Social Security Matters – I’m A Retired Veteran; Why Must I Pay For Medicare?
By Russell Gloor, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens
Dear Rusty: I’m a retired Navy veteran who is going to be turning 65 years old this year. My question is concerning mandatory Medicare sign-up requirements. Why do I have to sign up for Medicare coverage at 65 when I can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until I turn 67? My Social Security benefits will not pay for my mandatory Medicare because I can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until I’m 67!
I currently pay for Tricare and utilize my local Veterans Administration medical facilities and referrals for my healthcare. With me turning 65 and having to wait until I’m 67 for my full Social Security benefits, it just seems unfair that I’ll have to pay out of pocket Medicare monthly expenses for two years! Is there any way to avoid this unfair penalty? Signed: Retired Navy Vet
Dear Retired Navy Vet: First, I want to thank you for your military service to our country. Please know that here at the AMAC Foundation we care a lot about our veterans, and you may find the “For Veterans” section of our Foundation website interesting (www.amacfoundation.org).
Regarding your question, you should be aware that enrolling in Medicare is not mandatory, but there are consequences if you do not enroll when you become eligible (normally at age 65). For one thing, if you are a retired veteran on military TriCare, you will lose your TriCare benefits if you don’t enroll in Medicare when you are eligible (TriCare requires that you enroll in Medicare when eligible). And, since you are not yet collecting Social Security, you will be required to separately pay the Medicare Part B premium directly to Medicare (they will bill you when you enroll in Medicare). Another potential consequence is that if you do not enroll in Medicare Part B when you are first eligible, you may incur a lifetime late enrollment penalty for enrolling in Part B later.
Something else to keep in mind is that there are two “parts” to Medicare – Part A (which is coverage for inpatient hospitalization services), and Part B, which is coverage for outpatient healthcare services (doctors, medical tests, etc.). Medicare Part A is free to you, but there is a premium for Medicare Part B ($185/month for 2025). Note that you will need to pay a Part B premium as long as you are enrolled in Medicare Part B (it doesn’t go away after you are collecting Social Security, but it is taken from your Social Security payment). And there is no way for you to avoid the Part B premium after enrolling, and enrolling in Part B is necessary for you to continue your military TriCare-for-life benefits. Note that Medicare Part A and Part B do not include prescription drug coverage, but your TriCare coverage usually does.
It’s important to note that Medicare and Social Security are two independent senior programs with different eligibility rules. As you may know, you can collect early (reduced) Social Security at age 65 (and have your Medicare Part B premium deducted from your SS payment). But you would be collecting Social Security early and, in addition to a reduced benefit, you would also be subject to Social Security’s annual earnings test if you are still working. The SS earnings test limits how much you can earn before some of your SS benefits are taken away (if you exceed the earning limit prior to your full retirement age).
So, is it unfair that you must pay for Medicare Part B before you are collecting Social Security? Well, I think not, because the two programs are completely independent benefits (the Social Security Administration merely administers Medicare payments as a convenience). Remember your Medicare Part A is free, but you must pay a premium for Part B, and you must take both to retain your military TriCare-for-Life benefits. You can visit this site to see how to pay your Medicare premiums until it is later deducted from your Social Security payment: www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/pay-premiums/online-bill-pay.
Once again, thank you for your service to our country.
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.
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6 Comments
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if someone can guarantee me living I’ll wait to collect Social Security but until then I’m collecting at 62. if I waited until 67 it would take six years to break even. That means I’d be 73 years old. The average age for a male is 77. Also people need to consider that the value of a dollar at age 67 is not gonna be the same value at age 62. There’s a very good likelihood it will be worth less. Therefore I’m going to collect it. 62 put 500 a month in an investment in five years, it’ll be worth a lot more.
Hey Retired Navy. I’m retired Air Force. I went thru the same thing a couple of years ago. Forced to pay for Medicare out of pocket after enjoying Tricare for Life for over 25 years. Unfortunately, my local doctor just retired. Now I’m looking for a new doctor, and as it turns out, not a lot of doctors want to take on Medicare patients. I’m feeling like a third class citizen for having an insurance plan I was forced to take. One local medical practice in Clayton had two MDs that were accepting new patients, but not Medicare patients. One PA would, but they only saw one Medicare patient per week, and the next available appt was September. Doesn’t seem legal. Good Luck.
