Medicare beneficiaries who convert to a Roth IRA should plan for an unexpected cost: higher Part B premiums. ... If the conversion pushes your taxable income above a certain threshold, you'll pay an income-adjusted surcharge on Medicare premiums for a year or two.
The distributions taken from a retirement account such as a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or 457 Plan are treated as taxable income if the contribution was made with pre-tax dollars, Mott said.
IRA Withdrawals Could Affect Your Medicare Premiums
In addition to taxes, the RMD and other IRA withdrawals can affect Medicare payments. While the standard Part B premium for 2020 is $144.60 a month, those with higher incomes could pay significantly more.
Your MAGI is your total adjusted gross income and tax-exempt interest income. If you file your taxes as “married, filing jointly” and your MAGI is greater than $182,000, you'll pay higher premiums for your Part B and Medicare prescription drug coverage.
Moving from an IRA to a Roth IRA creates a taxable event. This may result in paying more taxes in the current year as well as IRMAA surcharges. Long-term planning is needed to assess whether the future benefits will offset the tax bill created by the conversion.
Taking tax-free Roth withdrawals won't affect your Medicare premiums. But the distributions you take from traditional IRAs count as income in the calculation that determines those premiums. ... In tax jargon, this extra charge is called an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA.
Distributions from Roth IRAs are not taxable and therefore won't cause Social Security benefits to be taxable. The optimal time to do a Roth conversion is after you retire, are in a lower tax bracket, but before claiming Social Security benefits. Consider drawing off “tax deferred” retirement assets.
To request a reduction of your Medicare premium, call 800-772-1213 to schedule an appointment at your local Social Security office or fill out form SSA-44 and submit it to the office by mail or in person.
MAGI is adjusted gross income (AGI) plus these, if any: untaxed foreign income, non-taxable Social Security benefits, and tax-exempt interest. For many people, MAGI is identical or very close to adjusted gross income. MAGI doesn't include Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Since you were already collecting Social Security when you turned 65, you were automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A (which is free) and Medicare Part B (for which you pay a premium), which is why your Medicare premium increased at that time.
Traditional and Roth IRAs
With a Roth, withdrawals of your original contributions are never taxable income, so taking them back out doesn't affect your MAGI. If you're older than 59 1/2 and you've had the account more than five years, nothing you withdraw from a Roth is taxable.
Medicare is available to all Americans who are age 65 or older, regardless of income. However, your income can impact how much you pay for coverage. If you make a higher income, you'll pay more for your premiums, even though your Medicare benefits won't change.
MAGI is adjusted gross income (AGI), determined in the same way as for personal income taxes, plus three types of income that AGI omits: excluded foreign income, tax-exempt interest, and the non-taxable portion of Social Security benefits. ... (Social Security benefits don't count toward these thresholds.)
Your MAGI is calculated by adding back any tax-exempt interest income to your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). If that total for 2019 exceeds $88,000 (single filers) or $176,000 (married filing jointly), expect to pay more for your Medicare coverage.
In short, your MAGI is simply your adjusted gross income with any tax-exempt interest income and certain deductions added back in. The IRS uses your MAGI in a lot of ways to determine if you're eligible for certain deductions and credits.
In 2021, based on the average social security benefit of $1,514, a beneficiary paid around 9.8 percent of their income for the Part B premium. Next year, that figure will increase to 10.6 percent.
This year's standard premium, which jumped to $170.10 from $148.50 in 2021, was partly based on the potential cost of covering Aduhelm, a drug to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Why? According to CMS.gov, “The increase in the Part B premiums and deductible is largely due to rising spending on physician-administered drugs. These higher costs have a ripple effect and result in higher Part B premiums and deductible.”
Your Roth IRA distributions won't affect your Social Security benefits, but your earned income will. ... Also, the amount you make can cause the taxation of your benefits. Up to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits can be taxed at normal income tax rates depending on your amount of earned income.
With a Roth IRA, contributions are not tax-deductible, but earnings can grow tax-free, and qualified withdrawals are tax- and penalty-free.
At 65 to 67, depending on the year of your birth, you are at full retirement age and can get full Social Security retirement benefits tax-free.
While a conversion may negatively impact your Medicare and Social Security if you're currently or about to receive benefits, the shoe is on the other foot once the money is in the Roth. Any future Roth withdrawals will not increase your Medicare premiums or affect your combined income for Social Security purposes.
The bottom line is this: Your gross monthly Social Security benefit amount will not be affected by your inheritance, but if your inheritance increases your Medicare Part B premium your net SS benefit will be temporarily lower.
If you are already receiving Social Security benefits, you will receive a 5.9% COLA increase to your monthly Social Security benefit. This nice increase will be somewhat offset by the increase in Part B premiums. To earn the maximum of four credits in 2022, you need to earn $6,040 or $1,510 per quarter.