Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Most retirees can see their Medicare Part B monthly premiums increase to $135.50 next year from $134 this year, according to this Q&A article from Kiplinger, which cites the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. About 3.5% of Medicare beneficiaries will actually pay less in premiums because the cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security benefits next year (2.8%) won’t be large enough to cover the premium increase. The “hold-harmless provision” prevents annual increases in Medicare premiums from exceeding the COLA increase in Social Security benefits if the premiums are automatically deducted from their retirement payments.
Saving for retirement while paying down student loan debt can be difficult but not impossible, according to this article on CNBC. To accomplish this, workers are advised to contribute enough to their workplace retirement plans to get their employer's match while paying down their college debt. Those who don’t have access to a 401(k) plan should consider contributing to a Roth IRA, which is funded with after-tax dollars but offers tax-free growth on savings and after-tax income in retirement.
Retirees may owe higher taxes because of their Social Security benefits, and the marginal rates could go higher than 40%, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. That's because a portion of their benefits will be subject to income taxes if their combined income, which is their total taxable earnings plus 50% of their benefits, exceeds a certain threshold. For this year, joint filers with a combined income of $32,000 can expect 50% of their benefits to be taxed.
