, correct? If i claim at 65 i hope him also claiming but restricting does not effect his SS at age 70 which would be alot more since earning the 8% increase per year for the 4 years that he is 66 to 70.
!
thanks for your time,
your site is very informational!

Hoping in MO

Lee Gameros
Lee Gameros
5 years ago

Rusty, I am 66 and still employed with full coverage insurance. Many have told me I need to start collecting my SS benefits because I am losing SS dollars . I was told that if I am receiving SS and still making my salary from my employer that my Social Security benefits will be much less. So I make 55 thousand a year and if I start receiving benefits, the 2200.00 benefit will now be 1400.00. Is this true? I do not plan on retiring until I am 70.

Joan Hoffner
Joan Hoffner
5 years ago

I have a question about signing up for Part A as being optional if you have creditable insurance at your job.

I have heard this before and I just wanted to confirm it because my husband and I were thinking about delaying signing up because have a HSA and wanted to be able to continue to take advantage of being able to add to it until we do decide to retire which won’t be for a few years.

I also have heard that you have to quit contributing to a HSA 6 months before signing up, not one month?

But we do have a 3.000 deductible per person and was wondering if we did have to be hospitalized would Part A be the first payee because of that deductible. Our health is good at this point but I do have Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma which is a very slow growing cancer and we are just watching it for now.

Just wanted to be able to take advantage of the best possible options.

Gwen Witherspoon
Gwen Witherspoon
5 years ago

I am 82 and drawing Social Security. My husband is 78 and also drawing Social Security. Could I receive Spousal benefits without decreasing his Social Secuirty?

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