Now you see it, now you don’t: Medicare premiums expected to swallow 2018’s COLA boost

Last week’s Social Security Administration announcement formally set Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for next year at 2%. The average Social Security payment will increase by about $25.

While the increase has many seniors asking “…so what?,” the fact is this is the highest COLA beneficiaries have received since 2012. The past five years of Social Security COLAs have been among some of the lowest in history:

2012	1.7
2013	1.5
2014	1.7
2015	0.0
2016	0.3
2017	2.0

Twenty-five bucks extra per month isn’t a lot, but compared to numbers just a few years behind us, 2% is a good thing.

But as quickly as the much-needed boost was handed down–and before a single dime of it has been dispensed–it disappeared into thin air for most beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare.

Christopher Hopkins, finance columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, estimates as many as ¾ of Medicare participants may not see a single dime of that COLA increase due to anticipated Medicare Part B premiums.

Video: wzzm13.com

Though the official premium amount won’t be announced for several weeks, estimates from the Medicare Trustees say Part B premiums will remain the same into 2018 (this year’s premium is $134).

For the minority of Social Security and Medicare enrollees not covered by the “hold harmless” provision preventing these premiums from rising any higher than the COLA, this is relatively good news. These retirees won’t experience any net loss in benefits when this premium amount is deducted from their Social Security benefits. They were paying it already.