Dear Liz: My wife and I are well over 70 and receive Social Security. We pay for Medicare Part B as well as IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) for Part B and Part D via deductions from our monthly checks. We just received our annual notice from the Social Security Administration of the 2.8% cost-of-living increase for 2026. At the same time, our Medicare deductions were increased such that we ended with a monthly $20 increase in Social Security for my wife and $80 for me. That hardly goes along with the sentence in the standard letter from the SSA that the COLA helps us keep up with the cost of living. Are we just lucky that our monthly checks from the government did not actually decrease?
Answer: In a word, yes.
The cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance typically rises faster than the general rate of inflation. Medicare costs haven’t increased as quickly as those for private insurance. However, it’s still not unusual for higher Medicare premiums to wipe out Social Security cost-of-living increases for the year.
Fortunately, you have other resources to help you cope with inflation. IRMAA is a Medicare surcharge that kicks in for people with modified adjusted gross incomes over $109,000 if single or $218,000 if married filing jointly. The surcharge is determined by your income tax return from two years ago, so your 2026 IRMAA is based on your 2024 filing.
