Retiring at 66, 67, 68 or 70 in Oregon

More Oregonians are working into their late 60s and beyond. If you have coverage from a current job (yours or your spouse's), Medicare lets you wait, then sign up when you retire without penalties, as long as you follow the deadlines. This guide walks through what to do if you retire at 66, 67, 68 or 70.

Retiring at 65 (the baseline)

• Sign up during your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period: the 3 months before, the month of, and the 3 months after the month you turn 65.
• If you already get Social Security, you are enrolled in Part A and Part B automatically.
• Choose Original Medicare (with a Medigap policy and Part D plan, if you want them) or a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Join a Part D plan unless your retiree coverage includes creditable drug coverage.

Retiring at 66, 67, 68 or 70: the steps are the same

If you delayed Part B because of coverage from current employment at a company with 20 or more employees, here is what to do at any retirement age:

1. Get Form CMS-L564 completed before your last day. Your employer fills in Section B to confirm your group coverage. If your spouse is also covered and enrolling, each person enrolling needs the paperwork.
2. Apply for Part B. Send Form CMS-40B and Form CMS-L564 to Social Security. You can do this while still covered, or within 8 months after the job or the coverage ends, whichever comes first. COBRA doesn't extend this.
3. Pick the Part B start date. Coverage generally starts the month after you sign up; if you sign up while still covered by the job, or in the first full month after, you can ask for a later start (up to 3 months) to line up with the end of your job coverage.
4. Join a drug plan within 2 months. You have 2 full months after your creditable job coverage ends to join a Part D plan or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage.
5. Buy Medigap within 6 months, if you want it. Your Medigap open enrollment period starts when Part B starts (if you are 65 or older). During it, companies can't turn you down or charge more because of your health.
6. Decide on Social Security. Claiming starts Part A, if you don't already have it.

See the Part B special enrollment period and Part D creditable coverage.

Retiring at 66 or 67 (full retirement age)

Full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later, and 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959. If you have waited to claim Social Security, this is when you can get your full benefit. Claiming enrolls you in Part A (and, if you are already past your Initial Enrollment Period, Part A can start up to 6 months earlier, which matters if you have an HSA; see HSAs and Medicare).

Retiring at 68 or 69

• Delayed retirement credits: Social Security raises your benefit by 8% for each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70.
• Medigap: if you never had Part B, your Medigap open enrollment period is still ahead of you; it starts when your Part B starts.
• IRMAA: Medicare premiums for higher incomes use your tax return from two years earlier. Your last working years can raise your premiums after you retire. If your income drops because you stopped working, you can ask Social Security to use the newer year with Form SSA-44.
• A younger spouse: if your spouse is under 65 and on your plan, plan their coverage after your job ends. See spouse on an employer plan.

Retiring at 70

• Social Security: delayed retirement credits stop at 70, so most people who have waited claim then. There is no rule that you must claim at 70.
• Part A: starting Social Security enrolls you in Part A automatically, which ends HSA contributions.
• Required minimum distributions: under current IRS rules, withdrawals from traditional IRAs and most retirement plans generally must begin at age 73. Those withdrawals count as income for IRMAA.
• Still working past 70? If your employer has 20 or more employees, its plan still pays first and you can still delay Part B. The same 8-month window applies when you stop.

Key decision points

Oregon context

• Medicare in Oregon: CMS counted 973,880 people with Medicare in Oregon in July 2026, of whom 523,528 were in Medicare Advantage or other health plans.
• Plan choices depend on your county. For 2027, there is no Medicare Advantage plan open to everyone in Grant, Harney, Lake, Umatilla or Union counties, and Curry County has only a special needs plan. If you plan to move when you retire, check the new county. See county pages.
• Medigap birthday rule: once you have a Medigap policy, Oregon lets you switch each year to one with the same or fewer benefits, from 30 days before to 30 days after your birthday, without health questions (OAR 836-052-0143).
• Public employees: PEBB and OEBB retiree medical coverage ends when you become eligible for Medicare; PERS retirees need Part A and Part B for the RHIA subsidy. See PEBB and OEBB.
• If your income drops: you may qualify for a Medicare Savings Program, which in Oregon has no asset test for QMB, SMB or SMF, or for the Oregon Health Plan. See Medicare Savings Programs in Oregon.

Your retirement and Medicare timeline

1. 12 months before you retire. Decide when to claim Social Security. If you have an HSA, set your last contribution month (6 months before Medicare). Ask HR for your creditable-coverage notice.
2. 3 months before. Ask HR to complete Section B of Form CMS-L564. Look at plans in your county. You can compare plans by ZIP code on PlanMatch or Medicare.gov, or you can request a call from a licensed insurance agent to review plans from the companies they work with.
3. 1–2 months before. Send Forms CMS-40B and CMS-L564 to Social Security and ask for a Part B start date that matches the end of your job coverage. Choose Medigap and Part D, or a Medicare Advantage plan.
4. Your last day. Confirm when your job coverage ends, and that Part B and your drug coverage start right after.
5. Every year after. Review your plan during Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7) and, with Medigap, around your birthday.

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Working past 65
• Medicare.gov — When does Medicare coverage start?
• Medicare.gov — When can I buy Medigap?
• CMS — Form CMS-L564, Request for Employment Information
• Social Security — Full retirement age
• Social Security — Delayed retirement credits
• IRS — Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs
• Or. Admin. Code § 836-052-0143, Oregon Medigap birthday rule (via Cornell LII)
• CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (Oregon)
• CMS — Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files, contract year 2027 (plan counts)

Frequently asked questions

Medicare in your Oregon county

Plans, local agents and help, county by county: Multnomah · Washington · Clackamas · Lane · Marion · Jackson · Deschutes · Linn · Douglas · Yamhill · Benton · Polk · Josephine · Umatilla · Klamath · Coos · Columbia · Lincoln · Clatsop · Malheur · All 36 counties →