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Don’t Spend that extra SS money yet – Medicare will cut into your COLA increase! - Yahoo! Finance
In an announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), we were told that the new cost of our Medicare Part B coverage for 2026 would be $202.90, instead of the $185 per month we paid in 2025. That’s an increase of nearly 10%, or $17.90! Not terribly surprising if you understand that the general cost of healthcare is steadily increasing.
But here’s the issue: the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) which we will all receive in 2026 will be but 2.8%, meaning the average SS recipient will get about a $56 increase in their SS benefit. So, can you guess where the $17.90 Medicare premium increase will be taken from? That’s right, for those collecting SS benefits it will come from your 2026 Social Security COLA increase! And that means the average person on Social Security will get only about a $38 net increase in their Social Security payment as a result of COLA. All of this is detailed in this Yahoo! Finance article by Kerry Hannon.
Also, if you’re unsure about how these basics apply to you, or if you have any questions about your individual situation under Social Security, note that the AMAC Foundation provides a free-to-the-public advisory service to help Americans navigate the complexities of this program. All questions are answered quickly, at no charge. Learn more about it here…