Medicare and Your Future Retiree Benefits When You Retire, Medicare Becomes an Important Part of Your Retiree Medical Plan

Will you and/or your spouse (or covered dependent) be Medicare-eligible at the time of your retirement? If so, and you plan to enroll in MCPS retiree medical and prescription coverage, then, in most cases, you and/or your spouse must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B as of your retirement date.

An exception applies to certain 10-month employees who plan to retire July 1, 2022. Their MCPS retiree benefits may not go into effect until October 1, 2022. For details, be sure to read “Two Options Regarding Prepaid Employee Benefits Now Available to 10-month Employees Retiring July 1, 2022” in this issue of For Your Benefit.

As a current MCPS employee, you and/or your covered dependents may have deferred enrollment in Medicare because you were covered by an active employee medical plan. However, as a retiree, you are required to carry Medicare Parts A and B, as soon as you are eligible, in order to maintain medical benefits through MCPS. After retirement, Medicare will be your primary medical coverage and your MCPS retiree medical plan will be your secondary medical coverage.

The Employee and Retiree Service Center (ERSC) must receive a copy of your Medicare card with Parts A and B 30 days before your retirement date. That means that if you and/or your covered dependent are Medicare-eligible, you must contact the Social Security Administration three months prior to your retire­ment to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B.

Additional information about Medicare enrollment and your MCPS retiree health benefits can be found in the Retiree Benefit Summary.