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Medicare

Q&A: Medicare Part B allows an eight-month grace period

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Dear Liz: I have a question after reading your column about avoiding costly Medicare mistakes. My husband and I have both reached 65 this past year. We both signed up for Medicare Part A hospital coverage, which is free. I retired two years ago, but am covered by my husband’s employer’s health insurance. I’m now confused about whether I should have signed up for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors visits but requires monthly premiums. His employer explained to him that he would avoid penalties if he signed up for Part B within eight months of his retirement, but no one has mentioned his wife.

Answer: You’re covered under the same rules. As long as your spouse is still working and you’re covered by that employer’s health insurance, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part B. But, as your husband’s employer noted, when that employment ends you both should enroll in Part B within eight months to avoid future penalties.

Q&A: How to avoid the costly Medicare mistake that too many people make

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Dear Liz: My husband retired last year at 74. He had originally signed up for Medicare Part A and Part B. But during his employment, he cancelled Part B because of the company’s private health insurance. When he retired, we used COBRA to continue that insurance coverage for our family. (I’m not Medicare eligible, and we have a son.) Our COBRA coverage ends in a few weeks.

My husband was told he has to wait until January 2019 to enroll in Part B and will not have coverage until July 2019. He is ineligible for VA benefits and has costly medical expenses. I was able to get an Obamacare plan because coming off COBRA triggers a special enrollment period for me, but he cannot get coverage because he is Medicare eligible.

What a dilemma. No one told us when he retired that he should get back on Part B right away and not take the COBRA offered. Now, when he does get Part B, he will also pay a 20% premium penalty each month for life. We are shocked that the system works like this. Any ideas how to get out of this mess?

Answer: Your husband isn’t alone in misunderstanding the importance of signing up for Part B after retirement. Unfortunately, there’s probably no remedy.

For those who don’t know, Medicare Part A is the hospital coverage that’s provided to people 65 and older. They don’t pay premiums for this coverage. People do, however, pay premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors’ visits and other medical costs. Those who are still working and covered by an employer’s plan often forgo Medicare Part B. Once their employment ends, though, they’re expected to sign up for Part B within 8 months or they pay a 10% premium for every 12 months they failed to sign up. They also have to wait for the regular Medicare enrollment window to roll around, which can leave them exposed to some hefty medical bills in the meantime.

“This is the biggest mistake people make and seriously this rule needs to be changed,” says Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner in Jacksonville, Fla.

There is a process known as “equitable relief” that allows people to request immediate enrollment and the waiving of the penalty, but you have to prove that the failure to enroll was the result of “error, misrepresentation or inaction” by a federal employee or anyone authorized by the federal government to act on its behalf, according to the Social Security Administration. So it’s not enough to inadvertently make a mistake. You have to prove you were misled. You can read more here: https://www.medicarerights.org/PartB-Enrollment-Toolkit/Equitable-Relief.pdf

Q&A: High earners need to watch out for Medicare surcharge

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Dear Liz: When I retired at age 70, I anticipated receiving the maximum available Social Security benefit payment because I had paid in the maximum tax for my entire career. I did not anticipate the heavy hit my spouse and I would take in monthly income-adjusted Medicare “premiums.” (I say “tax” is a more appropriate description.) We now pay over $500 per month each, or more than $12,000 per year! I know I am blessed to have the income I have in retirement, but that is because we were thrifty and worked hard and saved.

Answer: Many high-income retirees are unaware of “IRMAA,” or Medicare’s income-related monthly adjustment amounts, so they can come as a bit of a shock. These adjustments begin when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $85,000 for singles or $170,000 for couples. At that level, Medicare recipients pay an additional $53.50 for Part B, which covers doctor’s visits, and $13.30 extra for Part D prescription drug coverage, on top of their regular premiums. (Regular premiums for Part B are $134 a month, while premiums for Part D vary by the plan chosen.) The adjustments increase as income rises until they max out at $294.60 for Part B and $74.80 for Part D when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $160,000 for singles or $320,000 for couples.

Medicare Part A, which covers hospital visits, remains free for all Medicare beneficiaries.

That $12,000 a year may feel like a lot, but healthcare is expensive in the U.S. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $18,764 last year.

Q&A: Paying for a younger spouse’s health insurance until Medicare kicks in

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Dear Liz: My husband and I have started discussing when he’ll retire. I’d like him to retire somewhere around 65 or 67. He thinks he’ll have to work until at least 70, if not longer, for health insurance coverage for me. (It’s possible that he could do so, since his is an intellectual job where experience is highly valued. Several of his colleagues are in their 70s now, and one retired last year in his 80s.) My husband is 51, and I will be 41 this year.

We’ve used retirement calculators, and even restricting the rate of return to 3% or 4%, we’ll have at least $800,000 in his 401(k) by the time he’s 67. If we use the historical return rate, we get well over $1 million. We then made a rough guess of what minimum distributions would be based on current IRS tables. This number alone will cover 70% or more of our retirement budget.

I think we can do this, even if we have to pay for my health insurance, and even if we have to start withdrawing from the 401(k) at 65. Is this a bad idea? If he gets there and wants to keep working, then no problem, but if he’s fed up at age 64 and 355 days, I want him to feel able to walk away.

Answer: That’s a wonderful goal, but you may be underestimating the cost and difficulty of securing health insurance for your future self.

Currently, people without employer-provided insurance can buy coverage on Affordable Care Act exchanges, but the future of those is in doubt. Congress ended the ACA’s individual mandate, which requires most people to have insurance, so costs are expected to rise sharply next year. If enough healthy people opt out, the exchanges will collapse.

It’s not hard to imagine a future that looks like the past, where people had to keep working at jobs that offered employer coverage until both they and their spouses were old enough for Medicare. Under current rules, that would mean your husband working until he’s 75 and you’re 65.

Your husband might be able to quit a bit earlier thanks to COBRA rules, which allow people to continue employer-provided coverage for 18 months if they can pay the full cost of the premiums, plus a 2% administrative fee. The average annual premium is $6,690 for single coverage and $18,764 for family coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The cost is likely to be substantially more in the future if medical cost inflation isn’t brought under control.

If you really want to give your husband the option to quit at 65, you may need to look into employment for yourself that includes health insurance benefits. Another option is to move abroad to one of the many countries that offer affordable healthcare for expatriate retirees. Sites such as International Living at www.internationalliving.com and Live and Invest Overseas at www.liveandinvestoverseas.com can help you identify potential options. You could plan to return home once you’ve qualified for Medicare.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Keeping your money safe while you see the world. Also in the news: How one couple retired early, why Millennials should care about Medicare right now, and using liability insurance when driving abroad.

Keep Your Money Safe While You See the World
Enjoy your trip without money stresses.

If You Retire Early, Life Can Be a Beach
How one couple pulled it off.

Why Millennials Should Care About Medicare Right Now
Before it’s too late.

Do You Need Special Car Rental Insurance When Driving Abroad?
Looking at liability insurance.

Why Millennials Should Care About Medicare Right Now

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Medicare provides basic health care to one out of six Americans, most of them 65 and older. Even people decades away from retirement, though, should be concerned about Congress meddling with the program.

Lawmakers understand that cutting current retirees’ benefits is a political nonstarter. Older people vote, and they have one of the most powerful lobbyists, AARP, advocating on their behalf.

Younger people? Not so much. Politicians will be tempted to foist the biggest cuts on people farther away from retirement (who are presumably paying less attention).

In my latest article for the Associated Press, why it’s crucial that Millennials begin to think a