What You Need To Know About Social Security And Medicare Changes For 2018

Each and every year we see some small changes to Social Security and Medicare. This year is no different. How much you will receive from Social Security during retirement, to the caps on payroll taxes to fund future benefits are just a couple of the common areas with changes. Medicare beneficiaries will mostly pay more for their health-care premiums in 2018. There are also changes to new income rules that determine your Medicare surcharges for 2018.

Here are a few of the highlights of the changes in 2018.

Good News - Cost of Living Adjustments for Retirees

Retirees will finally get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of two percent. This marks the largest COLA increase in the past six years and results in an average monthly increase of $27 per person. For 2018, the average Social Security check will be an estimated $1404 per month and the maximum Social Security check at full retirement age is $2,788. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, you can dramatically increase that number by waiting until age 70 to collect Social Security benefits.

Bad News – Higher Medicare Premiums

It should be no surprise that Medicare premiums are on the rise. For many recipients, this increase will more than eat up the Social Security COLA. Most beneficiaries of Medicare will shell out around $134 per month for Part B in 2018.  That’s up $25 per month from 2017 and just two dollars below the average COLA for Social Security.