For those who are in Medicare and who found themselves in IRMAA brackets in 2023 might just find out that IRMAA 2024 is not going to be any better in the new year.
In fact, the Trustees of Medicare, who oversee the finances, the costs of and the IRMAA plan premium of Medicare, are even stating that things are going to be much worse in 2024 for those who are in IRMAA 2024.
According to latest Medicare Board of Trustees report from the IRMAA brackets will increase by over 6.00% for IRMAA-Part B and for IRMAA-Part D the surcharges will inflate by 5.92% on average per threshold.
Ultimately the cost (tax) for having too much money while in Medicare is only going to increase in 2024.
When will the Centers of Medicare Services (CMS) announce the costs of Medicare as well as the IRMAA surcharges for 2024?
According to federal regulations CMS is responsible for announcing all the costs of Medicare by the end of the 3rd Quarter (September).
At the time of this report CMS has yet to release any information, but the Medicare Board of Trustees did release its report earlier this year which details where the costs of Medicare need to be for the program to remain solvent.
The Board of Trustees is recommending that monthly IRMAA 2024 surcharges need to be at least:
| IRMAA 2024 Surcharges per month | |||||
| 1st IRMAA Threshold | 2nd IRMAA Threshold | 3rd IRMAA Threshold | 4th IRMAA Threshold | 5th IRMAA Threshold | |
| IRMAA-Part B | $69.90 | $174.70 | $279.60 | $384.40 | $419.40 |
| IRMAA-Part D | $12.90 | $33.30 | $53.80 | $74.20 | $81.00 |
As the IRMAA surcharges increase so will the premiums and other costs with the Medicare program.
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What the Trustees are projecting for Medicare IRMAA Part B and Part D premiums in 2024?
Like IRMAA surcharges in 2024, the Trustees are also projecting that all cost for Medicare will increase too.
The projections for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums in 2024 are:
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- 6.00% increase in premiums for Medicare Part B premiums as the Trustees are expecting the premium to be $174.80 a month.
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- 6.00% increase, on a national average for Medicare Part D plan premiums.
Medicare Part D premium inflation rate:
For Medicare Part D the rate that premiums will increase by is not in the control of CMS or even the Trustees as private health insurers provide this coverage.
Congress, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,however, has limited the amount that these private health insurers can increase premiums.
Starting in 2024 and going through 2029 the premiums for Part D prescription drug coverage can only increase “by 6 percent or (by) the base beneficiary premium computed that would have applied if this paragraph had not been enacted”.
Regardless of what happens in terms of costs that the private health insurers incur the maximum increase that Part D prescription drug plans can increase by is 6.00% at a maximum through 2029.
What you are paying in terms of premiums for Part D coverage can, according to the government, only increase by 6.00% at a maximum.
The issue going forward though, is since the private health insurers are limited in the ability to charge more in terms of premiums they may make other adjustments like not covering as many prescription medications.
But will you Get to the IRMAA brackets in 2024?
The answer to whether you will get to IRMAA brackets in 2024 is all dependent on how much income you earned in 2022.
The reason why your income from 2 years prior is paramount in you reaching IRMAA in 2024 is simply because of the process of determining who actually reaches IRMAA.
What is the process of determining who will enter IRMAA 2024:
Under federal guidelines CMS is responsible for determining the IRMAA income amount and surcharges while the SSA is responsible for finding out who exactly reaches the IRMAA brackets.
This year once CMS determines exactly what the income thresholds for IRMAA will be they will notify the SSA.
The SSA will then contact, electronically, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and ask for the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of all Medicare beneficiaries.
Since the IRS can only look at the tax returns from 2022, as the 2023 tax year is not over, they will look through all the tax returns of that year.
The IRS will notify, electronically, the SSA of every Medicare beneficiary whose income exceeds the first IRMAA threshold.
After this point CMS will then start to notify every Medicare beneficiary who has reached IRMAA via the US Postal Service (mail) and provide their rights to any appeals that may have.
Again, for 2024, CMS will determine the brackets in 2023 so the IRS can only look at tax returns from 2022 or even earlier. This is why there is always a 2-year look back in income when it comes to IRMAA.
Please note:
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- If the IRS can not locate a tax return from 2022 to get your taxable income, they will use the tax-return from 2021.