It is unfair regardless of this writers opinion. I am a Naval Veteran as well, Im also disabled. I primarily use the VA for my Healthcare issues as well. Presently I live in Connecticut however I lived in Florida for a while where Medicaid isn’t really available for my measly disability amount I collect so I dropped my Part B coverage. No biggies had I stayed in Florida however having to move back to Connecticut to help my elderly mother, the States Medicaid benefits are PRESENTLY applicable for my income bracket so I picked Part B back up and low and behold there is a lifetime penalty that applies HOWEVER because the State of Connecticut pays the premium the Federal Government doesn’t charge them the penalty, talk about another unfair practice, big time in my opinion anyway. Why is it okay to charge me the penalty yet give the State Government the break, well that’s the way it is I was told. Anyway, depending on where you live I’d check out their Medicaid policies because perhaps they’ll pay for not only your Part B but also C and D. Again while I have it, I use my VA for everything. Medicare, is basically useless, no decent doctor wants you, or wants to take you on because they’re paid garbage, yet you’re forced to take it. Just know, that depending on your circumstances with the VA, whether you’re VA disabled, at least a minimum of 30% or your priority bracket, the VA will provide full medical care and prescriptions for as low as $8.25 per prescriptions, some a little higher like at $11 or $14 for some. They also can and do, and pay for any outside referral to a specific doctor even if youre within a 30 mile radius but ALWAYS if you’re more than 30 miles away from a full VA facility, bandaid clinics not included. So there are alternatives especially if youre positive that you will NEVER use, or NEVER want to use Part B. Using the VA in Connecticut isn’t too bad either because they use Yale Doctors who are “Supposedly” the best of the best. And I will again just say to check out your States Medicaid policies, it could mean the difference of $185 a month and rising yearly. I know that Medicaid is going through some changes but they only apply to legal residence status, if youre 64 and younger and capable of working or volunteering for a minimum of 20 hours and being Medicaid eligible in multiple states, all three are extremely reasonable cuts, because nobody illegal, registered in multiple states and abled body recipients should be either able to work or volunteer for a measly 20 hours. Now some states working in conjunction with the states MAY, I SAY MAY which hasn’t been done as of this writing reduce yearly income amounts but again haven’t as of now. Just check out by Google or Siri what the Income limits are for the QMB, SLMB AND THE ALMB Medicaid programs are. Here’s a link that explains how it works, its more directed for Connecticut residents as far as assets are concerned so that’s why I said check your state and their asset limit, its worth the less than 45 minutes of your time to see if you can save $185 a month this year, it may be more next year. Just for the record, I qualify because of the higher asset limits that Connecticut allows, that’s usually what takes some legitimate people out of being qualified for this, again, as a Proud Veteran I strongly suggest you check this out, its worth it and I also suggest that you talk to the VA and don’t take this article writers word as gospel, I know I’ve had better results and my options worked out differently than suggested by the writer. Best of wishes and thank you for serving our great country.
I’m in that boat with you..brother ..except I have decided to retire. Yes it kind of shocked me too and I got it quick ..penalties do not sound like something I want to know or have thrown at me..I will let you know this tho.. if you are connected to the VA for any disabilities that are rated there is a separate program through Humana and Aetna that can get you money off your Medicare B .social security. It is a Veterans plan at no cost to you as a give back for your service and there are other benefits attached to them it just depends on your situation..You may want to take a look at that . If you fit the profile.
I’m in that same boat with lifetime free insurance from my previous employer. Only way I’ve found to avoid this injustice , is through Humana. I also would like to add if I didn’t sign up for part ‘B’ I would also lose my employer paid insurance that I’ve already earned.
Welcome to the most corrupt and greedy country in the world. As a retired veteran and 100% PT veteran, it makes no sense what this country does to vets, but they say they support and care about veterans. It’s unbelievable, while other countries have universal health care, the US won’t do it because of the extreme wealthy doesn’t want it. Sad and wrong.