Medicare
Turning 65 comes with a real deadline most people don’t know about — miss your enrollment window, and the penalty follows you for the rest of your life.
What Is It
Medicare is federal health insurance available starting at age 65, regardless of income, split into parts covering different things: Part A (hospital care, usually premium-free), Part B (doctor visits and outpatient care, has a monthly premium), Part C (Medicare Advantage, a private-plan alternative bundling A and B), and Part D (prescription drug coverage).
Not 65 yet? The ACA Subsidy Calculator can help estimate what health coverage costs in the years before Medicare kicks in.
Why It Matters
Your initial enrollment window is 7 months — 3 months before your 65th birthday month, that month, and 3 months after. Miss it without qualifying coverage elsewhere, and Part B carries a permanent late enrollment penalty added to your premium for as long as you have coverage. It’s also worth knowing that higher-income retirees pay more for Parts B and D through an income-related surcharge (IRMAA) — which is one reason a large Roth conversion in a single year can have a real, if temporary, ripple effect on Medicare costs down the road.
Quick Example
Delay Part B enrollment by two full years past your eligibility window without qualifying employer coverage, and you could face a permanent 20% premium surcharge (10% for each full 12-month period delayed) — on every future Part B premium payment, for as long as you’re enrolled.
See how that permanent surcharge adds up depending on how long you wait:
Try It Yourself
Healthcare costs are one of the biggest unknowns in early retirement planning — see how they factor into your full timeline.
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Factor healthcare costs into your full retirement timeline and see the impact on your plan.