Retirement Planning

Retirement Planning

Retirement changes your health coverage before it changes anything else, so the timing matters a great deal.

Retirement and Medicare planning in Chula Vista

Retirement changes your health coverage before it changes almost anything else. The decisions you make in the months around your 65th birthday — or the month you leave a job with group insurance — set your premiums, your provider network and, in some cases, a penalty you will pay for the rest of your life. We help San Diego County residents get that sequence right.

The questions worth answering before you retire

• Are you keeping employer coverage past 65? If your employer has 20 or more employees, you can usually delay Part B without penalty. If it has fewer than 20, Medicare generally becomes primary at 65 and delaying is costly.
• Is your prescription coverage creditable? Ask your plan administrator for the Notice of Creditable Coverage in writing. Without it, the Part D late enrollment penalty applies — and it never goes away.
• What happens to COBRA? COBRA is not considered active employer coverage for Medicare purposes. Relying on it past 65 is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes we see.
• What about your spouse? If your spouse is younger than 65 and on your group plan, they need a plan of their own before you drop it.
• Will your income trigger IRMAA? Selling a property, taking a large distribution or a Roth conversion can push your Part B and Part D premiums up two years later. When income drops after retirement, that adjustment can be appealed.

Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement?

There is no universally right answer, only the right answer for your doctors, your prescriptions, your travel plans and your budget. Medicare Advantage plans usually cost less each month and bundle extras, but hold you to a network and to plan-level rules. Medicare Supplement plans cost more monthly and require a separate Part D plan, but let you see any provider who accepts Medicare and make your costs predictable. One point of timing matters more than most people realize: your Medigap open enrollment window lasts only six months from the day your Part B starts, and after it closes California insurers may consider your health history.

Timing your enrollment

Your Initial Enrollment Period runs for seven months around your 65th birthday. If you keep working past 65 with qualifying employer coverage, you get an eight-month Special Enrollment Period after that coverage ends to take Part B without penalty. Miss both, and you wait for the General Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31 and carry a lifetime Part B surcharge.

How we help

• Map out exactly when to file for Part A, Part B and drug coverage, based on your retirement date.
• Review your employer plan and confirm whether its drug coverage is creditable.
• Compare Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement options against your doctor list and prescriptions.
• Coordinate coverage for a spouse who is not yet 65.
• Prepare an IRMAA appeal when a life-changing event has reduced your income.

Hablamos español

Si está por jubilarse en el Condado de San Diego, le explicamos en español cuándo debe inscribirse en Medicare, cómo funciona con el seguro de su empleador y qué tipo de plan conviene más a sus médicos y a su presupuesto. Llámenos al (619) 361-3591.

Talk to a licensed agent in Chula Vista

Call (619) 361-3591, email info@zulemamedicare.com, or stop by our office at 31 Third Ave, Chula Vista, CA 91910. We are open Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (HICAP in California, 1-800-434-0222) to get information on all of your options.