For everyone in the United States, Medicare can prove to be an economic relief. Directly or indirectly, this closely related service for Social Security retirees can affect every family. For younger workers, Medicare can benefit their grandparents. So it always ends up helping in some way in the end. This means that having Medicare among the government services is a very big advantage.
However, there are many people who wonder when is the best age to apply for Medicare. In this sense, it is necessary to clarify that applying for Medicare is not mandatory. You can live without Medicare, although it is advisable to apply for this benefit from Social Security. The usual age to start using Medicare is 65 years old. Before that, you cannot apply for it, so here are two fundamental options that make the strategy change a lot with respect to the use of this service.
The Best Social Security Age to apply for Medicare
There are three main ages at which to apply for Social Security. From the age of 62 it is possible to apply for retirement, but not mandatory. From that point we can apply for the subsidy at any time, as long as you have been working for 10 years or more. Let’s see the advantages of applying for Medicare at each different age:
- Social Security at age 62 (early age retirement): if you apply for Social Security at this age you will not be able to link it with Medicare until age 65. It is not possible to apply for medical services at this age, so you would only have Social Security.
- Medicare and Social Security at age 65: When you apply for both at the same time, you get a great benefit. In addition to having been able to enjoy several more years of work to save some money, your monthly subsidy will be higher. This is coupled with the fact that most of the necessary medical services are covered by Medicare.
- Full Retirement Age and Medicare: Medicare services are automatically activated at age 65 unless you cancel the application. Both Part A and Part B can be received at that age. Applying for Full Retirement Age (age 67) is another great advantage. Having Medicare from age 65 while continuing to work can save you a good amount of money in medical expenses.
- Retirement at age 70 with Medicare: This is the only way to get the maximum benefit of $4,194. It doesn’t affect Medicare at all anyway, so you don’t have to wait that long if you want to receive medical services.
All in all, combining a good retirement age with Medicare is a way to save a lot of money. In the end, the decision is totally personal and individual. If you would like more information on how to apply for Medicare, you can contact us at 1-800-633-4227.