Medicare sign-up date finder

Enter your birth date to see your 7-month sign-up window around your 65th birthday, and when your coverage would start.

Birth month Choose a month JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

Birth year

I was born on the 1st day of the month People born on the 1st reach each age one month earlier under the benefit rules.

Show my dates

Who has to sign up

• If you already get Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits, you are signed up for Parts A and B automatically. Your card comes in the mail about 3 months before you turn 65.
• If you do not get those benefits yet, you need to sign up yourself, online at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a Social Security office.
• If you or your spouse are still working and have health coverage from that job, you can usually wait to sign up for Part B without a penalty. You then have 8 months to sign up after the job or the coverage ends, whichever comes first.
• Join a Medicare drug plan (Part D) or a Medicare Advantage plan in the same 7-month window to avoid the drug coverage penalty, unless you have other drug coverage that is as good.
• If you miss your window, you can sign up from January 1 to March 31 each year. Coverage starts the month after you sign up, and a late penalty may apply.

Medicare late penalty calculator · Medicare guide