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As you approach the age of retirement, you probably have mixed emotions.  You may be looking forward to it or you may fear that you will have to continue to work to make ends meet.  You may also choose the option to stay in the workforce because you love what you do or perhaps you fear growing bored if you leave your job.  The recession has fed into many mixed emotions amongst retirees.  Many people are opting to stay employed after the age of retirement due to the fact that they cannot afford to retire.

You should consider Medicare when you turn 65 whether or not you plan to continue working.

If you or your spouse work for a company that has LESS THAN TWENTY employees, Federal guidelines (called TEFRA/DEFRA) require that Medicare will be the Primary Payer of claims and any other insurance that you carry through your Employer Health Plan will be SECONDARY.  This makes it important for you to consider Part B coverage also, due to the fact that employer health plans may refuse to pay for parts of your claim that could be covered under Part B.

If you work for a company that has MORE THAN twenty employees, your Employer Health Plan will be the Primary Payer and Medicare will be SECONDARY. Therefore you do not need Part B. This rule is called Medicare as Secondary Payer and is part of a Federal Law.  While Medicare will be secondary, you should still compare costs like premiums, deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket maximums as Medicare can be a better value in some situations.

ALWAYS check with your employer whether Medicare is the First Payer or Secondary Payer just to be sure.

As always, we are here to help you with this decision so feel free to give us a call or send us an email and we’d be glad to review your situation with you.

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