Your 401(k) is a valuable asset – an employer-provided retirement savings account designed to help you prepare for the time when you no longer work. Keeping that 401(k) and continuing to add to it is probably one of your financial priorities, so you might fear that you'll lose it by starting Medicare coverage. Fortunately, that’s not a problem. You can have both a 401(k) and Medicare.
Medicare Eligibility Standards
Medicare should not be confused with Medicaid. Medicare is federally supported health insurance, and recipients pay part of the cost through premiums. Medicaid is a social welfare program for those who cannot provide for their own health care and includes a means test to determine eligibility based on income and assets. Each state sets its own rules, but, in general, owning such assets as a 401(k) will disqualify you from getting Medicaid benefits. There is no means test for Medicare, and owning a 401(k) has no effect on your eligibility for this program. To be eligible for Medicare, you usually must be age 65. Younger people may qualify if they become disabled or require ongoing kidney dialysis treatments.
