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Medicare Part B and SSDI

April 27, 2022

By Shelley W. Elovitz, Esquire

If you are collecting Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits, your benefits will automatically convert to Social Security Retirement (SSR) when you hit you Full Retirement Age. (See our previous article What happens to my SSDI when I reach full retirement age? to learn when your Full Retirement Age occurs).

But what about Medicare?

If you are eligible for SSDI, you are automatically eligible for Medicare after 24 months. The Social Security Administration automatically enrolls eligible SSDI recipients into Medicare Part A and Part B. You are given the option to decline or delay Part B. Some people choose to decline or delay Part B because they want to remain on a spouse’s employer-based plan.

If you did not decline Medicare Part B when you are switched from SSDI to Social Security retirement benefits, there is nothing you need to do. Your coverage will continue and the Medicare Part B premium will be paid from your SSR instead of your SSDI.

If you did decline Medicare Part B, you can continue to use your other coverage until you have a change in circumstances (such as your spouse retiring). At that point, you have eight months to sign up for Medicare Part B. The Social Security Administration will have the specific forms you will need. If you do not sign up during that eight month enrollment period, you may have to pay a penalty of up to 10% for each 12-month period you could have been enrolled in Medicare Part B but weren’t signed up.

If you have questions about switching from Social Security Disability Income to Social Security Retirement, contact us online or call (412) 338-1183.

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