If I keep working after 65, can I wait on Medicare?

Often, yes. Group health insurance through your current job, or your spouse's, generally lets you put off Part B with no penalty, and at employers with 20 or more workers that insurance is the primary payer. A lot of people sign up for Part A anyway since most pay no premium for it. Once the job or the group coverage stops, you get 8 months to enroll in Part B penalty-free. Smaller employers follow different rules, so talk to your benefits office first.

More detail

Here's a common case. You're 66, working for a company with 200 employees, and covered by its health plan. Your job plan pays first, so many people in your spot take premium-free Part A and wait on Part B. When the job or the coverage ends, whichever comes first, your 8-month window to sign up for Part B starts the next month.

Now change one detail: the company has 15 employees. Then Medicare usually pays first, and your job plan may not pay much unless you have Part B.

Two more things: • If you have a Health Savings Account, you can't keep contributing once you have Medicare, and premium-free Part A can go back up to 6 months • COBRA and retiree coverage don't count as coverage from a current job

What to have ready: the number of employees at your employer, and written details from your benefits office about how the plan works with Medicare.

I'm happy to look at your dates and help you plan the switch.