Most seniors on Medicare will pay $99.90 per month this year for Part B outpatient coverage. But how would you like to pay 10 percent more for that coverage, or 50 percent more?

Failing to sign up for Medicare at the right time can cost you – big time. The monthly Part B premium jumps 10 percent for each full 12-month period that a senior could have had coverage but didn’t sign up. A mistake can be costly; someone who fails to enroll for five years would face a 50 percent Part B penalty – 10 percent for each year of delay. That penalty is permanent, and can translate into thousands of dollars in unnecessary lifetime penalty expenses; a headache no one needs on top of already soaring healthcare costs.

That means it’s critical to understand Medicare’s rules for filing. Enrollment is automatic at age 65 for seniors who already have filed for Social Security benefits – but a growing number of older Americans are working longer and delaying their Social Security filings.

My Reuters Money column today explores the ins and outs of Medicare’s filing rules — and how they interact with various employment status situations.

Related posts:

1. Reader mailbag: Stay on COBRA or enroll for Medicare?
2. Reader mailbag: IRA beneficiaries and Medicare first payors
3. Medicare will cut into big Social Security COLA in 2012
4. How final numbers on Medicare Part B and Social Security COLA shake out
5. More seniors eligible for big Medicare drug subsidy

Tags | Medicare