Getting SS & Medicare Sucks

I plan on retiring some time in May.  The Boss turns 65 and becomes eligible for Medicare the first of May.  A couple of weeks ago I got on line and signed up for Social Security.  It took about 1/2 hour to fill in information that should be readily available in the federal government data base.

Last week I got on line again to sign up for Medicare, unsuccessfully.  Part way through the process I was stopped.  The message said there was a conflict of information.  It would not tell me anything specific.  I called a 800 number to ask what was going on.  There was a long wait so I elected the call back option.  I got back to my desk early so as not to miss the call that never came.

I tried calling again, but elected the wait on hold option.  I again had to leave my desk but got back plenty early for the estimated wait time.  I found the line was dead.

After trying twice to get more information, and knowing the Boss also needed to sign up for both, I asked her to call the local SS office for an appointment to meet someone in person.  She was told that the first available was in April.  That sucks.  No way we can get Medicare coverage in May for my planned retirement.

Hope we can see someone at a different SS office sooner.