How to sign up for Medicare

Anthony Ross said:Moved my address, so my boss updated my info with Medicare and the USGS. Now he’s telling me I need to update my tax withholding card too. Is there anything else I should be doing besides those three things?

Regarding your employer, you shouldn't need to do anything else once that W-2 withholding form is sorted out.

Greetings, everyone. I am seeking some guidance or perhaps a bit of advice regarding a situation at my new workplace. While processing a termination for one of our employees, I noticed a discrepancy: several staff members—some who have been with us for over 15 years—are still officially registered as working 7-hour shifts. In reality, they haven't worked 7-hour days for quite some time, yet their records were never updated to the standard 8-hour workday. When the company was first established, the initial filing specified a 42-hour workweek, which was later adjusted to a 40-hour week for the firm as a whole, but it appears this update was never applied to each individual employee's file. I suppose I am wondering if this needs to be corrected for every single person individually. If such updates are necessary, would backdating these changes pose any significant issues, and is there a realistic possibility of facing fines from the Department of Labor for doing so? I wasn't handling these specific administrative duties back when the legal transition from 42 to 40 hours occurred, though I don't recall whether employers were required to perform a collective update for every worker during that shift. Furthermore, I am curious about which specific changes must be reported to Medicare during an ongoing employment period. For instance, should I be reporting updates to educational credentials or changes in job titles? Thank you very much for your assistance.

boldlynx13 said:Greetings, everyone. I am seeking some guidance or perhaps a bit of advice regarding a situation at my new workplace. While processing a termination for one of our employees, I noticed a discrepancy: several staff members—some who have been with us for over 15 years—are still officially registered as working 7-hour shifts. In reality, they haven't worked 7-hour days for quite some time, yet their records were never updated to the standard 8-hour workday. When the company was first established, the initial filing specified a 42-hour workweek, which was later adjusted to a 40-hour week for the firm as a whole, but it appears this update was never applied to each individual employee's file. I suppose I am wondering if this needs to be corrected for every single person individually. If such updates are necessary, would backdating these changes pose any significant issues, and is there a realistic possibility of facing fines from the Department of Labor for doing so? I wasn't handling these specific administrative duties back when the legal transition from 42 to 40 hours occurred, though I don't recall whether employers were required to perform a collective update for every worker during that shift. Furthermore, I am curious about which specific changes must be reported to Medicare during an ongoing employment period. For instance, should I be reporting updates to educational credentials or changes in job titles? Thank you very much for your assistance.

You generally report changes regarding an employee's personal data (like a name change), daily working hours, occupation or job title changes, or if you transition someone from a contract position to a permanent one...
In your specific situation, I would personally reach out to the Social Security Administration and ask how to handle these employees, since their recorded hours are technically incorrect after all these years. Even if you’ve been calculating pay based on an 8-hour day, you wouldn't want these workers to be disadvantaged down the line because 7 hours doesn't qualify as full-time anymore. Contact Medicare and ask if you can make these changes retroactively and if it's even necessary. You can send them an inquiry via email; the Social Security website should have a directory of contact emails and phone numbers. One more thing: on those old paper filings, does it explicitly state they are registered for full-time status (regardless of whether it says 7 or 8)?

I am curious about the implications if someone terminates their employment with one employer on September 30th and starts with a new one on October 1st. Essentially, are there any downsides to making such a transition? For instance, would this impact their Social Security benefits or anything of that nature?

George Foster7 said:I am curious about the implications if someone terminates their employment with one employer on September 30th and starts with a new one on October 1st. Essentially, are there any downsides to making such a transition? For instance, would this impact their Social Security benefits or anything of that nature?

I don't really get the question. How could that possibly affect their retirement?
If someone finishes up at one company on 09/30/2015, that's their last day on the clock. Then they start the new job on 10/01/2015. There isn't actually a gap in work history here.
You can't have 09/30/2015 be both the end date and the start date at the same time.

