Latest / Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen) / Your 2026 Medicare Master Class

Transcript

Your 2026 Medicare Master Class · Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)

0:08
Suze: September 27th, 2026. Welcome everybody to the Women and Money
0:13
Suze: podcast and everybody smart enough to listen. Today is Suze School.
0:20
Suze: So therefore, get out your Suze notebooks because you're going
0:24
Suze: to need to write a lot of things down. This
0:28
Suze: is a very, very serious lesson that many of you
0:32
Suze: out there really need to pay attention to. But before
0:38
Suze: I get to that, I just want to remind everybody,
0:41
Suze: October 3rd and 4th is coming up in Glendale, California
0:47
Suze: at the Alex Theater.
0:50
Suze: Where there will be an incredible two-day event, the Empower
0:53
Suze: event celebrating the 100th birthday, if she were still alive,
0:58
Suze: of Louise Hay, who really was one of the most
1:01
Suze: and is still, in my opinion, extraordinary women you ever
1:05
Suze: would have met in your life or wanted to meet. However,
1:09
Suze: if you cannot attend in person, we are streaming the event.
1:15
Suze: So, if you just go to Suze, S U Z E,
1:18
Suze: Suze Orman.com/empower, E M P O W E R, you
1:25
Suze: can still buy a ticket there if you want to
1:28
Suze: attend in person. However, we are streaming it. Over 10,000
1:33
Suze: of you have already signed up for it. It will
1:36
Suze: be free if we stream it, obviously. Therefore, don't miss out.
1:43
Suze: Are we ready to begin?
1:47
Suze: Today's, Suze School, I'm talking about Medicare.
1:52
Suze: That's right, Medicare. And there's a very specific reason why
1:57
Suze: I am doing this Suze School right now.
2:02
Suze: October 15th through December 7th, Medicare has open enrollment.
2:11
Suze: That is only approximately 18 days away, but I don't
2:16
Suze: know when you listen to the podcast. I don't know,
2:19
Suze: do you wait a few days and then you listen
2:21
Suze: to it. So, I wanted to give you plenty of
2:25
Suze: time to make sure that you listen to this particular
2:30
Suze: episode of this podcast.
2:32
Suze: You write everything down that pertains to you and that
2:36
Suze: you really take in everything I'm about to teach you.
2:42
Suze: Now listen, if you're already on Medicare, I do not
2:45
Suze: want you to think, but Suze, I already have Medicare.
2:49
Suze: I don't need to listen to this, really, everybody, because
2:53
Suze: you may be the person who needs to listen to
2:56
Suze: it the most because you got to get this, everybody.
2:59
Suze: Medicare is not necessarily something you choose once, and then
3:03
Suze: you forget about it for the rest of your life.
3:06
Suze: Your plan can change, your prescription drug coverage can change,
3:10
Suze: your premiums can change, your deductibles and other costs can change,
3:15
Suze: your doctors can change networks, your medications can change, and
3:19
Suze: your own financial situation can change. There is not a
3:23
Suze: year that goes by that KT and I don't go
3:27
Suze: through it in great detail. What worked for you this
3:31
Suze: year may not necessarily be what you want for next year.
3:35
Suze: And for those of you who are not 65 yet, well,
3:40
Suze: I want you to listen as well, because there are
3:43
Suze: decisions you can make before you ever enroll in Medicare
3:47
Suze: that can affect what Medicare eventually costs you.
3:52
Suze: Today, I want to answer four questions that I think
3:56
Suze: you need to know the answers to.
4:00
Suze: Number one: if I already have Medicare, what should I
4:04
Suze: be doing during open enrollment?
4:09
Suze: Two: When do I actually have to enroll in Medicare?
4:14
Suze: Three: what happens if I'm still working at 65 and
4:19
Suze: contributing to an HSA, which is a health savings account, everybody,
4:25
Suze: and four: why can two people with Medicare pay dramatically
4:31
Suze: different amounts for essentially the same Part B coverage?
4:38
Suze: That last question will bring us to something called IRMAA,
4:42
Suze: I R M A A, and that stands for the
4:48
Suze: Income Related Monthly Adjusted Amount. And by the time today's
4:53
Suze: Suze School is over, all of you are going to
4:56
Suze: understand exactly what that means. Are you ready? Let's begin. Now,
5:02
Suze: before I can talk about this, I have to make
5:05
Suze: sure that you all know what Medicare is.
