Avoid the penalties that can follow you for life.

In this series, “Social Security Secrets,” experts Larry Kotlikoff and Phil Moeller explain the most important things you need to know about this valuable retirement benefit. Kotlikoff and Moeller are co-authors of the New York Times best-seller Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.

It used to be commonplace to enroll in Social Security and Medicare at age 65. Times have changed. More and more Americans are working later into their 60s. Unfortunately, they are missing very specific enrollment periods for Medicare. In most cases, missing these enrollment periods can lead to penalties that can follow a Medicare recipient for a lifetime.