Medicare
What Medicare Costs
Premiums, deductibles, and the income surcharge that starts counting at 63.
Medicare is not free, and the parts that cost money are not the parts most people expect. Part A is usually premium-free if you have worked long enough. Everything after that has a price.
The piece that surprises people is that your premiums are income-tested. The surcharge keys off the tax return you filed two years earlier, which quietly makes 63 the age your income starts setting your Medicare bill.
The four things you actually pay
Most people budget for the first and get surprised by the rest.
Lengths show which pieces tend to dominate a budget, not what anything costs. Every one of these numbers moves annually, and the surcharge applies to some people and not others.
What this includes
The scope of work, in plain terms.
What each part charges
Premiums and deductibles for Parts A, B and D, and where a supplement or an Advantage plan changes the arithmetic.
The income surcharge
How IRMAA is calculated, which year's return it uses, and the thresholds that make it a cliff rather than a slope.
What you can still influence
Roth conversions, capital gains and required distributions all feed the number two years out. Some of that is still steerable.
When life has changed
A surcharge based on a working year you are no longer having can be appealed. There is a form and a list of qualifying events.
Wondering what this will actually cost you?
Alan Trotsky
Alan Trotsky has been a financial professional for over 40 years. Prior to entering the insurance industry, Alan worked as a CPA serving clients with tax and financial planning. He also has experience providing consulting services to numerous businesses in various industries.
What to expect
- 01 A conversation What coverage you have now, whether you are still working, and when your window opens. Nothing to prepare and nothing to sign.
- 02 Your doctors and your prescriptions We check your prescriptions and your doctors against the plans available where you live. This is the step most people skip and most regret skipping.
- 03 Options side by side You see the real trade-offs between the paths open to you, including the ones that are hard to reverse later. Then you decide.
- 04 Every fall, we look again Plans change their formularies and networks each year. We review yours before the December deadline, whether or not anything changes.
Talk it through with Alan
True wealth is more than money.
Start with a conversation. No cost, no pressure, no obligation to continue.
