{"id":145959,"date":"2021-01-02T19:27:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T16:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/opinion-social-security-and-medicare-key-things-to-know-in-2021\/"},"modified":"2021-01-02T19:27:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T16:27:01","slug":"opinion-social-security-and-medicare-key-things-to-know-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-social-security-and-medicare-key-things-to-know-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  Opinion: Social Security and Medicare: Key things to know in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a39b805b6652\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a39b805b6652\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-social-security-and-medicare-key-things-to-know-in-2021\/#A_big_Medicare_change_could_save_retirees_hundreds\" >A big Medicare change could save retirees hundreds<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-social-security-and-medicare-key-things-to-know-in-2021\/#Paul_Brandus\" >Paul Brandus<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  Opinion: <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security and Medicare: Key things to know in 2021<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_big_Medicare_change_could_save_retirees_hundreds\"><\/span>\n  A big Medicare change could save retirees hundreds<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"CDFF7182-4AB1-11EB-84EA-06B9F7923642\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       Now that a new year is here\u2014good riddance to 2020, a truly terrible year\u2014there are lots of changes to retirement programs, investing and more that you need to be aware of. Let\u2019s get right to it. <\/p>\n<p> <strong>Higher retirement age <\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       While the minimum retirement age remains 62, the full retirement age (also known as FRA) will increase to 66 years and 10 months in 2021 for those born in 1959. This is increasing by a month a year, meaning that if you were born in 1960, your full retirement age in 2022 would be 66 years and 11 months, and a full 67 years for those born in 1961.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bigger Social Security checks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cost-of-living adjustment bumps up payments 1.3%, a figure based on inflation for the year ended Sept. 30, 2020. That means the average recipient will get $1,543 a month, up from $1,523 in 2020. For an average retired couple who both collect benefits, the payment will rise to $2,596, up $33 a month. For workers who paid the most into the system when they were working\u2014and thus will take the most out\u2014the maximum monthly check for an individual retiring at full retirement age will rise to $3,148.<\/p>\n<p>Meantime, if you\u2019re on Social Security but still working, and younger than age 65, you can earn up to $18,960 before your benefit is temporarily withheld.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Will COVID-19 impact Social Security\u2019s finances?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Higher tax ceiling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The actual payroll tax rate of 12.4% remains unchanged, but the amount subject to that tax\u2014which is split between employee and employer\u2014is rising. In 2021, the first $142,800 of income is subject to that tax rate, an increase of 3.7% from the 2020 figure of $137,700.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contribution limits <\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>\u2022 The 401(k) contribution limit is $19,500.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The 401(k) catch-up contribution limit is $6,500 for those age 50 and older.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The IRA contribution limit is $6,000. <\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The IRA catch-up contribution limit is $1,000 for those age 50 and older.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Medicare <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Health care costs continued to rise, in some cases sharply, in 2020. It\u2019s more important than ever to understand how you can squeeze every last dime out of your benefits. Here\u2019s are some important things to know:<\/p>\n<p>Part A (provides inpatient\/hospital coverage). Very few Medicare beneficiaries have Part A premiums since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, but they still pay deductibles of course. The limit rises in 2021 to $1,484, an increase of $76. Part A inpatient hospital deductible covers beneficiaries\u2019 share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period.<\/p>\n<p>Part B (provides outpatient\/medical coverage)\u2019s standard monthly premium will increase $3.90 to $148.50. The annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 in 2021, an increase of $5 from 2020 (these figures are higher for beneficiaries who earn more\u2014<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/2021-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles\" class=\"icon none\">see this table<\/a>). <\/p>\n<p>Part D (provides pre<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ion drug coverage) will increase its standard deductible $10 to $445. The out-of-pocket spending threshold is rising $200 to $6,550. This is a big deal, notes GoodRx, which tracks pharmaceutical prices, because \u201conce you\u2019ve spent that amount out of pocket in 2021, you leave the coverage gap and enter into the catastrophic phase, where you only pay a small fraction of drug costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Part D includes one change that could help millions of Americans: It will cap certain insulin drugs at $35 for a month\u2019s supply. Since some 25% of Americans age 65 and older have diabetes, this will be significant and \u201ccould save up to $446 a year in out-of-pocket costs\u201d for insulin. Visit <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/plan-compare\/#\/?lang=en&amp;year=2021\" class=\"icon none\">Medicare\u2019s site<\/a> to learn what\u2019s available in your state.<\/p>\n<p>The coronavirus has meant a boom in telehealth. Medicare benefits will now allow you to get medical or health services that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly occur in person. CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) adds that you can now be covered for \u201ccertain virtual services, like E-visits. See <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/Pubs\/pdf\/10050-Medicare-and-You.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">pages, 39, 48 and 50 here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>What will Biden do? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The president-elect, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, says Social Security benefits should be expanded. To pay for this, he\u2019s proposing to hike payroll taxes on people earning more than $400,000 a year. Both chambers of Congress would have to go along, however, and while Democrats control the House, control of the Senate hinges upon two runoffs on Jan. 5. Republicans only need to win one to maintain control. <\/p>\n<p>Biden has also said that the eligibility age for Medicare should be lowered five years to age 60. This would run into a buzz saw of resistance not just from Republicans, but also the hospital industry. Why? Because hospitals make a lot less money from Medicare patients than from patients who are covered by their work health plans. The industry fears a lower Medicare age could mean billions in lost revenue. <\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"\n              inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n        media-object\n        type-InsetCommentingPromo\n            \n            inline\n  article__inset\n        article__inset--type-InsetCommentingPromo\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Paul Brandus\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Paul_Brandus\"><\/span>Paul Brandus<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7BCDFF7182-4AB1-11EB-84EA-06B9F7923642%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Opinion: Social Security and Medicare: Key things to know in 2021 &#8221; A big Medicare change could save retirees hundreds Now that a new year is here\u2014good riddance to 2020, a truly terrible year\u2014there are lots of changes to retirement programs, investing and more that you need to be aware of. Let\u2019s get right&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}