[Tell It Right]

How much are Medicare premiums going up?

[Tell It Right]

Reminiscent of yesterday's post about optimizing SS benefits (what age to start claiming). Some of us on FR argue that it's best to financially plan like SS doesn't exist (retire using your own budgeting, saving, and investing).

And when SS is available claim it as early as you can so you can invest it (or reduce how much of your investments you live on so it can stay invested and grow enough to fight inflation).

[dforest]

Seniors on fixed incomes are getting hit even harder this year. Medicare going up and reduced services, advantage plans being dumped or becoming more unaffordable, prescription drugs rates going up or being denied by insurance.

Grocery prices going up.

GOP better slow down on foreign interventions and focus on issues at home.

We know where the price rises began and who done it. We know how hard it is to fix that. But....it could be a real issue for exploitation come mid term.

[DownInFlames]

Pitiful. That’s why I’m now working PT.

[Beowulf9]

What announcement? What does 2.8% mean?

[The Antiyuppie]

Unless old people start eating flat screen TV’s, that number is complete horsecrap.

[SaxxonWoods]

There's no way (unless you know you have a terminal disease) to mathematically know when it's best to take your SS. If you really need to worry a lot about when to take it, it's too late and things aren't going to be pretty going forward.

[SkyDancer]

How much of a raise Congress will be giving themselves?

[Wuli]

Th 2.8% seems small, with the inflation CPI running at about 3%, and possibly more than 3% for “urban wage earners” - which is supposed to be the basis of the social security COLA.

“The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

So, we should be able to ask why the coming COLA for social security is NOT at least 3% instead of 2.8%??

[Captain Peter Blood]

I was checking the inflation statistics yesterday. The official inflation statistic from the government is 4% another suicide check which I find a little more reliable said inflation was actually running at about 8%.

So the cola increase for Social Security should be more than 2.5%.
Yes, the Medicare part the premium is going up to $210. I think from 187.

[dragnet2]

[ExSES]

FYI: your Medicare Part B premium is limited to no more than your COLA Dollar increase so as to provide a bit of relief to those who receive lower SSA benefits.