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[DesertFlower]

This message was self-deleted by its author (DesertFlower) on Tue Nov 29, 2016, 12:48 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Yes.

Your Fica payment is linked to your income, up to whatever the maximum income being taxed, currently $118,500, I believe. And your Medicare Part B is subject to your income.

When I first went on Medicate I paid a higher rate. Then after the first six months or so went down to the minimum amount.

It's an easy Google.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. If you are on Medicare but still working and not getting Social Security,

you pay the Medicare Part B out of your pocket. Once you're collecting SS, they make it easy by deducting that from your SS payment.

I know. I signed up for Medicare a year or more before I started collecting SS. So it is income to you. In your case, $206/month, a whopping $2472/year is what you pay for the Part B coverage. Quite a bargain, given what most people pay for equivalent coverage.

So if you have enough income you pay taxes. And you need to pay for the Part B coverage, no matter where the money comes from.

[brooklynite]

2. What do you mean by "pay more"?

Each person contributes to Social Security and Medicare while working through payroll tax deductions from salary, with a salary cap for SS and no cap for Medicare. Once eligible, income does not affect benefits.

[Glitterati]

4. Yes, income CAN affect benefits

There is a limit on what a SS recipient can earn annually and you lose $1.00 in benefits for every $2.00 earned over the ceiling.

[wishstar]

5. Yes- Medicare Part B premiums are higher for those with over 85,000 yr income

"Beneficiaries are required to pay the higher Part B premium in 2014 if their income is equal to or greater than $85,000 for an individual and $170,000 for a couple. Part B premiums for beneficiaries with incomes above the threshold range from 35 percent to 80 percent of Part B program costs, depending on their income (Exhibit 2).

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) modified current law related to the Part B income-related premium.10 The law imposed a freeze on the income thresholds that were in place in 2010 from 2011 through 2019, rather than allowing the thresholds to rise with inflation.11 This provision will increase the number and share of beneficiaries who will pay the higher income-related Part B premium over these years. In 2020 and subsequent years, the income thresholds will once again be indexed to inflation as if they had not been frozen between 2011 and 2019. Under current law12:

In 2013, 5.0 percent of Part B enrollees (2.4 million beneficiaries) are estimated to pay the income-related Part B premium.13
The share of Medicare beneficiaries required to pay the income-related Part B premium is projected to rise from 5.0 percent in 2013 (2.4 million) to 9.6 percent in 2019 (5.4 million), before falling back to 6.4 percent (3.7 million) after the income thresholds are once again adjusted for inflation in 2020 and as if they had not been frozen at 2010 levels in 2011 (Table 2).
In 2014, the income-related Part B premium ranges from $146.90 per month (for individuals with incomes between $85,001 and $107,000, and couples with incomes between $170,001 and $214,000) to $335.70 per month (for individuals with incomes above $214,000, and couples with incomes above $428,000), depending on beneficiaries’ income.14 By 2022, OACT projects income-related Part B premium amounts will range from $222.70 to $513.60 per month, assuming no change in current law (Table 3).15


link http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/income-relating-medicare-part-b-and-part/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. If you think of your Medicare Part B payment, which is deducted from

your Social Security, as income you don't receive, then by that logic all money withheld is money you don't receive and shouldn't be taxable. The Medicare Part B payment is withheld more or less as a convenience to you, just as federal and state income tax is usually withheld from your paycheck. It doesn't come to you, but it's still part of your taxable income.

I have investment income. Most of that does not pass through my hands but I still pay taxes on it.

The very small increase in your taxes isn't a penalty. It's the bracket you fall into, compounded by your relatively high income. I hope you appreciate how fortunate you are to get your husband's full pension, that it didn't go away or get reduced a lot when he died, which happens to many widows.

Is SS supposed to notify us of whatever change we're getting in our SS? I certainly haven't gotten anything from them. My SS isn't all that much, and I'm not certain what my Part B amount will be next year. Currently I pay $104.90, I think. I'm sure whatever small increase I'm getting in SS will be offset by the increased Part B, as is happening with you. Right now at age 68 I'm collecting my divorced spouse amount, and when I turn 70 I'll switch over to my own SS, which will be a few hundred more dollars per month. I'm grateful I can postpone my own SS to that point.