I’m looking for some insight from an experienced accountant. Has anyone ever accidentally reported a higher income than actual to the Department of Labor when trying to secure a larger benefit for someone? I’m wondering if they actually run audits on those discrepancies. Feel free to reach out via DM if you have info.

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wearycobra18 said:I’m looking for some insight from an experienced accountant. Has anyone ever accidentally reported a higher income than actual to the Department of Labor when trying to secure a larger benefit for someone? I’m wondering if they actually run audits on those discrepancies. Feel free to reach out via DM if you have info.

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They attach those documents right along with the payroll stubs and tax statements, so they compare them directly.

http://www.ssa.gov/benefits/index.html

Does this link serve to verify or just display the payroll breakdown? I’m wondering if there is actually some kind of automated auditing mechanism behind the scenes. In my experience, an employer once filed my paperwork incorrectly and it felt like shouting into a void—nobody ever bothered to correct it. Thanks for the insight!

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Apparently, they’ve got this new form now where you have to list the average of your last three paychecks...

Don't mess around with the numbers—you don't want your employer catching you in a lie.

Much appreciated, everyone 🙂

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Could use some help here... if an employee changes roles within the company, do we need to report that change to Medicare? I'm looking at the pension filings and there isn't actually a spot to enter a date for a job change. Does anyone know how this works?

Ryan Rogers4 said:Could use some help here... if an employee changes roles within the company, do we need to report that change to Medicare? I'm looking at the pension filings and there isn't actually a spot to enter a date for a job change. Does anyone know how this works?

Yes, you do. There is a specific section designated for job title changes, and you'll find the option to select the effective date down at the bottom of that section.

Hey everyone, I’m just about at the finish line of my notice period with my current company, and I’ll be starting a new gig in a few days. I was wondering how the paperwork side of things actually plays out regarding registration—is my current boss technically required to send over the de-registration to Medicare within, say, 24 hours so that my new employer can get me signed up starting the very next day without any gaps in coverage? Honestly, how realistic is it to expect all that administrative stuff to happen seamlessly on such a tight turnaround? Thanks in advance for any insight!

Don't sweat it; the deactivation and reactivation processes don't actually overlap. They operate independently, so even if your old boss hasn't filed the paperwork yet, your new employer can still get you set up.

Richard Howard55 said:Don't sweat it; the deactivation and reactivation processes don't actually overlap. They operate independently, so even if your old boss hasn't filed the paperwork yet, your new employer can still get you set up.

Thanks so much for the heads-up!

I’ve run into a bit of a headache, and if anyone has dealt with this before, I’d love some advice 🙂. I handle the paperwork for a small local business that has three employees registered through the federal system (basically via Medicare & Medicaid Services), so we manage all the onboarding and offboarding there. I realized the other day that I accidentally selected "corporation" for the insured category instead of "sole proprietor" or "individual taxpayer." It’s a total nightmare because the system actually accepted the filings! Now I’m stuck—is there any way to fix this retroactively? When I try to file the forms online, the system won't let me edit that specific field because it treats it as a permanent status that can't be changed... 😵😠 To make matters worse, one of our employees has been listed under that incorrect category for over a year now. 👎

slatkasol, I honestly can't wrap my head around how that all went down for you 🤷
your best bet is probably just giving NOAA a call and seeing if they can get everything updated on their end

frozenangler12 said:slatkasol, I honestly can't wrap my head around how that all went down for you 🤷
your best bet is probably just giving NOAA a call and seeing if they can get everything updated on their end

I'm not entirely sure how it looked on their end in the system, but I suspect it was just a minor technical glitch. I'm getting it sorted out today. I just wanted to mention it so everyone else stays aware of this potential error and avoids running into the same thing.🙂

I had a similar experience once, though my application didn't actually go through... they really ought to be keeping a closer eye on that process.

They really should be, but obviously they aren't... It’s been an absolute nightmare. I've been trying to get ahold of them since first thing this morning and nobody is picking up. What a total mess.