Retiring

This page assist you with Medicare health insurance planning before retiring.   I am sorry I can’t provide  you with Social Security benefit information only Medicare Health Insurance information.  Check the Social Security website retirement benefit page.

To get Medicare which is the health insurance from the Federal government, you must be 65 years old or older.  People that has been under Social Security disability income for two or more years and people with End-Stage Renal disease and other health coditions are eligible for Medicare before age 65. 

If you are under 65 and want to retire, your only option for health insurance is the Affordable Health Care Act (sometimes called Obamacare).  In Colorado, you can get premium information from the Colorado Health Insurance Market place:  www.connectforhealthco.com.  This website will give you current pricing for all plans available in Colorado.    Other states might have similar option.

If you are 65 years old or older, you want to make sure you contact Social Security Administration to obtain your Medicare Part A and Part B  (See Q&A #7 and #8 for more information).  You must have these two parts in place in order to enroll in a Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage plan.  You can enroll in a stand-alone prescription drug plan with either Part A or Part B in place.  Check my Medicare Eligibility & Enrollment page for more information.  You can contact Social Security to enroll in Part A and/or Part B three months before the date you are planning to retire.  The process can take a few weeks but keep in mind that sometimes there are unusual circumstances that can make the process longer (like when the government was shot down from December 22, 2018 until January 25, 2019).  

If you are over 65, you might already have Medicare Part A and just need to apply for Medicare Part B.  Check my Medicare Eligibility & Enrollment for information on applying for Part B.   When you have health insurance coverage from your employer, you can contact Social Security to sign up for Medicare Part B at any time while you still have group coverage.  You can also enroll in Part A and/or Part B during a Special Enrollment Period that occurs during the 8-month period that starts immediately following the last month of the group coverage.  When contacting Social Security, make sure you mention that you currently have Health Insurance from your employer or that your coverage ended less than 8-months ago.  Many times, they assume you didn’t have health insurance and they will tell you that you are not able to sign up until the General Part B enrollment period from January 1 until March 31 and that your coverage won’t start until July 1 (Starting in 2023 your coverage starts the month after you apply).     When applying for Part B only, you have to fill-out two forms from Social Security (CMS-40B and CMS-L564).  The forms are very simple to fill out.  One form (CMS-L564) must be filled out and signed by your employer human service department verifying that you currently have health insurance coverage.  Make sure you indicate in the “Remark” section of the form the effective date (start date) you want Part B.  If you don’t, you might get Part B before you need it and that will cost you additional premiums you don’t need since you still have insurance from your employer.   Yes, Medicare Part B has monthly premiums.  See my page Original Medicare Cost for more information.

Here are detail instructions on how to apply for Medicare Part B only:

Go to ssa.gov:

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/#anchor2

Scroll down to a section “Already Enrolled in Medicare” (about middle of the web page).

The form you need to fill out is the CMS-40B.  Here is the Link:

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/Downloads/CMS40B-E.pdf

On the instructions it says to fax it to your local Social Security office.  You have to call the local office for their fax telephone number or look it up at ssa.gov.   The form does ask for the Medicare number listed on your Medicare card.  There is also an option to submit this application online (see below).

You will also need the form CMS-L564 filled out and signed by the employer.

Here is the link:

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/Downloads/CMS-L564E.pdf

Here is the link for the online application. Make sure you have the form CMS-L564E completed and signed by the employer because you will need to uploaded:

https://secure.ssa.gov/mpboa/medicare-part-b-online-application/

Let me know if you need anything else.

Once you determined you are going to start your Medicare, go my Medicare page.