Remember how you felt when you were 5 months away from turning 16...or 21?

[SoCalDem]

That's where I am now, but it's 65 I am longing for..

This coming April, I FINALLY get Medicare eligibility and my husband can retire.

He tells me that's my birthday present.. and then I jokingly say "Wow, I get a persnickety old man hanging around all day for a present"?

I hate the "hurry-up-and-wait" aspect to the whole thing.. Once we are both retired, we can start the epic "last chapter" of our "book". , which starts off with a BIG MOVE to Oregon,,, selling this house we have been in since 1981, buying our last house, and getting to know our grand-daughter who lives in Seattle.

We chose Oregon because it's midway between our 2 California sons and our Seattle son...and of course because Oregon is just so drop-dead gorgeous.

Our destination city (for now at least) is Florence Oregon (on the coast ..west of Eugene)..

I am so antsy.. I want to go NOW.. but I must wait..

It's so reminiscent of being 15 or 20

[Scuba]

1. I know exactly how you feel!

Turned 65 a couple months ago.

[fizzgig]

3. sounds like a grand adventure

it will be all the better for waiting

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Just got my card in the mail.

It goes into effect next month. No more crushingly expensive COBRA!

[SoCalDem]

5. How long in advance did you apply?

I think I read that I can apply in January (birthday is 4-9).. Does coverage start May 1? or the actual b.d.

I am totally flummoxed about whether to go with an advantage plan or just the supplemental..

It's all so annoyingly complicated.. Choose "wrong" and you can waste a LOT of money....and then have to wait a whole year to change it..

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. You can apply three months in advance of the month in which you turn 65,

so if your birthday is 4/9 your coverage starts April 1. Part A is free, Part B is about $100/mo. I chose both because A is just hospitalization. I am still looking into a supplemental plan because A and B together don't cover everything (like dental). There is a lot of good info on the web site about what it does and does not cover. The supplemental stuff is confusing, and you will soon be deluged with advertisements. I will be avoiding Humana: http://www.startribune.com/business/228346871.html

(I also applied for Social Security at the same time (a year early, but I can use the $$), and the whole process took less than 10 minutes on line. And then - while the government was shut down, mind you - I got a phone call from a very helpful guy in the SS office to give me some helpful information that I didn't know. And my first check was in my bank account three days later. While the government was shut down. I was really impressed.)

[SoCalDem]

7. Thanks...

I started collecting at 62..but have been eagerly anticipating medicare.. I will start checking into it NOW !!! Thanks for the info

[DFW]

8. I had my "over-the-hill party" when I turned 21

I figured I'd get it out of the way early, so as not to have any crises about it later on. It has worked so far.

[HipChick]

9. Congrats...Be Careful though..

My parents retired to a tropical island...I've been trying to move back home ever since...they refuse to let me stay longer than 2 weeks..

[SoCalDem]

10. We want them to visit.. That's why we plan to be near outdoor activities they love

the ocean..the rivers.. the forest...the mountains .. Two of the sons are very into that sort of thing..

My oldest was commenting about how cool it would be to have a family gathering place.. I reminded him that this was not going to be a Kennedy-esque family compound...more like a triple-wide on a few acres near the sea...surrounded by huge trees (MY only requirement)