Medicare and Social Security coordination when turning 70 - which July premium gets deducted from August payment?

I went through this last year. Here's what you need to know: 1) Pay your quarterly Medicare bill that comes in June. That covers July-Sept. 2) When you file for Social Security, tell them you're already on Medicare and paying premiums directly. They'll start deducting premiums from your SS payment, but not until they've verified your Medicare enrollment status. 3) The SSA will deduct the August premium from your August payment (received in September). They won't deduct July's premium since you already paid it in your quarterly payment. 4) Medicare will automatically stop sending you bills once they receive notification from SSA that you're having premiums deducted from benefits. This transition can take 1-3 months though. 5) You might receive a refund for any overlap months you paid directly (possibly September if the transition happens quickly). The key is making sure SSA knows you're already on Medicare when you apply for benefits.

i went on SS at 69 (not 70) but same idea. just pay ur quarterly bill like normal. SSA will start taking $ out for Medicare after a month or 2. they actually gave me a refund for the overlap! was surprised how smooth it went honestly.

I handle this transition for clients regularly as part of retirement planning. Here's what happens with the Medicare-Social Security transition at age 70: 1) Your quarterly Medicare premium payment due in June 2025 should be paid as normal. This covers July-September 2025. 2) When you file for Social Security (do this 2-3 months before your birthday for a smooth transition), indicate you're already enrolled in Medicare with direct billing. 3) SSA will begin deducting Medicare premiums from your SS benefits, typically starting with your first payment. However, since you've already paid July-Sept, they should begin deductions with your October premium (deducted from your October benefit paid in November). 4) You should receive notification from both SSA and Medicare about the premium transition. Keep this documentation. 5) If there's any overlap where you paid directly and SSA also deducted a premium, Medicare will issue you a refund, but this can take several months. Monitor your Medicare online account for this. Remember that your first Social Security payment will come in August 2025 (for July 2025), since benefits are paid the month after they're due.

When you turn 70 in July 2025, you're eligible for that full month of benefits regardless of which day your birthday falls on. So your July benefit payment will arrive in August 2025. Regarding Medicare premiums, there's a specific process when transitioning from direct pay to SS deductions: 1. Pay your quarterly bill for July-September as usual 2. In your SS application (apply 3 months before your birthday), make sure to note you're already on Medicare with direct payments 3. SSA will start Medicare premium deductions from your very first payment UNLESS you specifically request a different start date 4. If you want to avoid potential overlap, specifically request SSA to start Medicare deductions beginning with your October benefit 5. If there is an overlap, you'll eventually receive a Medicare premium refund, but it can take 3-6 months The most common issue people face is Premium-IRMAA timing confusion. If you're paying an income-related surcharge (IRMAA), that information must also transfer properly between systems.

Why are you guys making this so complicated?? Just call the Social Security office and ASK THEM directly! They can look at your specific file and tell you EXACTLY what to do. This forum is full of well-meaning but sometimes wrong advice! I turned 70 last year and tried following advice I read online and ended up with a big mess. Just call the source!!

Regarding your IRMAA question - yes, that adds another layer to the transition. The IRMAA amount should transfer automatically, but here's what can happen: 1) Your IRMAA determination is made based on tax returns from 2 years ago 2) When premium deduction begins from Social Security, they'll include both the standard premium AND your IRMAA surcharge 3) If your income has decreased significantly since that tax return, you can file Form SSA-44 for a reduction in your IRMAA One specific issue with IRMAA during transition: sometimes there's a 1-2 month delay in the IRMAA amount being applied to your SS deductions. If this happens, SSA will eventually catch up by taking a larger deduction from a future benefit payment. Make sure to check your first few SS benefit statements carefully to ensure both the regular premium and IRMAA are being deducted correctly.

Thanks everyone for such helpful information! I'm going to: 1) Pay my quarterly Medicare bill in June as usual 2) Apply for SS benefits 2-3 months before my July birthday 3) Specifically mention I'm on Medicare with quarterly billing and IRMAA 4) Request that Medicare premium deductions start with October's benefit (to avoid overlap) 5) Keep documentation of all payments and communications Fingers crossed the transition goes smoothly! I'll update this thread after I go through the process in case it helps someone else.

Has anyone had experience with getting a WRITTEN confirmation from SSA about when the Medicare premium deductions will start? I've heard so many horror stories about miscommunications with SSA that I'm worried about potential double-payments or coverage gaps. My mother had a similar situation last year and she received conflicting information from THREE different SSA representatives! One said to stop paying quarterly immediately, another said to keep paying until notified, and the third gave some confusing answer about "processing times." I don't trust verbal confirmations anymore. Is there a specific form or written confirmation we should request when applying for Social Security that specifically addresses the Medicare premium transition timing?

I'm going through this exact same transition this year (turning 70 in June) and have been researching this extensively. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also check your Medicare.gov account online about 2-3 weeks after your first SS payment to verify the billing transition happened correctly. In my case, I called Medicare's customer service line (1-800-MEDICARE) and they were able to put a note in my account about the upcoming transition to SS deductions. They said this helps prevent any confusion on their end when SSA notifies them to stop direct billing. Also, if you have Medicare Supplement insurance (Medigap), make sure to notify them about the payment method change too. Some Medigap insurers have automatic payment setups that sync with your Medicare premium billing, so they may need to adjust their systems as well. The whole process seems intimidating but from what I've researched, most people get through it without major issues. The key is just staying on top of the documentation and checking your accounts regularly during the transition period.

