Turning 65 and Medicare Enrollment in North Bergen

A calm, step-by-step plan for your first Medicare year

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Turning 65 and Enrollment Help for North Bergen

Your 65th birthday comes with a deadline most people do not hear about until the mail starts arriving. Your first sign-up window lasts seven months, wrapped around the month you turn 65, with three months on each side. Apply in the early part of it and Medicare can begin on the first of your birthday month instead of later.

For families in North Bergen, this is often a group project. A son or daughter helps a parent sort the letters, someone asks whether a job plan still counts, and everyone wonders whether the right answer is a supplement or a private plan. We help you take it one step at a time.

A family laughs together around a birthday cake at a backyard table

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.

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Step One: Decide on Parts A and B

Already receiving Social Security checks? Then enrollment happens for you, and the card shows up in the mail roughly three months ahead of the big day. If not, file with Social Security yourself, on its website or over the phone.

Still working, or covered through a working spouse, at a company with 20 or more employees? Then putting off Part B is often fine. Once that job coverage stops, an eight-month Special Enrollment Period opens. Social Security uses form CMS-L564 to confirm your job coverage, and we can explain how to get it filled out.

Step Two: Choose How to Fill the Gaps

With a Part B start date in hand, the next fork is how to cover what Parts A and B leave out. Route one pairs the federal program with a Medigap policy and a drug plan. Route two is a Medicare Advantage plan. Your guaranteed window for a supplement begins the same month as Part B and runs half a year, which makes it the easiest time to buy one.

Step Three: Get the Dates Right

Initial Enrollment Period, three months before through three months after the month you turn 65
Medigap open enrollment, the first half year you have Part B at age 65 or older
General Enrollment Period, each January through March, if your first window slipped by
Fall Open Enrollment, mid-October to December 7, with new coverage on New Year's Day

Missed dates cost money. Part B adds one tenth to your premium for every whole year you could have enrolled and did not, usually for life, and the Part D surcharge climbs a little for each month without creditable drug coverage.

What to Bring to Your First Call

Keep these within reach: the Medicare card or Social Security letter, papers from any job or union plan, each medicine with its dose, and your doctors' names. Got a letter that makes no sense? Bring that too. If money is tight, we will also check whether you qualify for programs that lower your costs before we talk about plans.

Talk It Over Before You Decide

A free review with a local, licensed agent costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. We compare the plans we offer against your doctors, medicines and budget, in English or Spanish. Learn more about our agency.

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Turning 65 and Enrollment Questions

Can I get Medicare and keep working?

Yes. Medicare and retirement are separate decisions. Many people take Part A at 65 and delay Part B while covered by a large employer plan.

What if I have coverage through the Marketplace?

A Marketplace plan is not job coverage, so waiting on Part B while on one risks a penalty. Most people should sign up for Medicare during their first window and end the Marketplace plan when Medicare starts.

Does a birthday on the 1st change anything?

Yes. Medicare counts you as turning 65 in the prior month, which moves your whole window back by one month. We double-check this date for you.

Do I need to do this in English?

No. We can walk your whole family through enrollment in Spanish.