The Social Security Administration recently announced that Social Security recipients will receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 3.2% for 2024.“Hold harmless” applies to people who pay the “standard” premium for Part B (the portion of Medicare that covers outpatient treatment such as doctor visits) and have it deducted from their Social Security benefits. Roughly 70 percent of Medicare enrollees fall into that category.
When the standard Part B rate rises, as it does most years, people in this group get what amounts to a discount on premiums if paying the full cost would reduce the dollar amount of their Social Security benefit from one year to the next.
But … rising Medicare premiums can prevent your benefits from going up, or going up as much as they otherwise would, by eating into increases from cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).