5:08
Suze: So, therefore, what you have to get is this, Medicare
5:13
Suze: has all these letters A, B, C, and D.
5:19
Suze: And if you don't know what those letters mean, everything
5:22
Suze: else I'm going to teach you today is going to
5:24
Suze: be far more confusing than it needs to be. So,
5:27
Suze: let's make this simple. Medicare Part A pays for your hospital.
5:34
Suze: Think about it as hospital insurance when you go to
5:38
Suze: the hospital, and it generally helps cover inpatient hospital care.
5:44
Suze: It can help for a short period of time care
5:48
Suze: in a skilled nursing facility under certain conditions, hospice care,
5:53
Suze: and some home health care. And what you have to
5:59
Suze: understand is most people do not pay a monthly premium
6:02
Suze: for Part A because they or their spouse paid Medicare
6:08
Suze: taxes long enough while they are working or while they
6:12
Suze: were working.
6:13
Suze: But I don't want you to hear "no monthly premium"
6:17
Suze: and think "free." Part A has deductibles and other potential
6:23
Suze: out of pocket costs, but for Part A, I want
6:27
Suze: you to think hospital. So write down Part A, hospital insurance.
6:34
Suze: Medicare Part B. I want you to think doctors and
6:38
Suze: outpatient medical care. Write that down. Part B generally, not
6:45
Suze: all the time, but generally, helps cover things such as
6:49
Suze: doctor visits, outpatient care, preventative services, and certain medical equipment
6:58
Suze: and services. But what you really have to get is
7:01
Suze: unlike premium free Part A, Part B normally has a
7:09
Suze: monthly premium, and in 2026, this year...
7:15
Suze: The standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, over
7:25
Suze: $2,000 a year. Write it down, but in a little
7:31
Suze: bit I'm going to show you why some of you
7:35
Suze: pay considerably more than $202.90 and that's where IRMAA comes in.
7:42
Suze: So again, Part B, I want you to think doctors
7:47
Suze: and outpatient care.
7:50
Suze: Now, Parts A and B together are what we call
7:56
Suze: original Medicare.
8:00
Suze: But original Medicare does not pay for everything. Why? And
8:07
Suze: I said it before, there are deductibles, co-insurance, other costs,
8:12
Suze: and original Medicare generally does not include routine outpatient prescription
8:19
Suze: drug coverage. Now I'm gonna say outright just here before
8:24
Suze: I even go on.
8:26
Suze: If you can, I would really prefer if all of
8:30
Suze: you had original Medicare more than anything else.
8:36
Suze: Just write that down and know that.
8:40
Suze: But that brings us to the next thing, which is
8:43
Suze: Part D. Now, what is Medicare Part D? Just think
8:49
Suze: about the letter D, and the D stands for drugs.
8:53
Suze: Part D is prescription drug coverage that's offered through private
8:59
Suze: insurance companies that contract with Medicare. So, if you have
9:04
Suze: original Medicare, which is what I want you to have,
9:07
Suze: and want prescription drug coverage, you can generally purchase a
9:12
Suze: separate Part D plan, and that is exactly why those
9:19
Suze: of you who are already on Medicare need to pay
9:22
Suze: attention during open enrollment.
9:25
Suze: Because your prescriptions can change, the drugs covered by your
9:29
Suze: plan can change, your costs can change, and the plan
9:33
Suze: that worked beautifully for you this year may not necessarily
9:37
Suze: be the best fit next year. What is Part C?
9:44
Suze: Part C is Medicare Advantage. Now, why, since I know
9:49
Suze: the alphabet is A, B, C, D, why did I
9:53
Suze: choose to tell you first about A, B, and D Medicare?
9:58
Suze: Because those are the three that I want you to have.
10:01
Suze: If you choose Medicare Advantage, OK, but you have to
10:05
Suze: be seriously careful.
10:08
Suze: So, Part C is Medicare Advantage. And this is where people,
10:15
Suze: I'm telling you, you get confused. Medicare Advantage is another
10:20
Suze: way for you to receive Medicare benefits.
10:25
Suze: These plans, they came about years ago. I'll never forget
10:29
Suze: when they first came out. They are offered by private
10:33
Suze: insurance companies that are approved by Medicare. So you still
10:39
Suze: have Medicare, but instead of receiving Part A and Part
10:44
Suze: B directly through original Medicare, you receive covered Medicare benefits
10:51
Suze: through the Medicare Advantage plan.
