It’s official. December is my birth month. I’m now 66. According to the rules and regulations of Social Security, I have applied for and been granted full retirement benefits, which I will start receiving in January 2020.

Since October I’ve been fighting to get enrolled into Medicare Part B. That took two trips to two different Social Security offices, along with very long waits-in-lines. The first time I dropped off the necessary paperwork and they essentially lost it. The second time I just stayed there until some human took my application and stamped it received. After the second trip it took 48 hours for me to officially show up in the government system, which for me was 5 December, or over two months of waiting. I’m so glad that’s finally done.

I registered for Medicare Part A (hospitalization) back in 2018 when I turned 65. That was an extremely easy process; enroll online and then wait about five business days. Then wait another 30 days for my Medicare card to arrive in the mail. Such an easy process compared to the insanely complex process for Medicare Part B.

I say ‘retired technically’ as I’m still working part time at the same place I’ve been working at since August 2017, for the same hourly rate. I don’t have to pay for group insurance through them anymore, which will save me nearly $500/month. My medicare plus supplements will cost about $300 total, with no deductibles on drugs and doctors visits.

I have no idea how long I’ll be working part time. But the money is still good, even for part time work. I’m in a serious saving mode where it’s all going into the bank for certain future high-dollar projects. My wife for example wants to travel to Scotland, and I insist we travel first class because of the additional leg and body room. That comes in handy for people with medical issues such as severe arthritis, which applies to both of us now.

Here’s to an interesting future.