My wife retired 4 years ago at age 66. I intend to continue working for a large (> 500 employees) company until age 70 and am turning 66 next month. I will file for spousal benefits at that time. By the way thanks for that.
My question should I sign up for Medicare parts a b and d when I file for spousal benefits?

Hi,

I can't advise you what to do, but I can try to explain your options. First off, you'll have no choice but to enroll in Part A (inpatient hospital coverage) of Medicare when you file for spousal benefits. Your Part A coverage would be premium free, though, so it won't cost you anything.

Parts B (outpatient coverage) & D (prescription coverage) are optional and you would have to pay a premium for the coverage if you choose to enroll. You can probably delay filing for both Parts B & D without being subject to a late filing penalty as long as you're still working and have health insurance through your employer's group plan. Assuming that's the case you could still opt to sign up for optional Parts B and/or D of Medicare when you file for spousal benefits, but your coverage would just be supplemental to your employer's group plan and you would still be required to pay the full premium rate. As a result, the majority of people in that situation opt to delay filing for Parts B & D of Medicare until they stop working.

For more information, you may want to peruse the information available on Medicare's website: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coordination-of-Benefits-and-Recovery/Coord....

Best, Jerry