Foundations Course
Social Security & Original Medicare 101
Master the fundamentals your clients are counting on you to know. From Social Security basics and Original Medicare timing to enrollment windows, IRMAA, penalties, and real-world retirement scenarios — this course is clear, practical, and built to put to work immediately.
Individual Seat
$495
3-4 hours · CE pending · Certificate issued
Agency 5+ seat price: $446
Outcome
What learners should be ready to do.
Build the working knowledge to answer common client questions, recognize timing risks, and guide next steps with more confidence.
Module knowledge checks and a comprehensive final knowledge check. Passing threshold is 80%, with retakes allowed.
Module 1
About Social Security: structure, funding, history, and agency roles
Module 2
Social Security fundamentals: insured status, FRA, retirement, spousal, survivor, disability, and work rules
Module 3
Original Medicare fundamentals: Parts A-D, enrollment periods, penalties, IRMAA, and coverage gaps
Module 4
Practice scenarios: apply timing and enrollment rules to real client situations
Included Resources
Michelle Sparks
Instructor
SSA executive by career.
Medicare broker by choice.
Educator by calling.
Michelle Sparks spent 35 years at the Social Security Administration — holding several technical, managerial, and senior executive positions in the agency. She knows how SSA thinks, how decisions get made, and where the rules that trip up clients actually come from. A 2023 Presidential Rank Award recipient — one of the highest honors in federal service — Michelle now brings that insider knowledge to the outside conversation as a licensed Medicare broker. The one you're having with clients every week. Perfectly positioned to teach this.
35 years SSA — every level from frontline to senior executive
National training lead for the Social Security Administration
Federal Executive Leadership — Harvard University graduate
2023 Presidential Rank Award recipient
Licensed Medicare broker — serving clients in the field today
Professional Social Security Consultant
❖The perspective no classroom can replicate — SSA from the inside, Medicare from the field.