How Much T-Mobile's 55+ Plans Cost (And What You Need To Do To Get One)
Figuring out a phone plan can sometimes be a hassle due to the sheer volume of options out there. What benefits do you want, if any? What's your budget? How much will two lines set you back? And this is just for looking at plans from one company — it can get even more overwhelming if you're shopping around at different carriers. Like many businesses, several cell carriers also offer plans for "seniors" that are 55 and older. T-Mobile is no exception, though it does allege that its 55+ services are more affordable than similar options from its competitors (specifically AT&T and Verizon). So whether you're looking for a new carrier or want to try and save some money on your current T-Mobile bill — provided if you're old enough, or are shopping around for someone who is — it might be worth looking at some of these discounted rates and plans.
As always, it's important to pay attention to what each plan offers and think about how it relates to the way you (or the account user) intend to use the connected phone. For example, it's probably not worth the added cost of higher video streaming quality if you don't expect to stream videos, but if you know you're going to tether devices to the phone a lot it might be worth paying extra for 50 GB worth of high-speed tethering every month.
T-Mobile's 55+ plans detailed
A total of three different plans make up T-Mobile's 55+ offerings, each with a larger number of perks and benefits as the price goes up. They all promise no-cost 5G access, include Scam Shield protections, and won't limit talk, text, or data usage. The lowest-cost option is the Essentials Choice 55 plan, which has the fewest benefits (and will throttle your data usage to give priority to higher tiered accounts); it does only cost $45 every month or $30 per line per month with two to four lines), though.
Beyond the basics is the mid-tier Go5G Plus 55 plan, which drops the data throttling and ups the streaming video quality as well as allows for phone upgrades after two years — in other words, users can trade in their current phone to help cover the cost to upgrade to a newer one after two years have passed. Of course, this also means it costs a bit more, coming in at $70 per month (or $50 per line for two or more).
After that, there's the top-tier Go5G Next 55 plan at $80 per month ($60 for two or more lines), and it includes pretty much all of the same stuff as the Go5G Plus 55 tier. The biggest difference is that the two-year upgrade option has been reduced to six months, so users can trade in their current phone toward a new model after less than a year if they want.
How to sign up
Signing up for any of the currently available 55+ plans is fairly straightforward: you just have to call T-Mobile or visit an official store and ask about it — just don't try to create more than one account per Social Security Number (one account supporting multiple lines is okay, though). After which you'll need to be sure to verify your age within a 45-day window, or else, T-Mobile will bump you up to the standard version of your chosen plan (which will cost more).
Eligibility is a little more nuanced than actually signing up, though. For starters, you have to be at least 55 years old and be a resident of Puerto Rico or one of the 50 U.S. states. You also have to be able to prove it via a valid government ID (so a non-expired U.S. passport, driver's license, or state ID). Additionally, 55+ plans are only available for personal accounts (with one to four lines) that are billed monthly. Meaning prepaid, business, and government accounts are ineligible.
Signing up will probably go a bit more smoothly if the person being billed (the Billing Responsible Party) is 55 or older, but this isn't necessarily a requirement. T-Mobile will allow someone under 55 to act as the billing party if you transfer account ownership to them.