10:55
Suze: And many Medicare Advantage plans also include Part D, Remember,
11:01
Suze: prescription drug coverage, and many other additional benefits. Now, think
11:07
Suze: about what's about to happen in the next few weeks.
11:10
Suze: Every time you turn on your television, you're going to hear,
11:15
Suze: "I got Medicare Advantage. I got this. I did that."
11:18
Suze: You are gonna be barraged with Medicare messages, you are,
11:26
Suze: and so you have to really understand how they work.
11:31
Suze: But it's really important that you understand the difference between
11:35
Suze: the two. Now, even though Medicare Advantage plans offer additional
11:41
Suze: benefits
11:42
Suze: that your doctor has to be part of a provider network, co-payments,
11:48
Suze: you need prior authorization requirements and other plan rules that
11:53
Suze: you so need to understand.
11:58
Suze: So, again, you know my preference, do your homework.
12:03
Suze: Now that you understand that, everything else we're going to
12:07
Suze: talk about today, open enrollment, HSAs, when to sign up,
12:12
Suze: and especially IRMAA is going to make a whole lot
12:15
Suze: more sense. So, let's start with those of you who
12:18
Suze: are already on Medicare.
12:22
Suze: October 15th through December 7th is Medicare open enrollment. Now,
12:30
Suze: during this period
12:33
Suze: if you have Medicare, you have an opportunity to change
12:38
Suze: your Medicare health or prescription drug coverage for the coming year,
12:43
Suze: and here is the mistake I do not want you
12:45
Suze: to make. Do nothing simply because doing nothing is easier.
12:52
Suze: Wrong. Every year I want you to review your coverage.
12:57
Suze: That does not mean I want you to change plans
12:59
Suze: every year. No. What I want is that if you
13:04
Suze: have Medicare and your plan is working beautifully for you, great,
13:09
Suze: but there is an enormous difference, everybody, between keeping your
13:14
Suze: plan because you reviewed it and decided it is still
13:18
Suze: right for you.
13:19
Suze: And keeping your plan because you never bothered to look.
13:24
Suze: So you're saying, all right, Suze, you've now repeated that
13:27
Suze: like five times to me. What exactly, madam, do you
13:31
Suze: want me to look at?
13:33
Suze: If you have Part D coverage, I want you to
13:37
Suze: look at the medications you actually are taking now.
13:43
Suze: The medications I take this year are not the same
13:46
Suze: as the medications I took three years ago, and I
13:50
Suze: have a feeling they won't be the same I'm taking
13:53
Suze: next year, cause I don't think I'll have to take
13:55
Suze: them next year.
13:58
Suze: So, has your plan changed how it covers one of
14:02
Suze: these drugs? Because these plans change all the time.
14:07
Suze: So it's possible that they covered something this year or
14:12
Suze: last year and they might not cover it next year.
14:15
Suze: Has your preferred pharmacy changed? That's important, people. What will
14:21
Suze: your total expected cost be under that plan next year?
14:27
Suze: And you are not to make your decision based.
14:30
Suze: solely on the monthly premium. This is not, "oh, what
14:34
Suze: is the cheapest, that is what I'm going to choose." No. Why?
14:39
Suze: Because a plan with a lower premium is not necessarily
14:43
Suze: a less expensive plan for you. I need you all
14:47
Suze: to start looking at the entire picture.
14:50
Suze: Now, I just want to talk about Medicare Advantage for
14:54
Suze: a second. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan,
14:59
Suze: I want you checking your doctors, your specialists, your hospitals,
15:05
Suze: your pharmacies. Are you writing all this down? And are
15:08
Suze: they still participating in the plan?
15:12
Suze: And I don't want you to stop there. I want
15:16
Suze: you to look at the plan's costs. I want you
15:18
Suze: to look at the co-payment. I want you to look
15:21
Suze: at the co-insurance. I want you to look at the
15:24
Suze: maximum out of pocket limit.
15:27
Suze: I want you to look at what changed for the
15:29
Suze: coming year, because when it comes to health insurance, you
15:34
Suze: gotta believe me, people, cheap and inexpensive are not necessarily
15:39
Suze: the same thing. You know, something can have a very
15:42
Suze: attractive premium and become very expensive when you actually need
15:47
Suze: medical care.
