Medicare premiums
Did you notice the changes in your monthly benefit?
Some Social Security recipients who would have already received their first Social Security benefit for 2026 may have noticed a couple of changes. The vast majority of Social Security recipients will notice that their benefit will be different from last…
Why doesn’t COLA Keep up with Inflation?
It happens every year. Here at the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service we start receiving questions about next year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in mid- to late-September. Sometimes the inquiries come from reporters seeking inside information to include in an…
Your first Medicare billing surprise
Around your 65th birthday, you will have a 7-month window of time when you can sign up for Medicare. It is called your Initial Enrollment Period — or IEP for short. Your IEP includes your 65th birthday month, as well…
Remember to figure in Medicare into your equation
The Social Security Administration announcement of the 2.5 percent 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has some people calculating their increase to their monthly benefit amount before they know one other increase that is due to be announced. What is this other…
Medicare changes for 2023 you should know
Just in case you missed it, there are some changes to Medicare for 2023. Some costs have gone down, like Medicare Part B premiums, while others have gone up, Medicare Part A premiums. Kate Ashford writes about the seven key…
Social Security’s Solvency Problem: Have Prospects for Resolution Dimmed?
The week now drawing to a close has been volatile on many political fronts, perhaps few more explosive than that of Social Security’s impending solvency issue. Despite the display of agreement expressed during Tuesday’s State of the Union event, it’s…
Health Insurance Costs and the Social Security COLA…Some Thoughts
In a post on kernvalleysun.com, licensed insurance broker Harry P. Thal, MA offers commentary on how Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is calculated and the relationship between this COLA and the premium payments beneficiaries need to absord for Medicare coverage. His remarks also…