Living overseas excluded from sign-up penalties?

[Winfboater]

I took Social Securty at 62 and I've been living overseas since july of this year. I am turning 65 in November of 2015. I understand there is an exclusion to the rule requiring sign-up for medicare part b and d, if you are "living" overseas. You will not be penalized with higher premium if I don't sign-up immediately as long as I do sign-up within two months of returning to the states. I am conserned about the use of the word residency! I have and apartment here in Taiwan but I still have a house in Florida . Do I need an "Washington attorney" to figure out if I can delay signing up for B and D and not be penelized for insurance I can't use now anyway? John

 

[mattspits]

I took Social Securty at 62 and I've been living overseas since july of this year. I am turning 65 in November of 2015. I understand there is an exclusion to the rule requiring sign-up for medicare part b and d, if you are "living" overseas. You will not be penalized with higher premium if I don't sign-up immediately as long as I do sign-up within two months of returning to the states. I am conserned about the use of the word residency! I have and apartment here in Taiwan but I still have a house in Florida . Do I need an "Washington attorney" to figure out if I can delay signing up for B and D and not be penelized for insurance I can't use now anyway? John

Not sure where you're seeing the exclusion for Part B, the only thing I see relates to Part D. It makes sense that there should be one, but that's not my area of expertise. Just remember that if you were assessed the penalty it's only 10% for the year that you don't have it or $125 vs. paying $1258 in payments for a year's time. Now that 10% adds up each year so take that into consideration as well. Let me know if you find a definitive answer.

thanks,

matt

 

[MBSC]

You get a 2 month Special Enrollment Period (SEP) with no late penalty for Part D upon returning.

It's more difficult to avoid the Part B late enrollment penalty. Avoiding the Part B penalty requires working or volunteering overseas and providing lots of documentation as described in the link below.

When to Enroll in Medicare if you Live Outside the U.S.