Your deadline
When do I need to sign up for Medicare?
For most people, the window opens three months before the month you turn 65 and closes three months after it. If you're still working with coverage from that job, your deadline works differently — and that's where most expensive mistakes happen.
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Don't know a word? Press any purple word to see what it means. They're all listed at the bottom of the page.
Meet Frank
A short story. It stops before the ending.
Read the script
Two ways your clock starts
Everyone uses one of these. Never both.
Turning 65 and not covered by a job — your birthday starts the clock
7 months in all. We call it the 3-1-3.
Still working with coverage from that job — your job ending starts the clock
The 8 months start when the job or the work coverage ends — whichever comes first.
How it works
Five short cards. Open "Going deeper" only if you want the detail.
Your window starts before your birthday, not on it
You can sign up in the three months before the month you turn 65, the month itself, and the three months after. Seven months in all.
Signing up early matters. Sign up in the first three months and your coverage starts the month you turn 65. Sign up later and it starts later.
You're signed up automatically
If you already get Social Security benefits, you'll be enrolled in Parts A and B without doing anything. Your Medicare card usually arrives in the mail about three months before your 65th birthday.
Still working and want to wait on Part B? The card comes with instructions for that.
The size of your employer changes the answer
Most people still take Part A, because it's usually premium-free.
Going deeper — the HSA catch
If you put money into a health savings account (HSA), you have to stop once Part A starts. And when you sign up for Part A later, it can start up to six months earlier than the day you apply. So stop contributions up to six months before you apply.
You get 8 months to sign up for Part B
The clock starts when your job ends or your work coverage ends, whichever comes first. Sign up inside those 8 months and there's no late penalty.
Don't treat the 8 months as time to spend. Signing up so Part B starts the day your work coverage stops means no gap between the two.
Going deeper — your plan has its own, shorter clock
Medicare Advantage or a drug plan: about 2 months after your work coverage ends. Someone who uses most of their 8 months for Part B can miss this one.
Medicare Supplement: a one-time 6-month window that opens when your Part B starts. During it, you can't be turned down or charged more for your health.
COBRA and retiree coverage don't count for Part B
Both feel like your old work plan — same company, same doctors. But Medicare only counts coverage from a job someone is still working. Once the job ends, your 8 months are running, even while you're on COBRA.
And when COBRA ends, there's no new window waiting. That's what happened to Frank.
Find your window
Two quick tools. Nothing you pick is saved.
What month is your 65th birthday?
Born on the 1st of the month? Everything moves one month earlier.
A licensed support agent can confirm the window that applies to you — including what changes if you're still working or on a spouse's plan.
No obligation. You can request help from one of our licensed support agents at any time.Which one sounds like you?
Pick one above to see what applies to you.
What happened to Frank
The rest of the story.
Read the script
Frank's path, next to the one he could have taken
- No window was waiting. His 8 months ran out that fall, while he was still on COBRA.
- He had to wait for January. The next chance was January 1 to March 31, with coverage starting the month after he signed up.
- Months with no Part B. Doctor visits and tests in that stretch were on him.
- A penalty may follow. Depending on how long he went without Part B, an extra charge may be added to his premium for as long as he has it.
- Sign up for Part B when the job ended, timed to start the day his work coverage stopped.
- Pick his plan in the next couple of months. A Medicare Supplement or a Medicare Advantage plan to cover the 20% Medicare doesn't.
- COBRA only alongside Medicare, never in place of it.
Words on this page
- Late penalty
- An extra charge added to your Part B premium.
- Medicare Advantage
- A private plan you can choose instead. It bundles coverage and has a yearly out-of-pocket limit.
- Medicare Supplement
- An add-on plan that pays some or all of what Original Medicare leaves you to pay. Also called Medigap.