15:49
Suze: I also want you to read the information your current
15:53
Suze: plan sends you and what the changes are for next year. So,
15:59
Suze: you know how you get that in the mail and
16:00
Suze: just throw it in a pile, and you say, "I'll
16:03
Suze: look at it later," and before you know it, December
16:07
Suze: 8th has already passed, and now you can't do anything
16:10
Suze: about it.
16:11
Suze: Now, one other thing that I just want to say
16:14
Suze: about Medicare Advantage, if you have it and you use
16:19
Suze: it and they deny your claim. You are to absolutely
16:26
Suze: challenge that, not just once, not just twice, as many
16:31
Suze: times as you need to for them to approve it
16:35
Suze: because it is no secret that they just think if
16:39
Suze: they deny it, you'll say, "OK."
16:42
Suze: And they deny a lot of people knowing that in
16:45
Suze: my opinion, so you are to actually appeal it and
16:49
Suze: you are to go after it, after it and after it.
16:52
Suze: Don't be ridiculous, everybody.
16:55
Suze: Open enrollment is not permission to assume you can move
17:00
Suze: freely between every form of Medicare coverage without consequences. That
17:06
Suze: is not what this is about, for example:
17:10
Suze: If you are considering right now moving from Medicare Advantage,
17:15
Suze: which many of you do, after you've been on it,
17:17
Suze: you decide, oh, that wasn't for me, I didn't quite
17:20
Suze: understand it, and you wanna move back to original Medicare.
17:26
Suze: What you have to understand is when you originally apply
17:31
Suze: for Medicare, you automatically qualify regardless of what's going on
17:37
Suze: with you, for a Mediap policy which fills in the
17:41
Suze: gaps of what Medicare does not pay. However, if you
17:47
Suze: are on Medicare Advantage and now you want to go
17:51
Suze: back to original Medicare and you want a Mediap policy...
17:58
Suze: You might not be able to get one. You'll only
18:02
Suze: get one based on your ability to purchase it, the
18:06
Suze: price of it, and your health circumstance and where you live.
18:10
Suze: So be very, very careful and write down that I
18:14
Suze: just said that.
18:18
Suze: Don't cancel one form of coverage like Medicare Advantage, assuming
18:24
Suze: another form of coverage will automatically be available to you
18:28
Suze: on the terms that you want.
18:32
Suze: Now, let's just look at this. What if you are
18:36
Suze: about to turn 65?
18:39
Suze: I want to talk to those of you approaching Medicare
18:43
Suze: because for most people, Medicare eligibility, as you know, begins
18:48
Suze: at 65. Most of us couldn't wait to be 65
18:52
Suze: so we could get on Medicare because in its current form,
18:56
Suze: truly everybody, original Medicare is so incredible, I cannot even
19:03
Suze: tell you, so incredible.
19:06
Suze: However, your initial enrollment period generally lasts seven months. Write
19:15
Suze: it down. It begins three months before the month you
19:20
Suze: turn 65. It includes the month you turn 65, and
19:27
Suze: it continues for three months afterwards. Suppose your 65th birthday
19:33
Suze: is June 15th.
19:35
Suze: Your initial enrollment period begins March 1st and runs through
19:42
Suze: September 30th, but please do not hear like seven months
19:46
Suze: and think, "Oh, I have plenty of time."
19:50
Suze: If you know you need Medicare when you turn 65,
19:54
Suze: then I need you to start dealing with this before
19:57
Suze: your birthday. I do not want you to accidentally create
20:01
Suze: a gap in coverage, and I especially do not want
20:05
Suze: you unnecessarily creating a late enrollment penalty.
20:11
Suze: Well, what could be late, Suze? Part B. Be careful
20:17
Suze: about Part B, because the late enrollment penalty will in
20:24
Suze: most cases stay with you as long as you have
20:28
Suze: Part B.
20:30
Suze: So if you're thinking, "Oh, I'll just wait" and you
20:33
Suze: pass that period, oh, there is a penalty once you
20:38
Suze: eventually sign up for Part B. Now, some of you
20:43
Suze: are thinking maybe, "But Suze, I'm gonna keep working after 65." Great,
20:49
Suze: no problem. Now we need another lesson.
20:53
Suze: If you or your spouse are still actively working, and
20:57
Suze: you have employer group health coverage based on that current employment, OK,
21:03
Suze: you may be able to delay Medicare Part B without
21:07
Suze: the normal late enrollment penalty.
