"Anyone at age 65 should evaluate how - or if - Medicare will fit into their health-care coverage. Here’s why"

Article originally published by CNBC.com.

Written by Sarah O’Brien

“It’s not just retirees who need to think about Medicare.

Anyone who plans to keep working when they reach the eligibility age of 65 should evaluate how — or if — Medicare will fit into their health-care coverage.

The program’s general rule is that unless you meet an exception, you’ll face late-enrollment penalties if you don’t sign up during a seven-month window that starts three months before your 65th birthday month and ends three months after it.

One of those exceptions is having qualifying insurance through your employer. Yet not all workplace coverage counts. And getting it wrong could cost you down the road.

“The biggest mistake … is to assume that you don’t need Medicare and to miss enrolling in it when you should have,” said Danielle Roberts, co-founder of insurance firm Boomer Benefits.

Here’s what to know.

First, the basics

Basic Medicare consists of Part A, which is hospital coverage, and Part B, which is outpatient care coverage.

Part A has no premium as long as you have at least a 10-year work history of contributing to the program through payroll or self-employment taxes. Part B comes with a standard monthly premium of $170.10 for 2022, although higher-income beneficiaries pay more through monthly adjustments; see the chart below.

More than 40% of beneficiaries choose to get their Parts A and B benefits delivered through an Advantage Plan, or Part C, which typically includes prescription drug coverage, or Part D, and may or may not have a premium.”

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