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Turning 65 in Salisbury
Your Medicare timeline, step by step.
Six steps take you from your first Medicare letter to a plan that fits, with the dates and penalties that matter most spelled out in plain English.
Six steps for clever 64-year-olds
Whether you are retiring from a long career in Wicomico County or still working full time, these steps keep your coverage starting on time and your costs predictable. Open each step for the details.
Step 1: Mark your seven month window
Your Initial Enrollment Period starts three months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after it. If your birthday is in July, the window runs from April through October.
Already getting Social Security? You are usually enrolled in Parts A and B automatically, and your card arrives in the mail before your birthday month. If you are not collecting benefits yet, you sign up yourself through Social Security.
The bottom line: put the first day of your window on the calendar now.
Step 2: Decide on Part B timing
This is the decision that trips up the most people. If you are retiring at 65, you will generally want Part B to start when your other coverage ends.
Still working? If you have health coverage from your own or your spouse's current job, you may be able to delay Part B without a penalty and sign up later during a Special Enrollment Period. Coverage from a former job, retiree plans and COBRA do not count the same way.
The penalty: if you go without Part B and do not have qualifying job based coverage, your premium can go up 10% for each full year you could have had it, for as long as you have Part B.
The bottom line: ask your employer how your plan works with Medicare before you skip Part B.
Step 3: Choose your path
Once Parts A and B are lined up, you choose how to handle the gaps: Original Medicare plus a Medicare Supplement and a Part D drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan that usually bundles drug coverage.
For Salisbury residents, the deciding questions are usually practical. Do you want to keep seeing specialists in Baltimore or Delaware? Do you travel or spend winters out of state? Do you prefer a higher premium with predictable bills, or a lower premium with copays? Our Supplement vs Advantage guide walks through each tradeoff.
The bottom line: pick the path that matches how and where you actually get care.
Step 4: Use your Supplement open enrollment
If you lean toward a Medicare Supplement, timing matters. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is the six months that start the month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During those months, companies cannot turn you down or charge more because of your health.
After that window, you may have to answer health questions to buy or change a Supplement, and you can be declined.
The bottom line: if a Supplement appeals to you, buy it during these six months.
Step 5: Add drug coverage on time
If you choose Original Medicare, add a Part D plan when you first become eligible unless you have other creditable drug coverage. Waiting can bring a late penalty of 1% for each month you went without coverage, added to your premium for as long as you have Part D. Our Part D page explains how to compare plans at your pharmacy.
The bottom line: do not let drug coverage lapse, even if you take few medications today.
Step 6: Set a yearly reminder
Your first plan is not your last. Each fall, plans can change premiums, drug lists and networks. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, and that is when you can switch Advantage or Part D plans for the next year.
The bottom line: review your coverage every fall, and call us if anything in your plan letter looks different.
What to gather before we talk
A 30 minute call goes much further when you have a few things handy. None of this needs to be perfect.
- Your Medicare card, or the date your Part A and B start
- A list of your doctors, including any specialists outside Salisbury
- Your prescriptions and the pharmacy you use
- Details on any job or retiree coverage you or your spouse have
- Notes on travel, a second home, or months spent out of state
Not sure where your local care options stand? See our Salisbury health resources for the hospital and urgent care centers in town.
Good to know: your premium is the same with or without a broker. Insurance companies pay us, not you, so your turning 65 review, your enrollment help and your yearly checkups cost you nothing extra.
Turning 65 questions from the Lower Shore
Do I need Medicare if I am still working at 65?
It depends on your employer coverage. Most people take premium free Part A. Whether to delay Part B depends on whether your coverage comes from a current job and how it works with Medicare, so check with your employer before deciding.
What is the Welcome to Medicare visit?
It is a one time preventive visit you can have within the first 12 months of having Part B. It reviews your health and preventive care, and there is generally no cost if your doctor accepts assignment.
I spend winters out of state. Does that change anything?
It can. Original Medicare and a Supplement work with any provider nationwide that accepts Medicare, while most Advantage plans use local networks. If you split your year, tell us so we can compare plans with that in mind.