21:11
Suze: But if you're not and you do not enroll in
21:16
Suze: Medicare Part B, you have got to understand that the
21:22
Suze: Part B late enrollment penalty is generally 10%, write this down,
21:28
Suze: of the standard Part B premium for each full 12
21:33
Suze: month period. You could have had Part B, but you
21:37
Suze: didn't enroll.
21:39
Suze: And what you've got to understand is you pay that
21:43
Suze: higher amount for as long as you have Part B. So,
21:48
Suze: for instance, I guess I should give you an example,
21:51
Suze: is in 2026, the standard Part B premium is $2,002.90.
21:59
Suze: So if you delayed for two full years without qualifying
22:04
Suze: for a special enrollment period, meaning that you work for somebody,
22:08
Suze: all right.
22:09
Suze: The penalty is going to be 20%. So the example
22:14
Suze: here puts the premium at about $243.50 versus $202.90. So
22:25
Suze: you have to get this, everybody, and it can go
22:28
Suze: every year. So, it's 10%, then 20%, then 30%, then 40%.
22:34
Suze: I had a woman just recently, by the way, write me.
22:38
Suze: And for 13 years, they did not enroll in Part B.
22:46
Suze: Think about that penalty. Let me go back now to
22:50
Suze: what I think I was just talking about.
22:53
Suze: Current employment is key here.
22:57
Suze: So for you to not have to enroll in Medicare
23:00
Suze: Part B, you need current employment.
23:05
Suze: Do not simply say "I have health insurance, therefore I
23:09
Suze: don't need Medicare." No, that's not good enough. The type
23:15
Suze: of coverage you have really matters, everybody. The circumstances matter.
23:21
Suze: The employer matters. So you're going to need to verify
23:25
Suze: exactly how your employer coverage coordinates with Medicare.
23:31
Suze: I really need all of you, if you're not going
23:34
Suze: to apply for Medicare Part B because you are still working,
23:38
Suze: you are currently working. I need you to talk with
23:42
Suze: your benefits administrator and Medicare before making the decision not
23:48
Suze: to enroll.
23:49
Suze: Now, there's one word here that I really want you
23:53
Suze: to remember, because this one word may affect a lot
23:57
Suze: of you, and that is called COBRA.
24:02
Suze: COBRA is not the same thing as health insurance based
24:06
Suze: on current employment for purposes of the Medicare B special
24:11
Suze: enrollment period, and this catches many, many people. Suppose you
24:17
Suze: stop working, and when you stop working, the place you
24:22
Suze: worked for, if you can't get health insurance somewhere else,
24:26
Suze: they offer you something called COBRA.
24:30
Suze: And you think, "Oh, I have COBRA for 18 months."
24:34
Suze: Because that's how long they have to offer it to
24:37
Suze: you for, and by the way, it's more expensive than
24:39
Suze: just regular insurance, but when I have COBRA for 18 months,
24:44
Suze: and you think when COBRA ends, I'll enroll in Medicare
24:50
Suze: Part B, nope, that's when you get yourself into serious trouble.
24:59
Suze: The Part B special enrollment period only lasts eight months
25:05
Suze: after your employment ends or your employer group health coverage
25:13
Suze: based on your current employment ends, whichever happens first.
25:20
Suze: Now, the reason that I'm going over this is this
25:22
Suze: has happened to many of you. Just remember, having health
25:29
Suze: insurance is not the same thing as having coverage based
25:33
Suze: on current employment, and you need to know which one
25:38
Suze: you have. Now, a lot of you have HSAs, health
25:42
Suze: savings accounts, right?
25:45
Suze: I think it's important that you understand how they work,
25:49
Suze: not necessarily an HSA works, but how they work when
25:53
Suze: it comes to Medicare, so that you don't make this mistake.
25:59
Suze: Let's just say you're 67.
26:02
Suze: And let's say you are still working and you have
26:06
Suze: an HSA along with an eligible high deductible health plan
26:13
Suze: and you have not enrolled in Medicare yet and you
26:17
Suze: still are contributing to your HSA. Remember, an HSA, a
26:24
Suze: health savings account, is money that you can put in.
