Social Security and Medicare Timing

[Packman]

My DW will turn 65 next April and will quit her j*b in March. Employer health benefits will last through March and she will begin Medicare on April 1st. She would like to start SS sometime around April too, but can be flexible. Since Medicare part B premiums are taken from SS, will there be a problem in starting them both in the same month? I assume when she signs up for Medicare in January (to begin in April), she will need to pay the first quarter part B premiums, right? Will the payment methods get messed up by either SS or Medicare?

Other than SS dollars increasing on a monthly basis, is there any benefit/penalty in taking SS before or after her 65th birthday month?

Just trying to make all of the transitions as easy as possible.

[SevenUp]

Might be worth your time to put both your information into https://opensocialsecurity.com/ and digest what it suggests.

[Packman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SevenUp Might be worth your time to put both your information into https://opensocialsecurity.com/ and digest what it suggests.

I've done that and have the proper strategy - my DW takes SS at 65 and I wait until 70. I'm just questioning the issue of how to pay part B premiums.

[xlf11]

You could start both SSB and Medicare at the same time for starting 65 with reduced SSB. You don't need to pay Part B as it is the default for applying both together (will be deducted from SSB). You can actually start the app 4 months before as it is allowed for SSB/Medicare app, which is probably recommended as SSA local office still operates as appointment only mode. You could also delay your Medicare app for upto 3 months without penalty, but you have to figure out how to cover the gap...

[Dash man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Packman My DW will turn 65 next April and will quit her j*b in March. Employer health benefits will last through March and she will begin Medicare on April 1st. She would like to start SS sometime around April too, but can be flexible. Since Medicare part B premiums are taken from SS, will there be a problem in starting them both in the same month? I assume when she signs up for Medicare in January (to begin in April), she will need to pay the first quarter part B premiums, right? Will the payment methods get messed up by either SS or Medicare? Other than SS dollars increasing on a monthly basis, is there any benefit/penalty in taking SS before or after her 65th birthday month? Just trying to make all of the transitions as easy as possible.

I signed up for SS in June of 2021, with first payment in July 2021, and started Medicare on August 1, 2021. My July payment only had taxes withheld. My August check also had Medicare withheld.
DW hadn’t started SS yet, so we have hers automatically withdrawn from our checking. Everything went flawlessly.

[marinauser]

If you decide to way on claiming the SS benefit, the medicare part B is easily paid once a month by sending them a check or, as we do, using an automatic bill pay system.

[Lakedog]

No problem starting medicare and SS the same month. The first two medicare monthly premiums will be withheld from the first SS payment (since medicare is paid in advance). That was how it worked for me when I applied for both to start at age 65.