10/20/2011 UPDATE: Social Security benefit increase for 2012 was finalized yesterday at 3.6%. Here is a link to my blog post on this along with some refinement of where the Medicare Part B premium for 2012 will land when it is announced the week of October 24th.
Here is the Original Story:
Here is a link to an early story on the upcoming increases for Social Security Benefits and Medicare Part B premiums for 2012. The number should be out in early to mid October. The past 2 years, Social Security benefits have not increased due to the way that inflation is calculated. Medicare beneficiaries are “held harmless” to Part B premium increases unless they are new to Medicare, in which case that get the higher premium. About 75% of Medicare beneficiaries are paying the $96.40/month, however, those who were enrolled in Part B in 2011 are paying a much higher rate: $115.40.
I’ll need to do a little research to see if there is a SS increase, if those paying the $96.40 will jump the whole way up to the $115.40, or if they will only get an increase based on their current premium. A few years back, the Part B premium was pretty standardized, however, today there are a multitude of premium rates someone could be paying.