26:29
Suze: That you've never paid taxes on, put it into the
26:32
Suze: savings account you can invest it in many of the
26:36
Suze: mutual funds that they offer and when you go to
26:40
Suze: take it out for a qualified medical expense, it is
26:43
Suze: also tax free.
26:46
Suze: So, it is the only way to save triple tax-free,
26:52
Suze: tax write-off when you do it, tax-free while it's building up,
26:56
Suze: tax-free if you use it for a qualified medical expense. So, again,
27:01
Suze: just to recap, you're 67, you have an HSA and
27:06
Suze: an eligible high deductible health plan, and you haven't enrolled
27:10
Suze: in Medicare yet, and you're still contributing to your HSA.
27:16
Suze: But now you're going to retire and you want to
27:21
Suze: enroll in Medicare. You need to pay very close attention here.
27:27
Suze: Once you are enrolled in Medicare, you can no longer
27:31
Suze: make HSA contributions, so Medicare A counts.
27:38
Suze: But here's the mistake that most of you can make.
27:42
Suze: If you enroll in Premium Part A after age 65,
27:48
Suze: so you're waiting, you're waiting a bit, your Part A
27:52
Suze: coverage can generally be retroactive for as much as six months,
27:58
Suze: although it cannot begin earlier than the month you first
28:02
Suze: became eligible for Medicare. So why should you care? Listen closely.
28:08
Suze: Because your HSA eligibility can be affected for those retroactive months.
28:15
Suze: So imagine you continued making HSA contributions right up until
28:20
Suze: you enrolled in Medicare.
28:23
Suze: Then Medicare Part A becomes effective retroactively. Then you discover
28:29
Suze: that some of your HSA contributions were made for months
28:32
Suze: when you were no longer HSA eligible. Well, guess what, everybody,
28:38
Suze: now you have a tax problem.
28:40
Suze: PThat's why everyone, Medicare advises people who are working beyond
28:45
Suze: 65 and contributing to an HSA to stop contributing. Listen closely,
28:51
Suze: six months before applying for Medicare or Social Security benefits.
28:58
Suze: And everybody, I gotta tell you, employer contributions count as well,
29:03
Suze: so this isn't just simply about what you personally put
29:06
Suze: into an HSA.
29:08
Suze: It's what they put in as well. Now, I just
29:13
Suze: want you to understand something here. When you stop HSA contributions,
29:20
Suze: it doesn't mean that you get rid of your HSA.
29:23
Suze: So those are two completely different things. The money already
29:28
Suze: inside your HSA remains yours. So you can continue using
29:33
Suze: HSA money for qualified medical expenses, and I'm just gonna
29:38
Suze: repeat this so you understand it. After the age of 65,
29:43
Suze: HSA money can generally be used tax-free, as I said before,
29:48
Suze: for certain Medicare premiums and other qualified medical expenses. However,
29:56
Suze: You cannot use HSA money tax free to pay Mediap premiums,
30:03
Suze: so an HSA can remain really for you an extremely
30:07
Suze: valuable asset in retirement. I absolutely think it's even better
30:12
Suze: than a Roth IRA if you want to know the truth,
30:15
Suze: but you just need to know when you are no
30:18
Suze: longer allowed to contribute to it.
30:21
Suze: Now, let's talk about what most of you get so upset about,
30:28
Suze: and that's something called IRMAA, Income-Related Monthly Adjusted Amount. And
30:35
Suze: here's what I want you to understand, not everybody pays
30:41
Suze: the same amount for Medicare Part B.
30:45
Suze: In 2026, I've already told you the standard Part B premium,
30:50
Suze: the least you're gonna pay is $202.90 per month, but
30:57
Suze: higher income Medicare beneficiaries can pay substantially more because of IRMAA.
31:05
Suze: Now, IRMAA doesn't just affect Part B, and I don't
31:10
Suze: think all of you know this, it also adds a
31:13
Suze: surcharge to Part D.
31:16
Suze: And that's the part that always surprises you when I
31:20
Suze: tell you that the government generally isn't working at what
31:24
Suze: you're earning today. However, for your 2026 IRMAA, Social Security
31:33
Suze: generally looks at your 2024 tax return. There is a
31:40
Suze: two year look back, so I want you to think
31:44
Suze: about what that means.
31:46
Suze: A financial decision you made, for instance, two years ago
31:50
Suze: can affect what you're paying for Medicare today.
