Medicare and traveling south
So, we'll be gone in November, like usual, but my husband turns 65 in December. Can we NOT be home? Do we have to stay home to get this all set up? :( I guess Part A is automatic when you turn 65?
Forum Discussion
I don't use regular Medicare. My wife and I have a private Advantage plan (Blue Cross Blue Shield). See part C in you Medicare booklet. I actually receive $6 a month back from SS because my Advantage Plan cost SS less than regular medicare.
When I turned 65 I set everything up online while in FL, but my home SS office, in PA, did require my signature. I had to go to a FL SS office and give them my signature. They faxed my signature to my Pennsylvania home SS office. If I recall correctly you have to set this up 90 days before you turn 65. So you may be able to set everything up before going south.
My eyes were opened when we went to the FL SS office. I expected to see a bunch of old people signing up for SS. What I saw was mostly foreign language speaking women with children signing up for some sort of SS benefits. My wife and I were the only ones there for SS. The women and their children occupied all the chairs. My wife and I had to stand for over an hour. It was so chaotic they had a uniformed guard in the waiting area.
When I turned 65 I set everything up online while in FL, but my home SS office, in PA, did require my signature. I had to go to a FL SS office and give them my signature. They faxed my signature to my Pennsylvania home SS office. If I recall correctly you have to set this up 90 days before you turn 65. So you may be able to set everything up before going south.
My eyes were opened when we went to the FL SS office. I expected to see a bunch of old people signing up for SS. What I saw was mostly foreign language speaking women with children signing up for some sort of SS benefits. My wife and I were the only ones there for SS. The women and their children occupied all the chairs. My wife and I had to stand for over an hour. It was so chaotic they had a uniformed guard in the waiting area.
