Recent research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that couples enrolled in Medicare could need as much as $413,000 in savings to cover their senior healthcare costs in full. Ouch. But don't panic just yet.
While that's clearly a large amount of money, there are steps you can take to save big on Medicare costs. Here are four you should incorporate into your strategy. 1.
Sign up on time You get a seven-month window to sign up for Medicare initially. It begins three months before the month in which you turn 65 and ends three months after that month. If you don't sign up for Medicare during that initial window, you can enroll later on -- but it might cost you.
Specifically, you'll face a 10% surcharge on your Part B premiums for each 12-month period you're eligible for Medicare but don't enroll. And those surcharges, unfortunately, stick around for life. Avoiding them is a simple matter of signing up in a timely fashion.
That said, if you're working and are covered by a qualifying group health plan at the time of your initial Medicare sign-up window, you'll get your own special enrollment window once your employment or group health coverage ends. So don't stress if you don't need Medicare at or around age 65 due to being covered already. However, make sure your group health plan is a qualifying one.
That generally means a plan that has 20 employees or more. 2. Take advantage of the free services you're entitled to As a Medicare enrollee, you're entitled to a host.