31:54
Suze: That is why I want those of you who are
31:57
Suze: 63 and 64 listening, you may not be on Medicare yet,
32:03
Suze: but decisions you are making right now could affect what
32:07
Suze: you pay once you are. So what income counts for IRMAA?
32:14
Suze: IRMAA uses modified adjusted gross income, and essentially when I
32:20
Suze: talk about modified adjusted gross income, it includes your adjusted
32:27
Suze: gross income plus tax exempt interest.
32:32
Suze: So what can potentially increase that number is what you
32:35
Suze: have to be asking yourself.
32:38
Suze: Ready? A large traditional IRA withdrawal. A Roth conversion. Capital gains,
32:50
Suze: certain investment income, selling appreciated assets, all of those affect
32:57
Suze: your income.
32:59
Suze: And therefore your IRMAA. That is why I am begging
33:05
Suze: all of you, stop thinking about the tax write-offs today
33:10
Suze: for these stupid traditional 401ks, 403bs, IRAs, whatever they are.
33:17
Suze: The younger you are, the more you have all your
33:20
Suze: money into a Roth IRA. It is not going to
33:25
Suze: affect IRMAA when you go to take that money out.
33:30
Suze: Also, it's not going to affect the taxation calculation on
33:34
Suze: your Social Security.
33:37
Suze: IRMAA is one of the biggest reasons that you want
33:41
Suze: to do Roth conversions early on in life far before
33:46
Suze: you turn 65. So, if you're converting now in your 50s,
33:52
Suze: your 60s, when you turn whatever, it's not gonna be
33:56
Suze: part of the calculation for IRMAA, even though it's a
33:59
Suze: two-year look back.
34:00
Suze: So I would want to make sure all my Roth
34:03
Suze: conversions were done before I turned 62. Just saying. Now,
34:09
Suze: I told you that the standard Part B premium is
34:14
Suze: $202.90 and the highest Irma level for Part B is $689.90.
34:25
Suze: That is an additional $487 every month, but it doesn't
34:30
Suze: end there, cause the highest part D IRMAA surcharge is
34:35
Suze: $91 a month. So we are now talking about an
34:40
Suze: additional $578 a month. Now, I will put on the
34:47
Suze: Women and Money community app for you, exactly what the
34:52
Suze: IRMAA charges are, the amounts of money, and what the
34:55
Suze: brackets are, just so you can see. For those of
34:59
Suze: you who aren't part of the community app, it's a
35:02
Suze: Women and Money community app. Go to Apple Apps or
35:04
Suze: Google Play and download it for free, and I will
35:07
Suze: put that on it today, so all of you can see.
35:12
Suze: But what's important is, that was for one person.
35:17
Suze: That's $6,936 a year more for just one person if
35:24
Suze: you're making over the max for a married couple where
35:30
Suze: both spouses are on Medicare.
35:33
Suze: And both are subject to those highest surcharges like myself
35:39
Suze: and KT.
35:41
Suze: That's $13,872 in additional Medicare costs for the year. Now,
35:50
Suze: do you understand why IRMAA matters? So don't make this mistake.
35:57
Suze: After hearing those numbers, I know, I know it's going
36:00
Suze: to happen.
36:01
Suze: You're going to become obsessed with staying below the IRMAA threshold. Now,
36:06
Suze: how do I know that? 'Cause all of you write
36:08
Suze: me and say, "Suze, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna
36:11
Suze: do that, because I don't want to pay IRMAA." I
36:15
Suze: don't want you doing that either. The goal is not
36:18
Suze: never to pay IRMAA.
36:20
Suze: IRMAA should be the name of somebody, right? The goal
36:24
Suze: is to understand IRMAA before making financial decisions. So, suppose
36:30
Suze: a Roth conversion causes you to pay an additional 2,000
36:33
Suze: or 3,000 in Medicare costs down the road, but that
36:36
Suze: conversion is projected to save you substantially more in taxes
36:41
Suze: over your lifetime and your beneficiary's lifetime, you have to
36:46
Suze: take that into consideration.
36:49
Suze: So you don't automatically reject the conversion because of IRMAA.
36:54
Suze: You run the numbers. I don't want you spending $10,000
36:59
Suze: to save $1,000 and I don't want you to give
37:01
Suze: up $10,000 in potential long-term benefits because you're terrified of
37:06
Suze: spending $1,000.
37:08
Suze: Know the entire cost, then make the decision.
