The first thing to determine is if you need to enroll in Medicare. People turning 65 who have coverage through an employer with 20 employees or more may simply continue their coverage until they retire. They have the option to choose which coverge is a better deal. This may be particularly important if they are covering other family members as part of their plan. If you continue your coverage through your employer, you do not have to enroll in Medicare. However, you may voluntarily enroll in Part A. If you have been working and paying into the system for 10 years (40 quarters), Part A is free. This also gets you enrolled in the Medicare system and makes applying for Part B a little easier when you are ready to retire.
Once you determine that you need or want to enroll in Medicare, it can be done in several ways.
If you are receiving Social Security payments, you willl automatically be enrolled in Medicare. Your card should arrive in the mail.
If you are not yet collecting and are not yet applying to collect Social Security, you will need to enroll yourself in Medicare. One way to enroll, if you are handy on the computer, is to go to SSA.gov to set up an account and a password. Then go to the Medicare section and click to apply online before you sign in to your account.
If you are not computer savvy, you can go down in person to your local Social Security Office or you can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. RRB 877-772-5772
Importnat note: If you are enrolling past your initial enrollment period, when you age in at 65 (up to 3 months past your birthday), you will have a special enrollment period when you discontinue coverage through your employer. In order to do this at a later age without penalties, you will need a letter or form from your employer to show proof of continuous coverage since age 65.
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