Telly
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2003
- Messages
- 2,395
This has some moving parts!
I'm now less than 2 years away from being eligible for Medicare. DW is one year younger than me, and working. We have insurance through her employer (a higher deductible PPO, premiums now $7,700 a year for us together).
DW's future retirement medical - A good plan, her monthly premium would be $0, adding me on is a small monthly amount. As an aside, she has been paying a small sum every pay period into the retirement medical system as long as she has been an employee. She also pays into Medicare, as did I.
She can't start this retiree medical plan until she turns 65, and we will both have to register for Medicare and pay Part B premiums to get the low retiree plan premium, as the plan is secondary. I believe we will need to get a drug supplement on our own.
With this info alone, I figured I (being older) would hold off registering for Medicare until she was eligible for her retirement medical plan (and her Medicare too), as I am covered under her active work plan.
This is where it gets complicated...
Very shortly after DW turns 64, another path possibility opens up. She will then have enough points in her pension plan, to be able to retire with retirement medical... however, her retirement medical plan cannot be started until she actually turns 65. So an interim option if she retires at 64 would be to continue her work insurance, but no employer contribution (not COBRA, it's a subset of the big medical retirement plan, an after-work plan for those who retire but are less than 65, the total premium for similar coverage would be at least $11,000 a year today). And the thought was I would then hold off on Medicare enrollment and stay in her after-work plan until she's 65. Then we both go to her actual retirement medical, and Medicare.
An immediate question the reader may have is, "why doesn't she just hold off retirement until she turns 65, and make it all simpler?" And the answer is... we are thinking of moving to a retirement community, and not waiting almost another complete year between her 64 to 65 has it's advantages! And it is too far away to commute
So... Am I missing something here? I assume I CAN hold off enrolling in Medicare until she qualifies for her retirement medical, as I would be covered by her work insurance.
Anyone else done something like this?
I'm now less than 2 years away from being eligible for Medicare. DW is one year younger than me, and working. We have insurance through her employer (a higher deductible PPO, premiums now $7,700 a year for us together).
DW's future retirement medical - A good plan, her monthly premium would be $0, adding me on is a small monthly amount. As an aside, she has been paying a small sum every pay period into the retirement medical system as long as she has been an employee. She also pays into Medicare, as did I.
She can't start this retiree medical plan until she turns 65, and we will both have to register for Medicare and pay Part B premiums to get the low retiree plan premium, as the plan is secondary. I believe we will need to get a drug supplement on our own.
With this info alone, I figured I (being older) would hold off registering for Medicare until she was eligible for her retirement medical plan (and her Medicare too), as I am covered under her active work plan.
This is where it gets complicated...
Very shortly after DW turns 64, another path possibility opens up. She will then have enough points in her pension plan, to be able to retire with retirement medical... however, her retirement medical plan cannot be started until she actually turns 65. So an interim option if she retires at 64 would be to continue her work insurance, but no employer contribution (not COBRA, it's a subset of the big medical retirement plan, an after-work plan for those who retire but are less than 65, the total premium for similar coverage would be at least $11,000 a year today). And the thought was I would then hold off on Medicare enrollment and stay in her after-work plan until she's 65. Then we both go to her actual retirement medical, and Medicare.
An immediate question the reader may have is, "why doesn't she just hold off retirement until she turns 65, and make it all simpler?" And the answer is... we are thinking of moving to a retirement community, and not waiting almost another complete year between her 64 to 65 has it's advantages! And it is too far away to commute
So... Am I missing something here? I assume I CAN hold off enrolling in Medicare until she qualifies for her retirement medical, as I would be covered by her work insurance.
Anyone else done something like this?