Healthcare ranks as one of the top expenses for many retirees. And it's about to become even more expensive.
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the amounts of the premiums and deductibles for Medicare in 2024. Here's exactly how much Medicare Part B premiums will be deducted from your Social Security checks next year.
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Standard Medicare Part B premiums
Most Social Security recipients who are enrolled in Medicare Part B have their monthly premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security benefit payments. Most of those individuals also qualify for the standard Part B premiums, which are available to beneficiaries filing individual tax returns with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $103,000 or less and to beneficiaries filing joint tax returns with MAGI of $206,000 or less.
In 2024, the standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $174.70. This reflects a $9.80 per month increase from the premium amount in 2023.
That's not the only financial impact on the way for Medicare Part B members, though. The annual deductible for Part B will also increase by $14 to $240 next year. CMS stated that this increase is primarily due to higher anticipated healthcare costs.
Premiums for high earners
Around 8% of Medicare Part B beneficiaries must pay more than the standard premiums. The program has five tiers of adjustment levels based on income for high earners.
Beneficiaries filing individual tax returns with MAGI of more than $103,000 and up to $129,000 must pay an additional $69.90 per month on top of the $9.80 per month increase. This adjustment also applies to beneficiaries filing joint tax returns with MAGI of more than $206,000 and up to $258,000. The total monthly Part B premium for these beneficiaries will be $244.60.
The next tier is for beneficiaries filing individual tax returns with MAGI of more than $129,000 and up to $161,000 and beneficiaries filing joint tax returns with MAGI of more than $258,000 and up to $322,000. They'll have to pay an additional monthly adjustment of $174.70, bringing their total monthly Part B premium to $349.40.
Beneficiaries filing individual tax returns with MAGI of more than $161,000 and up to $193,000 and beneficiaries filing joint tax returns with MAGI of more than $322,000 and up to $386,000 will pay an additional adjustment of $279.50 per month in 2024. Their total monthly premium will be $454.20.
The next tier includes anyone filing individual tax returns with MAGI of more than $193,000 and less than $500,000 as well as those filing joint tax returns with MAGI of more than $386,000 and less than $750,000. They'll have to pay a monthly Part B adjustment of $384.30, pushing their total premium to $559 per month.
Finally, Part B beneficiaries filing individual tax returns with MAGI of $500,000 or more and those filing joint tax returns with MAGI of $750,000 or more will pay a monthly adjustment of $419.30 in 2024. As a result, their total monthly premium will increase to $594.
The Medicare Part B deductible increases previously mentioned will also apply to all of these high-earner tiers.
Helping pay the bills
Regardless of the amount of your Medicare Part B premium next year, you'll get some help paying the bills if you also receive Social Security. The Social Security Administration announced last week that the 2024 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be 3.2%. That translates to a monthly increase of nearly $59 for the average monthly Social Security benefit for retired workers.
