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The calendar

Five windows, and only one of them is yours today.

Medicare runs on dates. The dates do not negotiate, they are not extended, and almost every expensive mistake in this programme is a date problem rather than a plan problem.

The register

Every window, in full.

The bar under each window shows which months of the year it covers. Today’s month is marked, and any window that is open right now is flagged.

  1. IEP

    Initial Enrollment Period

    Seven months around your 65th birthday

    Who it is forEveryone approaching 65 who is not already on Medicare through disability.

    What you can do

    • Enrol in Part A and Part B
    • Join a Medicare Advantage plan
    • Join a Part D drug plan
    • Start your six-month Medigap open enrolment once Part B begins

    When it takes effectSign up in the three months before your birthday month and coverage starts on the first day of that month. Sign up during or after it and coverage starts the first of the month after you sign up.

  2. GEP

    General Enrollment Period

    January 1 – March 31

    Who it is forAnyone who missed their Initial Enrollment Period and has no Special Enrollment Period.

    What you can do

    • Enrol in Part A and Part B
    • Join a Part D plan or an Advantage plan once Part B starts

    When it takes effectCoverage begins the first of the month after you sign up. You may owe a Part B late enrollment penalty of 10% for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B and did not — and it lasts for as long as you have Part B.

  3. AEP

    Annual Enrollment Period

    October 15 – December 7

    Who it is forEveryone already on Medicare. This is the once-a-year window for changing plans.

    What you can do

    • Switch from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, or back
    • Switch from one Advantage plan to another
    • Join, change or drop a Part D plan

    When it takes effectEvery change made in this window takes effect on 1 January.

  4. MA OEP

    Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment

    January 1 – March 31

    Who it is forPeople who are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on 1 January.

    What you can do

    • Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, once
    • Drop back to Original Medicare and pick up a standalone Part D plan

    When it takes effectChanges take effect the first of the following month. You cannot use this window to move from Original Medicare into an Advantage plan — it only runs one way.

  5. SEP

    Special Enrollment Periods

    Triggered by a life event, any time of year

    Who it is forAnyone whose circumstances change in a way Medicare recognises.

    What you can do

    • Enrol after employer coverage ends — eight months for Part B, two for Part D and Advantage
    • Change plans after moving out of your plan’s service area
    • Change plans when you gain, lose or change Medicaid or Extra Help
    • Move to a 5-star plan once between December 8 and November 30
    • Change plans when your plan leaves your area or its contract ends

    When it takes effectEach Special Enrollment Period has its own length and its own start date. If you think one applies to you, it is worth confirming the exact dates rather than assuming.

Special Enrollment Periods

Six events that reopen the door.

A Special Enrollment Period is not a favour and it is not discretionary. If the event applies to you, the window exists — but it has its own length and its own start date, and it closes.

  • You lose employer coverage

    Eight months for Part B from the month after employment or group coverage ends. Two months for Part D and Advantage. COBRA does not extend it.

  • You move

    Out of your plan’s service area, or into an area with new options. The window generally runs two months from the month you tell the plan, and can start earlier if you tell them in advance.

  • Medicaid or Extra Help changes

    Gaining, losing or changing either one opens a window to change Part D or Advantage plans. People with continuing Extra Help get a quarterly opportunity.

  • Your plan leaves

    If a plan’s contract with CMS ends, or it stops serving your county, you get a window to move — and a guaranteed-issue right to certain Medigap policies.

  • A 5-star plan is available

    You may move to a 5-star Advantage or Part D plan once between 8 December and 30 November, outside every other window.

  • Exceptional circumstances

    A federally declared disaster, an incarceration ending, a plan that misled you, or an error by a federal employee. These are decided case by case.

Penalties

Two of them, and both are permanent.

Medicare late penalties are not one-off fines. They are added to your monthly premium and, in both cases below, they stay there.

Part B late enrollment penalty

10% for every full 12-month period

You could have had Part B and did not, with no Special Enrollment Period covering the gap. The surcharge is added to your Part B premium for as long as you have Part B. Two years late is 20%, every month, permanently.

Part D late enrollment penalty

1% for every full month

Calculated as 1% of the national base beneficiary premium per full month without creditable drug coverage, once you have gone 63 days or more without it. Rounded to the nearest ten cents, added to your Part D premium, and it follows the base premium upward each year.

The one people miss

Medigap has its own door, and it is not on this calendar.

Every window above is about Parts A, B, C and D. Medicare Supplement policies run on a separate rule entirely: a six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period that begins the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

Inside those six months, an insurer must sell you any policy it offers at its best available rate, regardless of your health. Outside them, in most states, it may ask about your health and it may decline you. The Annual Enrollment Period in October does nothing to reopen it.

Read how the Medigap window works, because it is the one deadline with no second chance built into the system.

Asked often

When is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?
October 15 to December 7 every year. Anything you change in that window takes effect on 1 January. You can switch between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage in either direction, change Advantage plans, and join, change or drop a Part D plan.
What is the difference between Annual Enrollment and Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment?
Annual Enrollment runs 15 October to 7 December and is open to everyone on Medicare. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs 1 January to 31 March and is only for people already in an Advantage plan on 1 January. It gives one change: to a different Advantage plan, or back to Original Medicare with a standalone Part D plan. You cannot use it to move from Original Medicare into Advantage.
What happens if I miss my Initial Enrollment Period?
If no Special Enrollment Period applies, you wait for the General Enrollment Period from 1 January to 31 March. Coverage starts the first of the month after you sign up, and you may owe a Part B late enrollment penalty of 10% for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B and did not — for as long as you have Part B.
How long is the Special Enrollment Period after employer coverage ends?
Eight months for Part B, beginning the month after your employment ends or your group coverage ends, whichever comes first. For Part D and Medicare Advantage it is only two months. COBRA does not extend either clock.

Where to go next

Tell us the date and we will tell you the window.

Most calls about enrollment periods take under ten minutes and end with a diary note. That is a perfectly good outcome and it costs nothing.

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