As a result of this lack of increase for 70% of all Medicare Part B recipients, all other Medicare Part B premium payers must pick up the slack. The increase to premium is projected to be a maximum of 52% – from $104.90 to $159.40.
Who is impacted?
Primarily only those people who are over age 65, receiving Part B Medicare coverage and who are not currently receiving Social Security benefits will be impacted. Anyone who is currently receiving Social Security and having the Part B premium deducted from their check will have the same premium for 2016 as they have in 2015, since there is no COLA projected. (Note: If you’re receiving Social Security and NOT having the Part B premium deducted from your check, you’re also going to be impacted – you should change this right away to avoid the unnecessary increase!)
Many people have delayed receipt of Social Security benefits past age 65 in order to maximize the Social Security benefits that they’ll eventually receive. Delaying from age 65 to age 66 will result in an increase of benefits by 7.14% for most recipients. Delaying beyond age 66 will result in an increase to benefits of 8% for each year of delay.
Dave is reaching age 65 right now, but has always intended to delay his Social Security benefit to at least age 66. The decision of whether to start taking benefits now (to avoid the 52% premium increase!) versus delaying becomes a matter of running the numbers.
This $54.50 increase is made up completely if Dave’s benefit would have been $763.30 per month or more at age 65. For any higher benefit, the result is that much better.
For another example, Greta, who is reaching age 70 late next year and has not started receiving Social Security would only consider filing for benefits now if her age 66 benefit (the benefit against which the delay increases are calculated) would have been less than $681.25. If Greta’s age 66 benefit was, for example, $700 per month, delaying for another year to her age 70 would result in an additional increase of $56 per month – more than the Medicare increase.
Lastly, if you’re nearing (within a few months) of a milestone that you intended to file for benefits –such as if you intended to file in January – you might consider filing early now if it’s that important to you. In the long run the delay of a few months would not have a large impact (three months would be an increase of 2%) and if it helps you to sleep at night then all the better. I’d still counsel that the 2% extra is worth enduring the increase to the Medicare Premium though – especially if you’ve delayed this long in order to maximize benefits for yourself and perhaps for a younger spouse’s future survivor benefits.
Effect Is Temporary
The last thing to keep in mind with all of this is that the effect of this Medicare Part B premium increase are temporary. After COLAs are again added to Social Security benefits, the Medicare premiums will even out again. That’s how it happened after the non-increases of 2010 and 2011: in 2010 for some folks the Medicare premium increased from $96.40 to $110.50, and in 2011 for some folks it increased again to $115.40 (19.71% in all!). In 2012, when COLAs were once again included for Social Security benefits, everyone’s Medicare Part B premium fell back to $99.90 a month (except for the folks in higher tax brackets, which is an entirely separate set of numbers to consider).
Now is the time to act though – because to avoid the increase your benefit must have started in November or earlier. Start in December and you’ll get the premium increase anyway.