Do you completely understand the Medicare enrollment periods? If so, you’re among the minority. This article is a quick reference for you.
medicare
Medicare Premium Part B Premium Increase for 2016
Note: these numbers have been finalized for 2016 at slightly less than originally reported. Apologies for any confusion. As we discussed in a previous post, with the lack of a Cost of Living Adjustment coming for Social Security recipients benefits in 2016, for most Medicare Part B participants the premium will remain unchanged at $104.90 in 2016. However, approximately 30% of Part B participants will see an increase to their premium for 2016 – and originally this amount was going to be a 52% increase. Lost in all of the hullabaloo around the elimination of File & Suspend, a part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 helped to reduce that increase, which will be “only” 16% for 2016. Instead of increasing to nearly $160 per month, the Medicare Part B premium will only increase to $121.80 per month for most of those affected. This change was taken care of in […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Social Security Trustees Report – 2015
Every year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds release reports to Congress on the current financial condition and projected financial outlook of these programs. The 2015 reports, released on July 22, 2015, show that, despite some encouraging signs, both programs continue to face financial challenges that should be addressed as soon as possible, with the Disability Insurance Trust Fund needing the most urgent attention. What are the Social Security trust funds? The Social Security program consists of two parts. Retired workers, their families, and survivors of workers receive monthly benefits under the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) program; disabled workers and their families receive monthly benefits under the Disability Insurance (DI) program. The combined programs are referred to as OASDI. Each program has a financial account (a trust fund) that holds the Social Security payroll taxes that are collected to pay Social Security benefits. Other income […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
File For Part B Medicare – COBRA Isn’t Enough
For most folks, when you reach age 65 and have ceased regular work, filing for Medicare Parts A & B is an automatic thing. If you don’t file during the 3 months before or after your 65th birthday, you may have penalties to pay. This applies even if you have recently been laid off of work and are covered for health insurance under a COBRA plan. Part A carries no cost if you’re fully covered (40 quarters of coverage), but Part B requires a monthly premium. When laid off from an employer who has provided health insurance coverage to you while employed, you have the option of continuing the health coverage for a period of time, up to two years. This continuation of coverage is called COBRA, named for the law that put it into place (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). You have to file in a timely manner for […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Net Unrealized Appreciation is not subject to the 3.8% surtax
When you take advantage of the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment for stocks transferred from your employer retirement plan, you need to fully understand the tax treatment both when you transfer the stocks and when you eventually sell the stock. Stock that you’ve chosen to treat with NUA tax treatment has three potential tax components – The basis of the stock – this is the original purchase cost of the stock, which is subject to ordinary income tax the year when you transfer the stock from the employer’s plan into your brokerage account. The Net Unrealized Appreciation – this is the difference in the total value of the stock minus the basis (from #1 above) on the date that you transfer it from your employer’s plan. This amount is not taxable until you sell the stock, and then it is taxed at long-term capital gains rates, no matter how long […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Medicare Part B
The next letter in our Medicare alphabet soup is Part B. Part B is essentially medical insurance that covers doctor’s services, outpatient care, home health services, and durable medical equipment. It will also cover some other services as well as well as many preventative services. As far as what doctors will and will not cover Part B depends on whether or not they have agreed to assignment. Assignment is simply your doctor or another health care provider agreeing to be paid directly by Medicare and be willing to accept the payment amount that Medicare decides is the value of the service. Agreement also means the doctor or health care provider cannot charge you any more than what the deductible and coinsurance amounts are. The basic cost for Medicare Part B for 2013 is $104.90 monthly. Individuals with higher AGI may end up paying more. The table below, courtesy of Medicare.gov shows […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
IRA Distributions Are Not Subject to the New 3.8% Surtax
As you may be well aware, beginning in 2013 there will be a brand spanking new tax added to unearned income if your Modified Adjusted Gross Income is greater than $200,000 for Singles, and $250,000 for Married Filing Jointly. Married folks filing separately are affected above a $125,000 threshold. This surtax is to help bolster the Medicare system, and it applies specifically to unearned income. What’s important to know is that IRA distributions (among other things) are not included as impacted by this new surtax. This means that when you make significant IRA distributions (beginning in 2013), such as to convert to a Roth IRA, this surtax will not be applied to your distribution. Other types of unearned income that are specifically exempted from this surtax includes tax-free interest and other payouts from retirement plans such as 401(k) plans, deferred compensation plans, and pension plans. Income that is subject to […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
An Unexpected Result From Roth Conversion – Increased Medicare Premiums
Many folks took advantage of the one-time opportunity in 2010 to convert funds from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs and subsequently spread the tax over the following two years, 2011 and 2012. This was a very good option for some folks who wanted to do the conversion and reduce future tax costs. However (and there’s always a however in life!), with the coming of 2013, many of these same folks are experiencing an unexpected result of the conversions: a significant increase in Medicare Part B premiums. Beginning after 2003, Medicare Part B premiums have been partly determined by income – primarily higher income. For 2013, the increased Part B premium begins for single folks with incomes above $85,000, married couples above $170,000. The income used to calculate the Part B premium is always based on the most recent tax return, which in this case would be the 2011 tax return. […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
The “Tax on Sale of Your Home” Email Myth
Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr If you have an email address (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you’ve likely received this email. In case you haven’t received it, there’s an email that is being forwarded around the internet about a new tax on selling your home – I get at least one of these a month it seems. I’ve copied the text of one of the emails below. This article is to help you understand why the email is a misguided myth, partly grounded in truth but not applicable for most folks. The email is usually forwarded at least a half-dozen times by the time you receive it, making it difficult to know where it started from. In addition, the text of the email is often in large, bold, red font in places, such that you can almost feel the spittle coming off the page at you. Here’s the […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.