Dear Rusty: I will be 65 in October and I am working full-time. My goal is to work until age 67, which is my full retirement age, or until age 70. I heard I have to apply for Medicare Part A only. Is this true or will I be penalized? And do I have to go to the Social Security office to do this, or can I do it online? And then will they be still giving me my Medicare through the next five years of working, or do I have to pay for something? I will have my own healthcare insurance. Thank you for your help. Signed: Confused
Dear Confused: There are two things you should be aware of:
- You do not need to claim Social Security benefits when you enroll in Medicare
- You do not need to enroll in Medicare at age 65 if you have “creditable” healthcare coverage from your employer (“creditable” is a group plan with at least 20 participants)
Thus, it is perfectly okay for you to delay taking your Social Security benefits until age 67 (your SS full retirement age), or even until age 70 when you will get the maximum SS benefit you are entitled to. And if you now have “creditable” healthcare coverage from your employer, you can delay enrolling in Medicare until such time as your employer’s healthcare coverage ends. When you stop working, you will enter a Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP), during which you can enroll in Medicare without incurring a Late Enrollment Penalty.
Whenever you decide to enroll in Medicare (or Social Security), you will not need to visit your local SSA office to do so. You can enroll in Medicare either online at www.ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up or you can call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to make an appointment to enroll in Medicare on the telephone. Similarly, when you are ready to claim Social Security, you can do so online at www.ssa.gov/apply or you can call 1.800.772.1213 to make an appointment to apply for SS over the phone. To apply online, however, you should first create your personal “my Social Security” online account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Creating your online SS account now (at age 65) will facilitate later online enrollment and will also provide you with an estimate of your SS benefit amounts at various ages – e.g., now at age 65, at your FRA of 67, or at age 70. And that should help you decide when it is best for you to claim Social Security.
A few final points:
- You should verify with your employer’s health insurance provider that they don’t require you to enroll in Medicare at age 65. Most employer plans don’t, but some do.
- You don’t need to enroll in Medicare Part A or Part B now as long as your employer’s coverage is creditable. And it’s okay to enroll in Medicare a couple of months prior to your employer’s creditable healthcare coverage ending (when you stop working), requesting that your Medicare coverage starts when your employer’s healthcare ends. This will ensure that there is no gap in your healthcare coverage. If your employer coverage is creditable, you will not suffer a Medicare Late Enrollment Penalty for enrolling after age 65.
- If you claim Social Security benefits at any time prior to your full retirement age (FRA) and are still working, you will be subject to Social Security’s Annual Earnings Test (AET), which limits how much you can earn before they take away some of your benefits. The AET lasts until you reach your FRA (67), after which you can earn as much as you like without your SS benefits being affected.
- Whenever you claim your Social Security benefits, you will be required to take Medicare Part A, which is coverage for inpatient hospitalization services. Medicare Part A is free because you are also eligible for Social Security. But you don’t need to enroll in Part A at age 65 unless you also claim Social Security.
- Medicare Part B, which is coverage for outpatient healthcare services (doctors, medical tests, etc.), is optional if you have creditable employer coverage as explained above. You do not need to enroll in Medicare Part B (for which there is a monthly premium of $202.90 in 2026) until your employer’s creditable healthcare coverage ends, even if you claim Social Security earlier.
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].
Everyone who reads this article should review the final points several times to fully understand the why you should enroll for Medicare at age 65, even if you are still working and will be not using it as a primary healthcare plan. That point about checking with your current healthcare plan about how they are determining your eligibility for coverage should already been evident in how they are covering your healthcare needs for age 60–you would have seen that you have to get any medical care pre-approved before you get care from age 60 up—because the same procedure is coded differently because of your age and it is conveniently not mentioned to you directly unless you are demanding explanation of why you are experiencing higher out of pocket cost than you used to—I found this out myself when I had it occur to me. The last thing any of us want is to be told that we are going to be responsible for more cost because of a code change that the insurance companies have decided is too costly for their profit margin.
Unless you have a gold standard healthcare plan which usually means you are paying for a very high premium or your position at work covers your premium costs, most healthcare plans available today, change once you reach over the age of 60 if they haven’t done so when you reached the age 55. Between the ages 55-64 is not called the donut gap for nothing—it’s the ages when your healthcare plan costs rise if you can afford to pay for the coverage and the ages when you are expected to pay higher out of pocket costs too. It might be great to still be able to work and not be in a field where you are not being forced out by ageism but don’t assume that your healthcare coverage is the best option because your age alone has changed the codes for your health care. You won’t necessarily lose using your preferred doctors and their offices should also be able to help you understand the difference between using your workplace healthcare plan and a Medicare healthcare plan.
Be sure to enroll in Pard D for prescriptions. If you don’t, you will incur a lifetime penalty should you decide to try to get it later.
I retired at age 58 and was able to retain my health insurance benefit. I took early social security at age 62, but don’t recall having Medicare Part A then. I did sign up for it all (advantage plan Part C, which includes Part A, B, and D) a few months before age 65, because my former employer discontinued the health insurance coverage then. It works well for me, because I am healthy, take no Rx, and it gives me dental coverage (free preventive care every 6 months), vision coverage (free exam and $ 200 toward glasses), and free Silver Sneakers gym membership, all at no cost to me. And this year, I am on a plan that actually reduces $71 from the $202.90 monthly deduction from social security, so my monthly social security income is greater.
When one signs up for part B, you will also need to get a Part B Supplement from a private insurer to cover what the Govt Part b does not. Plus a Part D for prescriptions. your ‘free’ Medicare ends up costing one about as much as employer supplied insurance, but the coverage is great.