Enrollment Timeline

About 3 months before your 65th birthday month. Starting then gives you time to compare your options and enroll in Parts A and B so coverage is ready the day you're eligible. Waiting until your birthday month or later can delay your start date and shorten the time you have to make a confident plan choice.

Our Medicare enrollment periods page explains what each window is — IEP, AEP, and Special Enrollment Periods. This tool is the personal version: you give us your birth month and we build a date-by-date checklist around your 65th birthday, so you see exactly when to act rather than just what the rules are.

Each year during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, you can switch Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, with changes starting January 1. Certain life events — like moving or losing other coverage — can open a Special Enrollment Period at other times. Your personal timeline includes a fall review so you never miss the yearly window.

We can keep a copy of your personal timeline and reach out ahead of your key dates — your enrollment window and each fall's review — so you're not tracking it alone. There's no cost for this and no obligation. The goal is simply to make sure every step happens on time and you're never surprised by a missed deadline.

There are a few to know. Your Initial Enrollment Period is the seven months around your 65th birthday for first-time sign-up. The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 to December 7) lets you change Advantage or Part D plans for the next year. Special Enrollment Periods open after qualifying events like moving or losing coverage. Your personal timeline highlights the ones that apply to you so you act in the right window.

It depends on when you enroll. If you sign up in the three months before your birthday month, coverage generally starts the first day of your birthday month. Enroll during or after your birthday month and the start date can be pushed back. For plan changes made during the Annual Enrollment Period, coverage begins January 1. Your timeline shows your specific start date so you know exactly when you're covered.

It runs January 1 through March 31 each year and lets people already in a Medicare Advantage plan make one change — switch to a different Advantage plan or drop back to Original Medicare and add a Part D plan. It's separate from the fall Annual Enrollment Period and works as a do-over if your January coverage isn't fitting. Your personal timeline notes this window in case you need it after a plan starts.

From October 15 to December 7 each year, you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year, with changes taking effect January 1. It's the main yearly chance to adjust coverage as plans change their costs, drug lists, and networks. We build a fall review into your timeline so you compare the plans we offer and switch before the deadline if a better fit exists.

Sometimes. Special Enrollment Periods let you enroll or change plans after certain events — moving out of your plan's area, losing employer coverage, or gaining or losing Medicaid, among others. Each has its own timing rules. If you don't qualify for one, the General Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) is a fallback for Part B, though late penalties may apply. Tell us what changed and we'll find the right window.

No. Once you're enrolled, your coverage generally renews automatically each year, so you don't have to sign up again. What's worth doing every fall is reviewing your plan, since premiums, drug lists, and networks can change — a plan that fit this year may not next year. Your personal timeline includes that annual check-in so you stay covered without overpaying or losing benefits you count on.