I am honestly confused by all the angst towards IRMAA "penalties" (actually brackets) displayed on this board.
I fully understand that the implementation includes steps and that some planning to avoid needlessly exceeding a single step may be warranted. Yet I never hear advice to increase, e.g., withdrawals in retirement to carry one toward a higher step to avoid a massively high local incremental tax rate. Instead, I hear constant advice to "limit retirement income" and "limit tIRA size" seemingly to avoid paying a higher IRMAA bracket at all costs.
"Limit retirement income and you can avoid higher health care costs" seems exactly parallel to "Limit your working income so you can avoid higher income tax rates."
Some years ago my father gave me this advice when I mentioned IRMAA: "You can't avoid it, just pay it and don't worry about it." With each passing discussion I read on the topic the more prone I am to value his original advice.
If your income is sufficiently high to put you in a higher IRMAA bracket, by definition you can afford the additional Medicare premium. Is there a situation out there where IRMAA can cause an actual hardship, or is it just the case that everyone wants to pay as little as possible?
I fully understand that the implementation includes steps and that some planning to avoid needlessly exceeding a single step may be warranted. Yet I never hear advice to increase, e.g., withdrawals in retirement to carry one toward a higher step to avoid a massively high local incremental tax rate. Instead, I hear constant advice to "limit retirement income" and "limit tIRA size" seemingly to avoid paying a higher IRMAA bracket at all costs.
"Limit retirement income and you can avoid higher health care costs" seems exactly parallel to "Limit your working income so you can avoid higher income tax rates."
Some years ago my father gave me this advice when I mentioned IRMAA: "You can't avoid it, just pay it and don't worry about it." With each passing discussion I read on the topic the more prone I am to value his original advice.
If your income is sufficiently high to put you in a higher IRMAA bracket, by definition you can afford the additional Medicare premium. Is there a situation out there where IRMAA can cause an actual hardship, or is it just the case that everyone wants to pay as little as possible?
Statistics: Posted by HeavyChevy — Wed Aug 14, 2024 9:09 am — Replies 48 — Views 1292