Pre-retirement checklist

Your initial enrollment period for Medicare begins three months before your 65th birthday, includes your birth month and extends three months after your birthday.

If you miss that deadline and are not covered by a group health insurance plan, you must wait until the next general enrollment period that runs from Jan. 1 through March 31 every year for coverage that begins the following July 1. In the meantime, you could be on the hook for 80% of your medical bills — even if you have other health insurance.