Forever, except for a few situations. The late-enrollment premium penalty (LEP) is permanent for most people over 65 and you will pay the penalty as long as you are enrolled in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage (MAPD).
The late-enrollment penalty and Employer or Union drug coverage
You will pay a Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty even if your Part D drug coverage is provided by your Employer or Union healthcare coverage.
The late-enrollment penalty for people with Medicare under 65.
If are under 65 and eligible for Medicare due to a disability - and you accrue a Part D late-enrollment penalty because you were without creditable drug coverage for more than 63 days, you will have a second chance to join a Medicare prescription drug plan when you turn 65 (during your Initial Enrollment Period) and if you join a Medicare drug plan at this time, you will move forward without the previously-accrued penalty.
The good news: Recipients of financial Extra Help do not pay a late-enrollment penalty.
If you are eligible, or become eligible for the Medicare Part D financial Extra Help or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program, you will not pay a Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty.
Some bad news: Your late-enrollment penalty can change (usually increase) over time.
The amount of your penalty can change year-to-year depending on the annual base Medicare Part D premium that is used to calculate the LEP. For example, in 2026 the base Part D premium is $38.99, a 6% increase from the 2025 base premium of $36.78 – meaning that your 2026 late-enrollment penalty will increase 6%.
You can click here to see how the 2026 Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty is calculated and how the penalty has changed over the years.
And more bad news: Waiting can cost you as your Part D late-enrollment penalty accumulates.
Our Part D math: We calculated the maximum 2026 penalty as (235 months without some form of creditable drug coverage) * (1% of $38.99 which is the 2026 annual Medicare Part D base premium) = $82.019 rounded to the nearest $0.10, so this person's 2026 late-enrollment penalty is $91.60 per month.
You can read more and see how the "value of waiting" to join a Medicare plan balances against paying a permanent late-enrollment penalty in our article on this site
You can also read more about the late-enrollment premium penalty in our Medicare News section: "Late Enrollment Penalty".
Editorial Suggestion: Join a low-cost or no-cost Part D drug plan and avoid the late-enrollment penalty.
If you are using no medications and are in good health, consider enrolling in a Medicare Part D plan with a low monthly premium and avoid a possible long-term penalty - or consider a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage and has a low or $0 premium (or has a $0 premium and rebates or gives back a portion of your Medicare Part B premium).
The late-enrollment penalty and Employer or Union drug coverage
You will pay a Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty even if your Part D drug coverage is provided by your Employer or Union healthcare coverage.
The late-enrollment penalty for people with Medicare under 65.
If are under 65 and eligible for Medicare due to a disability - and you accrue a Part D late-enrollment penalty because you were without creditable drug coverage for more than 63 days, you will have a second chance to join a Medicare prescription drug plan when you turn 65 (during your Initial Enrollment Period) and if you join a Medicare drug plan at this time, you will move forward without the previously-accrued penalty.
The good news: Recipients of financial Extra Help do not pay a late-enrollment penalty.
If you are eligible, or become eligible for the Medicare Part D financial Extra Help or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program, you will not pay a Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty.
Some bad news: Your late-enrollment penalty can change (usually increase) over time.
The amount of your penalty can change year-to-year depending on the annual base Medicare Part D premium that is used to calculate the LEP. For example, in 2026 the base Part D premium is $38.99, a 6% increase from the 2025 base premium of $36.78 – meaning that your 2026 late-enrollment penalty will increase 6%.
You can click here to see how the 2026 Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty is calculated and how the penalty has changed over the years.
And more bad news: Waiting can cost you as your Part D late-enrollment penalty accumulates.
As an extreme example (that we see all too often), if you were eligible for Medicare Part D plan coverage back in January 2006...
- and never joined a Medicare Part D plan
- and are not eligible for the Extra Help (or Medicare LIS) program
- and
have been without any other creditable prescription drug coverage (such
as employer or VA coverage) since the start of the Medicare Part D
program (235 months including all of 2025),
- then you would have a monthly late-enrollment penalty of around $91.60 in 2026 – paid in addition to your monthly Medicare Part D plan premium.
Our Part D math: We calculated the maximum 2026 penalty as (235 months without some form of creditable drug coverage) * (1% of $38.99 which is the 2026 annual Medicare Part D base premium) = $82.019 rounded to the nearest $0.10, so this person's 2026 late-enrollment penalty is $91.60 per month.
You can read more and see how the "value of waiting" to join a Medicare plan balances against paying a permanent late-enrollment penalty in our article on this site
You can also read more about the late-enrollment premium penalty in our Medicare News section: "Late Enrollment Penalty".
Editorial Suggestion: Join a low-cost or no-cost Part D drug plan and avoid the late-enrollment penalty.
If you are using no medications and are in good health, consider enrolling in a Medicare Part D plan with a low monthly premium and avoid a possible long-term penalty - or consider a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage and has a low or $0 premium (or has a $0 premium and rebates or gives back a portion of your Medicare Part B premium).
- Browse Medicare Part D prescription drug plans
- Browse Medicare Advantage plans (MAPD)
- Sign-up for our Medicare Part D Newsletter.
- Still have a question? Click here to let us know.