Turning 65 next spring but not claiming Social Security until 67. Does Medicare just start on its own?

Following on from my own saga in the rollovers section, here's the next thing I don't understand.

I'm 63, retired, living off the IRA, and the plan is to file for Social Security at 67. Medicare is 65. Two different ages, and I've now had two different answers from two people I'd normally trust. My brother-in-law says Medicare "just kicks in, they mail you a card," which is what happened to him. A woman at my old district's benefits office said no, if you aren't drawing Social Security yet, nothing happens automatically and it's on you.

Both of them sound equally sure. The reason I care is I keep reading that missing the window costs you money FOREVER, which seems like an unfair penalty for a thing nobody tells you about. So: does something arrive in the mail, or am I supposed to go do something, and when? I have about eight months before this becomes real.

Your brother-in-law almost certainly was already collecting Social Security when he turned 65. That's the whole difference, and it explains why everyone's story contradicts everyone else's. Nobody says which situation they were in, they just say what showed up in their mailbox.

Yeah, I'm the brother-in-law case. Claimed at 62, and at 65 the card turned up without me lifting a finger, so if you'd asked me last week I'd have told you the same wrong thing he did. Genuinely didn't know it worked differently for people who wait. That's a nasty little trap to leave lying around for exactly the people who are doing the patient, sensible thing with their claiming date.

gary1957 said:

does something arrive in the mail, or am I supposed to go do something

You have to go do something, Gary. The benefits officer is right and this is the single most common Medicare surprise for people who delay claiming.

The rule, generally: enrollment in Parts A and B is automatic only if you are already receiving Social Security benefits when you reach 65. If you are not, nothing happens on its own and you sign up yourself. Your window is the Initial Enrollment Period: seven months total, starting three months before the month you turn 65, including that month, and running three months after. Signing up in the three months before your birthday month is what gets coverage starting the month you turn 65, so treat the early end of the window as the real deadline rather than the late end.

What it costs to miss it, since that's what's worrying you: the Part B late enrollment penalty is 10% of the standard premium for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B and didn't, and it stays on your premium for as long as you have Part B, not for a year or two. Part D has a smaller ongoing surcharge on the same logic. Those penalties are the reason this is worth a calendar reminder rather than a mental note.

Three exceptions and complications worth naming precisely. First, if you or a spouse are still working with active employer group coverage, you can usually delay Part B without penalty and enroll later through a Special Enrollment Period. Retiree coverage and COBRA are NOT active employer coverage for this purpose, which catches people out badly. Second, if you have a health savings account, Medicare enrollment ends your ability to make new HSA contributions, and Part A can be backdated up to six months when you enroll after 65, so contributions made in that backdated stretch become a problem. Third, since you won't have a Social Security check to deduct the premium from, Part B will be billed to you directly, usually quarterly, until you claim. The site's Medicare explained walks through the parts and windows, and when to claim Social Security covers why the two ages no longer arrive together.

Your own dates and coverage history are what decide which of those applies to you, and Medicare.gov and SSA.gov will both answer for your specific record, free. I can't do that from here.

Write the date on a paper calendar. I say that as someone who trusts computers less each year, but also because the reminder needs to fire three months BEFORE the birthday, and every automated reminder I have ever set fired on the day itself.

Reporting back so this is useful to the next person. Set the reminder for three months before, made a note about the HSA thing since I do have one and had no idea, and called SSA to ask about the premium billing. They confirmed I'll be billed directly until I file at 67, which is fine, I just wanted to know it was coming rather than discovering an unpaid bill.

Bill, no hard feelings on the wrong answer. You were right about your own case, which is how this stuff spreads.