Boomers who save the most take hit on Medicare

By Nick Thornton

October 16, 2014 at 09:54 AM

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Boomers who have been the most diligent savers over their careers may be shocked to learn they may be penalized for their efforts.

A new white paper from HealthView Services, a provider of retirement health care data to RIAs, breaks down how Medicare premiums and surcharges are assessed to retirees' Social Security payments.

Medicare uses Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) to calculate beneficiaries' premiums.

MAGI is the sum of almost every source of retiree income, including money earned through work in retirement, Social Security, pensions, distributions from self-directed plans, dividends, earned interest and capital gains.

Once MAGI surpasses $85,000 for an individual, or $170,000 for a couple, Medicare surcharges and premium increases are assessed, and automatically withdrawn from monthly Social Security benefits.

In some cases, the reduced payments could have considerable consequences on retirees' monthly income.

"These thresholds may seem high, but many retirees, including those on traditional pensions, are already crossing them," explained Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView Services.

Because Medicare income brackets are not indexed to inflation, overtime, more retirees will be affected, as interest rates rise, potentially resulting in higher retirement income.

"Surcharges will not only impact affluent Americans, but practically everyone with a moderate income," said Mastrogiovanni.

Those premium increases and surcharges could be significant, according to HealthView's breakdown of Medicare's assessments.

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