Avoiding Medicare IRMAA Surcharges

Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.

After taking a week off for spring break, welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I am your host, Mike Milligan. It's Monday, March 9th, down in Puerto Rico right now. The World Baseball Classic is in full swing with, uh, and really across 4 sites. In Japan, it's done. Puerto Rico is finishing up. 2 sites in the United States, Houston and Arizona, all, uh, I think it's Actually, Houston and Miami. Uh, everybody's gearing up to try to find out what country is, uh, going to claim the World Baseball Classic title this week. This past weekend, I had a chance to take in a couple games down in Puerto Rico, and, uh, excited to be back with you on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. Retirement's supposed to be the finish line. No alarms, no meetings, no commutes. But retirement doesn't just give you time. It quietly takes things away. And in 2026, those losses hit differently because prices are still up. Healthcare is pricier, and your paycheck replacement plan has to work in real time. Uh, on the One of a Kind Financial Show this weekend, Gary Nolan and I explored this very topic, and I wanted to share that segment with you next here. Enjoy, and remember, you are one of a kind.

Well, let's get started. Inflation is cooler than it was a couple of years ago, but it's not back to normal the way many retirees remember the CPI was 2.4% year over year in January of '26, core 2.5%. Now Social Security did get a COLA, 2.8% for 2026, which helped but doesn't automatically solve the cash flow gap if your spending is rising faster than your income plan. So when your paycheck stops, Mike, do you lose more than income? Do you lose confidence?

Well, a paycheck, that, uh, that, that time exchange of where you're actually working and somebody else puts money in your account, that whatever company, LLC, the federal government, the state government, when they put paychecks into your accounts, it's predictable. And predictability is calming. But retirement withdrawals feel optional until they're not, especially when a surprise expense shows up. So we have to create a retirement income plan in the one-of-a-kind of financial plan that's steady. It replicates your paychecks like you receive. And that predictability of those paychecks, they have to become not predictable, but reality. They have to hit monthly. They have to hit the same time every month. And that will take away the stress of market headlines or news that you cannot control. So ultimately, your stress does not go up just because you're not working for the income you need.

Yeah, absolutely. That's very important. I get this. Are you prepared for the 2-year echo effect on retirement decisions? What do we mean by that?

A lot of retirement costs aren't immediate. Let's take the 2-year echo effect, which most people don't know about. And that's the Medicare surcharges, all that is technically called IRMAA, Income in Respect of Medicare. That's based on income from 2 years prior. And one big income year can haunt you later. That means a single year of chunky capital gains, Roth conversions, or business income, like maybe the sale of a business, can raise future Medicare premiums. And so when you're, when you're not working with a financial professional who talks about taxes from a planning standpoint or talks about them often, these surprise events in your life, these surprise expenses can be catastrophic to a retirement income plan, especially when inflation is still relatively high.

Yeah, the show is the One of a Kind Financial Show with Mike Milligan. Mike is with Warnock Financial. I wanna get you on Mike's calendar, all set up with a comprehensive plan, or maybe have a question or two about today's show. Mike, the team, happy to answer any questions you may have. But if you want that one of a kind financial plan, it starts by picking up the phone and dialing this number, 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. Do it right now. The folks at Warnock Financial standing by this weekend and every weekend, ready for your phone calls. One more time on the number before we get back to segment 1: 800-748-1838, or text the word IDEAS to 600-700. So has your risk tolerance changed even though your portfolio hasn't, Mike?

Yeah, let's be for real, guys. Most people, when they retire, they figure out their Social Security strategy, their Medicare strategy, but they forget to go back in and update their, their investments to the new reality. Because if you're using a a safe withdrawal rate from your investments, or you're just going to leave your investments alone, then you can't take the same risk tolerance or the same level of risk into retirement that you had when you were working because you're not adding to it. When you're working, volatility is background noise because you're consistently adding money to the account. But in retirement, volatility can feel like a threat to your lifestyle. It is what causes disharmony at the dinner table with your spouse at night. Because you're living off your assets now. And so you can't continue to invest like a 45-year-old accumulator when you are a 60 or a 65-year-old retiree.

How about Roll Exit Theory? Who are you after this title?

So many high achievers don't miss the job. Let me say that again. Many people don't miss the job. What they miss is the mission, the respect, and the structure.

Yes.

They miss coming to work and having an impact on an outcome. So when people's purpose gets fuzzy, spending choices get weird. Some people tighten up out of fear, others spend to fill a void. How are you, our listeners, how are you going to replace the structure and meaning in retirement so you don't have to go back into the workforce? We have a vision for that. We call that Retirement Chi. that will help you build in your retirement plan.

All right, we got about a minute left. I'm going to hit you with one more. Are you replacing the benefits you need, used to ignore because HR used to handle them?

Employee benefits are like oxygen. You don't notice them until they're gone. In 2026, Medicare Part B standard premium is $202.90 a month, and the deductible is $283. And higher incomes can trigger steep IRMAA add-ons to that. So the same benefit just for a higher cost. So when you leave a job and you leave the benefits behind, there are retirement benefits that exist through the government, Medicare, and other benefits. You just got to price them accordingly based off where your income is. And that's why it's always better to build a plan before you actually put action into work.

All right, up against the clock. Mike's going to tell us about the one-of-a-kind financial plan. Go right ahead, Mike.

It's a noun and It's a noun, it's a verb, Gary. That's the thing about the plan. As a noun, it's a book that's on Amazon available for you to purchase, for you to read and digest, and for you to take charge and have a one-of-a-kind life. As a verb, it's an action that One Oak Financial puts into play for you. As a team of experts, we are committed to building a financial plan for you. It's not based off of our profit. It's not based off of our predisposed products that we use. It's really about you. It's about giving you retirement income so you can retire when you're worn out. It's about giving you a tax plan so you pay less tax over your whole life. It's about building a legacy, a long-term care, and an investment plan that takes today's risk into play and ultimately says, I love you. So the one-of-a-kind financial plan is a noun, is living for you to consume, verb, is for you to take action. And that action right now is for you to call us so we at One Oak Financial can build that plan for you. Gary, do you want to tell people how to get in contact with us?

Happy to do so, Mike, of course. 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. Or text the word IDEAS to 600-700. Folks, no cost, no obligation. Get a better handle on your financial situation. One more time before we take our first break. 800-748-1838 or text the word ideas to 600-700.

This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. Gary and I are here for education purposes only. Please do not take anything we say solely as financial recommendations for you personally because every situation is different. If, if you need specific financial advice, please reach out to us at Ideas by Mike, doing business as One Oak Financial. I am a registered investment advisor, investment advisor representative with Advisory Alpha LLC. Advisory LLC and Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial are separate and unrelated entities. Please consult with tax professionals before implementing tax strategies. And we look forward to seeing you again on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily.

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