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- If the IRS can not locate a tax return from 2022 or 2021 then that Medicare beneficiary will automatically be put into the highest IRMAA threshold for that year.
Is there really a lot of people who will be impacted by IRMAA?
Back at the implementation of IRMAA in 2007 there were roughly 1.7 million people in IRMAA which equated to about 5.70% of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries.
By 2022, according to the Trustees, the numbers more than doubled as just over 5.3 million or people 12.20% of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries reached IRMAA during that year.
Looking forward, like the costs of Medicare and the IRMAA surcharges the outlook for how many people will enter IRMAA is also increasing too.
By the end of 2023 there will be close to 6.8 million people in IRMAA for the year or roughly 16% of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries.
Going forward the numbers will not be getting smaller as the Trustees are expecting a gradual increase annually until 13.5 million people will be in IRMAA.
This is an expected 25% of all Medicare beneficiaries being in IRMAA which is the exact percentage that the government projected in 2014 through the Presidential Budget for that year.
To put this in perspective when it comes to how many people will be in IRMAA, in the next 8 years 1 out of every 4 eligible retirees will be in it.
What does it mean to be eligible for IRMAA?
Under federal regulations IRMAA is only for those who are:
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- In Medicare in either/and/or:
- Medicare Part B
- Medicare Part D
- Medicare Advantage Plan w/ prescription drug coverage (MA-PD)
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- Medicare Advantage Plan w/o drug coverage
- Have an income that exceeds the threshold for that year.
- Are not receiving any financial help in meeting the premiums of either Part B or Part D.
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- Estimates state that roughly 27% of all Medicare beneficiaries are receiving some sort of financial help.
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- In Medicare in either/and/or:
What is income for IRMAA?
The income that counts towards IRMAA is your modified adjusted gross income or MAGI.
Social Security defines MAGI as your
“Adjusted gross income (AGI) plus any tax-exempt interest you may have or
Everything on lines 2a and 11 of the 2022 IRS tax form 1040”.
Also remember to mind the late enrollment penalties.
How much is too much income for IRMAA 2024?
There are 5 different thresholds for IRMAA with 4 of them legislated to adjust each year based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U from August of each year.
As of July 2023, the 12-month average for the CPI-U is 300,469 which is an increase of 5.77% from 2022.
The IRMAA thresholds, barring any changes from Congress, and the corresponding surcharge that are being projected by the Trustees are:
| IRMAA 2024 Thresholds and Surcharges | |||
| Individual | Couple | Part B | Part D |
| $102,500 | $205,000 | $174.80 | Premium (varies) |
| $102,500 – $130,000 | $205,000 -$260,000 | $244.70 | Premium + $12.90 |
| $130,000 – $162,000 | $260,000 – $324,000 | $349.60 | Premium + $33.30 |
| $162,000 – $193,500 | $324,000 – $387,000 | $454.40 | Premium + $53.80 |
| $193,500 – $500,000 | $387,000 – $500,000 | $559.20 | Premium + $74.20 |
| > $500,000 | > $750,000 | $594.20 | Premium + $81.00 |
Want to avoid IRMAA altogether?
Avoiding IRMAA is easier than you think as it all comes to down to the income you generate that IRS can see on lines 2a and 11 of the IRS tax form 1040. If you think you have been charged too much, you can do an IRMAA premium appeals process.
If you can build a retirement plan that can generate revenue that doesn’t hit these two lines on your 1040 then you will never enter IRMAA.
If your taxable income in retirement will come from savings like Traditional 401(k)’s and IRA’s then avoiding IRMAA will become even more difficult as time goes by.
For more information on exactly how to avoid IRMAA please find one of the many IRMAA Certified Professionals in the country by clicking here.
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In addition to simplifying the calculation process, using our Healthcare Retirement Planner can also help improve communication between you and your clients. With clear visuals that illustrate how IRMAA costs impact their overall retirement plan, you can effectively convey complex information in an easily digestible format. This enables clients to make informed decisions about their healthcare expenses during retirement while ensuring they are prepared for any potential changes in Medicare premiums due to income fluctuations. To learn more about how our software can benefit both you as a financial professional and your clients’ retirement planning experience, visit the features page. Streamlining retirement planning processes can help financial professionals save time and resources, allowing them to focus on other areas of their clients’ needs. Automated calculation of IRMAA surcharges is the next step in streamlining this process even further.
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