Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you for the information. I don't receive earnings statements from Social Security - could that be because I only earn about $4000 per year and I am already drawing benefits? Also, I don't have one of those personal on-line accounts.
In any case, I was interested in some ballpark examples of what people have actually paid into Medicare as much as I was curious about my own contributions. Therefore thanks for providing yours.
Your figures seem to validate and confirm the conclusion of the other poster that our contributions, even when added to those of our employer(s), do not go very far in funding Medicare. Rounding off a bit, you and your employers together paid about $40,000, which wouldn't go very far (maybe five or six years at the most?) in funding the average medical expenses of people 65 years old and above.
Should we compare the amount we put in vs the benefits we receive (medical expenses paid for) ? Or is the amount we paid in meant to cover the monthly "insurance" premiums during our retired years?
Not sure how to say what I am trying to say Let me try an example: If my $104 monthly Part B premium is supposed to be 25% of the actual premium, then how many years of the other 75% of the Part B premiums have I prepaid during my working life?
If someone understands what I mean and can state it more clearly, please help.
Should we compare the amount we put in vs the benefits we receive (medical expenses paid for) ? Or is the amount we paid in meant to cover the monthly "insurance" premiums during our retired years?
Not sure how to say what I am trying to say Let me try an example: If my $104 monthly Part B premium is supposed to be 25% of the actual premium, then how many years of the other 75% of the Part B premiums have I prepaid during my working life?
If someone understands what I mean and can state it more clearly, please help.
Medicare Part B is not covered by the Medicare payroll taxes, which go to fund Part A. The remaining 75% of Part B expenses are covered by general federal taxes. So we "prepaid" during our working lives to whatever extent we paid our general, undesignated federal income taxes. But that was really paying for other people's Part B - the people who were over 65. Of course most of us continue to pay federal income tax after turning 65, so in that way we continue to pay for part of our 75% of Part B. Higher earners are shouldering a greater percentage of the burden than lower earners, of course.
The only part of our federal income tax which is ear-marked, as far as I know, is the part which we pay on 85% of our Social Security retirement benefit, and that gets plowed back into Social Security. All the rest goes into the General Fund, out of which Congress takes all federal spending (not including Social Security itself which has its own fund), supplemented by deficit financing.
Good grief. Eleven pages of messages and no one has pointed out that NO ONE - absolutely no one - regardless of income - pays the full cost of his/her Medicare when it comes to premiums.
Everyone gets Part A without paying a dime. It is 100% subsidized by taxpayers. People below the "high income" limits pay 25% of Part B costs. And people above those limits pay a higher % - up to a maximum of 80% of Part B for those earning the most.
If you’re a higher-income beneficiary, you’ll pay a larger percentage of the total cost of Part B based on the income you report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You’ll pay monthly Part B premiums equal to 35, 50, 65, or 80 percent of the total cost, depending on what you report to the IRS.
So all we're really talking about here is how much taxpayers are subsidizing US - not whether we're paying for anyone else.
BTW - if anyone thinks "they gave at the office" - think again. Sit down and actually figure out how much you and/or your employer paid into Medicare. Most people get back much more than they ever paid into Medicare:
BTW - the Medicare part B income related surcharges were introduced during the Bush administration - and those relating to Part D (which started at the end of the Bush administration) were introduced during the Obama administration
I do't know of any income that should be excluded. The timing thing is a side issue. It seems you are dodging the question.
Answered in post #93.
Timing is most definitely important as noted in post #93. Something you do at 63 most definitely can affect your medicare payment when you reach 65.
Never said should be excluded, you did. I said "IMHO that is not fair".
Good grief. Eleven pages of messages and no one has pointed out that NO ONE - absolutely no one - regardless of income - pays the full cost of his/her Medicare when it comes to premiums.
Everyone gets Part A without paying a dime. It is 100% subsidized by taxpayers. People below the "high income" limits pay 25% of Part B costs. And people above those limits pay a higher % - up to a maximum of 80% of Part B for those earning the most.
If you’re a higher-income beneficiary, you’ll pay a larger percentage of the total cost of Part B based on the income you report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You’ll pay monthly Part B premiums equal to 35, 50, 65, or 80 percent of the total cost, depending on what you report to the IRS.
So all we're really talking about here is how much taxpayers are subsidizing US - not whether we're paying for anyone else.
BTW - if anyone thinks "they gave at the office" - think again. Sit down and actually figure out how much you and/or your employer paid into Medicare. Most people get back much more than they ever paid into Medicare:
BTW - the Medicare part B income related surcharges were introduced during the Bush administration - and those relating to Part D (which started at the end of the Bush administration) were introduced during the Obama administration
Good grief. Eleven pages of messages and no one has pointed out that NO ONE - absolutely no one - regardless of income - pays the full cost of his/her Medicare when it comes to premiums.
Robyn
FYI You can actually select 40 messages per pages instead of the default 10 msg/page by going to SETTINGS, then in the left side select EDIT OPTIONS then under THREAD DISPLAY OPTIONS select 40 posts per page, so this thread just becomes 3 pages of messages (less scrolling).
Answered in post #93.
Timing is most definitely important as noted in post #93. Something you do at 63 most definitely can affect your medicare payment when you reach 65.
Never said should be excluded, you did. I said "IMHO that is not fair".
Maybe I am confusing your posts and others; I apologize if so. I thought you said one time things like inheritance should be excluded, then someone pointed out that inheritance is excluded and you said maybe it wasn't the best example but I didn't realize you had given another - the one time sale of income property (not your residence). If it sold at a profit, then I think it should count as income. On the timing thing, I need to search back through or just go looking on the SS site. Someone posted either in this thread or another recent one that they had filed a form and had to do some extensive follow up but were granted the exception against using income from 2 years ago because the current year was dramatically different.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Let me try an example: If my $104 monthly Part B premium is supposed to be 25% of the actual premium, then how many years of the other 75% of the Part B premiums have I prepaid during my working life?
