What if I Want To UnRetire?

We have a client who is a retired math teacher who needed guidance when an unexpected job offer came her way. Joan was very excited about her retirement because she was an avid quilter looking forward to trying her hand at a little business. She was going to make her free time quilting hobby into a part-time pursuit. 

After a few months of retirement, Joan missed the daily social interactions and, quite frankly, teaching! Some people she knew provided her with an opportunity to rent space in a crafting retail mall. Joan would be able to sell her projects and teach classes in group settings and virtually. The arrangement was working out very well, and because it was just a supplement income stream, she was enjoying the stress-free way of sharing her hobby.

Then the pandemic hit. Even though Joan was still able to pivot her craft to online sales and continue the virtual instruction, she was enjoying the live interaction and missed being in the public space. A local bank was hiring, so out of curiosity,  she applied and took a part-time teller position, which she thought would provide the safe distancing she needed and the interaction with people she was missing. She could even continue her quilting business online too. 

Shall I Un-retire?

After several months on the job, Joan was offered more hours and benefits. She enjoyed the job, but she was not sure what to do because she was on Medicare. Could she take the additional hours and the benefits and turn off Medicare?

Joan called our office for advice about ‘unretiring’ and taking her employer’s medical benefits.

Since the bank is part of a large company, it’s unlikely they will have non-creditable coverage. So Joan could stop Medicare Part B and take the employer plan until she retires again. Or depending on the employer’s benefit,  she could continue with Medicare and the new employer’s benefits. She would not be able to contribute to any HSA plan while keeping Medicare Part A.  There is no issue stopping her Medicare all together and strictly enrolling in the employer plan and deferring Medicare until later as long as the employer plan she is joining is creditable, which her employer can confirm.

Later, when Joan retires again, she would have a special enrollment window to get a Medigap plan with no health questions asked (if she was covered for at least 6 months on the employer plan) or a Medicare Advantage plan, since she would be transitioning to Medicare from a creditable employer group plan once again.

Consulting with a Medicare expert provided Joan with secure options. So she could make a stress-free decision now and knew how to proceed when she was ready to retire again later.

Early Medicare education and planning discussions with Certified Medicare Planners®  could help save employees from unexpected fees. By supplying expert resources you provide options for a confident transition to Medicare and potentially identifying savings on their costs.

Consider working with a team of Certified Medicare Planners ® to guide Medicare discussions with your employees. Contact us to learn how we are guiding other HR partners and their employees.

Give your employees personal guidance from a team of experts that will follow them after they retire.

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Your Medicare Transition Partner
– Lora