This is incredibly helpful information! I'm turning 70 in September and have been dreading this transition. The point about calling Medicare directly to put a note in your account is brilliant - I hadn't thought of that. Quick question for you @Giovanni Gallo - when you called Medicare, did they give you any specific timeline for when the direct billing would stop? I'm worried about that gap period where I might not know if I should pay the next quarterly bill or not. Also, thanks for mentioning the Medigap issue. I do have a supplement plan and they auto-deduct from the same account I use for Medicare premiums, so I'll definitely need to coordinate that timing. It's reassuring to hear that most people get through this without major problems. Sometimes reading these forums makes every government process sound like a nightmare!

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm in a similar situation (turning 70 in August) and was completely confused about the Medicare transition timing. One additional tip I received from my financial advisor: if you're doing a Roth conversion or have other significant income changes in the year you turn 70, make sure to consider how that might affect your IRMAA calculations for future years. The income from your conversion could impact your Medicare premiums 2 years later. Also, for anyone worried about the SSA phone wait times that @TommyKapitz mentioned - I've had better luck calling first thing in the morning (8 AM local time) or right after lunch. The wait times seem shorter then. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so helpful to hear from people who have actually been through this process!

I'm going through this transition right now (turned 70 in December) and wanted to share what actually happened in my case since there's been some conflicting experiences shared here. I followed the advice to pay my quarterly Medicare bill as usual and applied for SS benefits 3 months early. However, what surprised me was that SSA started deducting Medicare premiums from my very first payment WITHOUT any advance notice, even though I had already paid for that quarter. The good news is that Medicare did eventually send me a refund check for the overlap period, but it took almost 4 months to arrive. During that time, I was definitely worried I'd lost that money. My advice based on actual experience: 1) Definitely pay your quarterly bill as normal 2) When you apply for SS, be very specific about requesting a delayed start for Medicare deductions if you want to avoid overlap 3) Set up online accounts for both SSA and Medicare so you can monitor the transition in real-time 4) Keep detailed records of every payment - both what you pay directly and what gets deducted The process does work out in the end, but there can be some bumpy months during the transition. Don't panic if things seem confusing at first - just stay organized and persistent in following up.

I'm currently 69 and planning to claim at 70 next year, so this thread is incredibly timely for me! Reading through everyone's experiences, it seems like the key takeaway is that while the system generally works, there can be some administrative hiccups during the transition period. One thing I'm curious about - for those who experienced overlapping payments, did you have to pay any interest or penalties while waiting for the refund? I'm wondering if there are any financial implications beyond just the temporary cash flow issue. Also, has anyone dealt with this transition if you have both Medicare Part B and Part D premiums being deducted? I assume the same principles apply, but I want to make sure there aren't any additional complications with having multiple premium types. The advice about calling Medicare to put a note in your account seems really smart. I'm going to do that as soon as I submit my SS application. Better to have too much documentation than too little when dealing with government agencies! Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical information that's impossible to find in the official brochures.

I'm 68 and planning to start Social Security at 70 in about 18 months, so this discussion is super helpful for my planning! One thing I'm wondering about - what happens if you're already enrolled in Medicare but haven't been paying premiums because you're still covered under an employer health plan? My situation is a bit different because I'm still working and have employer coverage that's primary, so Medicare has been secondary and I haven't been paying Part B premiums (they've been on hold). When I retire and start SS at 70, I'll need to start paying the Part B premiums AND transition to SS deduction method. Has anyone dealt with this scenario where you're activating premium payments AND transitioning payment methods at the same time? I'm assuming I should contact both Medicare and SSA well before my retirement date, but I'm not sure about the timing or sequence of steps. Also wondering if there are any implications for the "hold harmless" provision when premium payments resume after being on hold for several years due to employer coverage. Thanks for all the detailed experiences everyone has shared - this thread is a goldmine of real-world information!

I'm 69 and will be starting Social Security at 70 in about 8 months, currently paying Medicare premiums quarterly. This thread has been incredibly helpful - thank you all for sharing your real experiences! One question I haven't seen addressed: what happens if you have automatic bank payments set up for your quarterly Medicare premiums? Should I cancel that auto-pay when I apply for SS benefits, or wait until I get confirmation that SSA will start deducting? I'm worried about either missing a payment (if I cancel auto-pay too early) or having both my bank account charged AND SSA deducting the same month's premium. My bank's auto-pay is set to pay 3 days after the Medicare bill is generated, so timing could be tricky during the transition. Also, has anyone had issues with their bank flagging the change in payment patterns as suspicious activity? I know some banks get concerned when regular automatic payments suddenly stop or change. Based on all the advice here, I'm planning to: - Keep auto-pay active until I get written confirmation from Medicare about the billing change - Apply for SS 3 months early with specific notes about current Medicare payment method - Set up alerts to monitor both my bank account and SS payments during transition Does this approach sound reasonable, or should I adjust the timing?

I'm 69 and turning 70 in October, so this thread is perfectly timed for me! Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly valuable. One thing I want to add that I learned from my financial advisor: if you're planning to do any large withdrawals from retirement accounts (401k, IRA) in the year you turn 70, be very careful about the timing relative to your IRMAA calculations. Since IRMAA is based on income from 2 years prior, any large distributions you take this year could impact your Medicare premiums in 2027. I was planning to do some account consolidation right after starting Social Security, but now I'm reconsidering the timing to avoid a future IRMAA spike. Also, for those worried about the SSA phone wait times - I've had good luck using their online appointment scheduling system. You can request a phone appointment for a specific time rather than just calling and waiting on hold. It's been much more reliable in my experience. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed real-world experiences. Government websites give you the basic rules, but hearing how it actually plays out in practice is invaluable for planning!