37:13
Suze: I'm almost done here. Just stick with me a little
37:16
Suze: while longer.
37:18
Suze: I want to talk to the women. I want you
37:21
Suze: to especially listen to me right now.
37:23
Suze: And imagine you've been married for 40 years. You and
37:27
Suze: your spouse have been filing jointly. Your spouse dies. Your
37:33
Suze: household income may decline, but it does not necessarily decline
37:38
Suze: by half.
37:39
Suze: Maybe investment income continues, maybe IRA distributions continue, maybe pension
37:46
Suze: income continues, Social Security changes, but let's say expenses don't
37:52
Suze: necessarily fall by 50% either.
37:54
Suze: And eventually your tax filing can change. Remember those IRMAA
38:00
Suze: numbers for 2026. The first threshold for married couples filing
38:08
Suze: jointly is $218,000. For a single person, it's $109,000. So
38:16
Suze: that's a massive difference. There is another version of what
38:21
Suze: many of us call the widow's penalty.
38:24
Suze: And that is one reason why both spouses need to
38:28
Suze: understand the household finances before one of them is suddenly
38:33
Suze: forced to handle everything alone.
38:37
Suze: Here's some good news, OK. Suppose Social Security is using
38:41
Suze: a tax return from two years ago when you were
38:46
Suze: earning significantly more money.
38:49
Suze: But you've retired or you've gotten divorced or your spouse died.
38:55
Suze: Or another qualifying life changing event occurred and your income decreased.
39:00
Suze: Let's just say that it's true.
39:03
Suze: Do you simply have to accept the IRMAA amount? And
39:07
Suze: the answer to that is, I don't think so. Why?
39:11
Suze: 'Cause there are specific life changing events that can allow
39:17
Suze: you to ask, listen closely,
39:20
Suze: Social Security to reconsider your IRA using more recent income information.
39:28
Suze: So the form I want you to remember, you write
39:31
Suze: this down is SSA-44.
39:36
Suze: If you receive an IRMAA notice and your income has
39:41
Suze: dropped because of a qualifying life changing event, do not
39:46
Suze: throw the notice in a drawer and complain about how
39:49
Suze: much Medicare costs. I want you to read it. I
39:53
Suze: want you to understand why you're being charged, IRMAA. I
39:56
Suze: want you to determine whether your circumstances qualify for a reconsideration.
40:02
Suze: And if they do, you need to take action.
40:07
Suze: All right, this was like two Suze Schools in one.
40:11
Suze: Let's bring this all together for you. If you're on Medicare,
40:14
Suze: October 15th is coming. I want you to review your medications,
40:19
Suze: your doctors, your hospitals, your pharmacies, and what your coverage
40:23
Suze: is actually going to cost you next year.
40:26
Suze: For those of you approaching 65, know your enrollment dates.
40:30
Suze: Do not wait until the last minute. Do not assume
40:33
Suze: that simply having health insurance means you can delay Medicare.
40:38
Suze: For those of you who are still working after 65,
40:41
Suze: know exactly how your employer coverage works, and if you
40:44
Suze: have an HSA.
40:46
Suze: I want you to know when those contributions have to
40:49
Suze: stop before Medicare begins and for every single one of
40:52
Suze: you on Medicare or approaching Medicare, know the letters IRMAA
41:01
Suze: because I'm telling you, I'm begging you to understand this,
41:05
Suze: the financial decisions you make today,
41:09
Suze: can and will affect what Medicare costs you two years
41:13
Suze: from now. Do not let IRMAA run your financial life.
41:18
Suze: Do not avoid a smart Roth conversion or a capital
41:22
Suze: gain or other financial moves simply because you are afraid
41:25
Suze: of paying more for Medicare. IRMAA is one factor. Taxes
41:30
Suze: are another. Your retirement income is a factor. Your health
41:34
Suze: is another factor.
41:36
Suze: Your future is the whole picture, and that is what
41:40
Suze: I want you to understand.
41:43
Suze: I think I'm maybe done.
41:45
Suze: Is there anything else I want to say to you?
41:46
Suze: I'm thinking, I'm thinking, oh yes, there's only one thing
41:51
Suze: I want you to remember when it comes to your
41:53
Suze: money besides all of this, and that's for you to
41:56
Suze: remember people first. That means you, then money, then things.
42:01
Suze: Now you stay safe. Bye bye.