Whether you can require Medicare enrollment depends on your size

Q         Can we make it mandatory for employees to enroll in Medicare upon turning age 65 even if they don't plan on retiring and continue using the group medical plan? If so, how must this be communicated to employees approaching Medicare eligibility?

A   Because the retirement age tends to be increasing, employers are finding they're employing more Medicare-eligible employees, who become eligible at age 65. Whether you can require employees to enroll in Medicare at 65 depends on how many employees you have:

• If you have (1) 20 or more employees or (2) fewer than 20 employees but are in a multiemployer group plan (and are therefore considered a “large employer”), you can't mandate enrollment in Medicare at 65.
• If you have fewer than 20 employees and a group plan for just your business (and are therefore a “small employer”), you can require your workers to enroll in Medicare at 65.

That's the case even if the employee isn’t retiring and intends to continue to participate in your group medical plan.

Large employers. If you are a larger employer, you can't treat older workers (age 65 and above) differently than younger workers. Accordingly, you're required to provide medical coverage to the older workers on the same terms as the younger employees.