SSA + COLA -Medicare = less money (pension, social security, state, husband)

[xPlorer48]

We just received our SSA statements for 2017. How wonderful that we now receive less than 2016 due to Medicare increase.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I can understand your disappointment, but a lot of working people find in January that their pay increase from the previous year is now eaten up by the extra cost of their health insurance, etc. So this isn't uncommon, unfortunately.

[in_newengland]

Yeh, it seems to be the coming thing and apparently it's going to get worse. Wait until they start giving us Medicare vouchers! What are you supposed to do when your yearly voucher runs out?

Funny, dh's work pension from the UK went up slightly and so will his SS from the UK. Makes us wonder if it would be worth re-locating to the UK if this is going to keep up.

[mathjak107]

yep , we all would get raises from time to time when working and insurance costs would exceed even what we got .

consider yourself lucky with ss if you are collecting . the insurance can't go up more than the raise

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by clikrf8

We just received our SSA statements for 2017. How wonderful that we now receive less than 2016 due to Medicare increase.

I thought that was impossible because of the "hold harmless" provision whereby people who were already enrolled in Medicare and having the Part B premium deducted from their SS cannot receive less. In other words, the Medicare increase is supposed to be limited to amount of the COLA increase for such people.

Are you sure you are reading your statement correctly? My own SS statement indicates I will be receiving exactly the same.

Mathjak in the previous post put it succinctly: "The insurance can't go up more than the raise."

[509]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

I thought that was impossible because of the "hold harmless" provision whereby people who were already enrolled in Medicare and having the Part B premium deducted from their SS cannot receive less. In other words, the Medicare increase is supposed to be limited to amount of the COLA increase for such people.

Are you sure you are reading your statement correctly? My own SS statement indicates I will be receiving exactly the same.

Mathjak in the previous post put it succinctly: "The insurance can't go up more than the raise."

My social security is $37 dollars a month. While my Medicare Part B premium did go up they held my monthly social security check at $37.

My wife's social security at $500/month did get dinged. Her benefit went down $3.

But Obama made no bones about taxing the rich!!

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

I thought that was impossible because of the "hold harmless" provision whereby people who were already enrolled in Medicare and having the Part B premium deducted from their SS cannot receive less. In other words, the Medicare increase is supposed to be limited to amount of the COLA increase for such people.

Are you sure you are reading your statement correctly? My own SS statement indicates I will be receiving exactly the same.

Mathjak in the previous post put it succinctly: "The insurance can't go up more than the raise."

Husband's SS went up $4 and Medicare premium went up $14, so we are net minus $10.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

Yeh, it seems to be the coming thing and apparently it's going to get worse. Wait until they start giving us Medicare vouchers! What are you supposed to do when your yearly voucher runs out?

Funny, dh's work pension from the UK went up slightly and so will his SS from the UK. Makes us wonder if it would be worth re-locating to the UK if this is going to keep up.

You forgot the exchange rate, my husband UK SS went down because of the exchange rate. Maybe down 25%.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

Husband's SS went up $4 and Medicare premium went up $14, so we are net minus $10.

that can't be cause of the medicare increase alone unless someone is not collecting yet .

[Bureaucratic]

Not everyone is "held harmless". For example, those paying higher Part B premiums due to their income level.