Your timeline
Your Initial Enrollment Period runs from three months before your birthday month through three months after.
Six months before: figure out your situation
Are you retiring, still working with employer coverage, or on a spouse's plan? This decides whether you take Part B now or delay it. If your employer has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare usually becomes primary and you should not delay.
Three months before: enroll in Parts A and B
Sign up at ssa.gov or your local Social Security office. If you already receive Social Security, you are enrolled automatically and your card arrives in the mail. Part A is premium-free for most people. Part B has a monthly premium that comes out of your Social Security check.
Two months before: choose your path
Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plus Part D. We compare your doctors, prescriptions and budget against both. This is the decision that shapes your costs for years, and it is the one people most regret rushing.
One month before: enroll in your plan
Coverage starts the first day of your birthday month if you enroll before it. Enroll during or after your birthday month and coverage starts later.
Birthday month: check your cards
You should have your red, white and blue Medicare card and your plan's ID card. Confirm your doctor's office has both on file.
Every fall: review
Plans change every year. We review yours each October before AEP, at no cost, so you never end up in a plan that stopped fitting you.
Prefer to watch instead of read? Our Medicare 101 series covers all of this in twelve short videos.
Watch Medicare 101The one-page Turning 65 checklist
Every date, every document and every question to ask, on one printable page. We email it to you along with a reminder before each of your deadlines.
- Enrollment dates calculated from your birthday
- What to bring to Social Security
- Questions to ask your HR department if you are still working
- How to compare Medicare Advantage and Supplement plans
Required disclosure. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [X] organizations which offer [Y] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
Not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. Plan availability, premiums and benefits vary by county and change each year. Enrollment in a plan depends on contract renewal.