Your Trusted Advisor

You need to follow the rules when you sign up. For instance, as you approach the month of your 65th birthday, you need to choose between enrolling in Medicare or staying with an employer plan or an employer retirement plan. You have seven months to sign up for your initial enrollment: three months before the month of your 65th birthday, three months after your 65th birthday, and the month of your birthday. (If your birthday is on the first of the month, there is a twist to this rule. You become eligible on the month before your birthday.) If you do not follow these rules, your enrollment will be delayed for months.