Social Security & Medicare Education
Timing decisions that shape your retirement
The short answer
When you claim Social Security and how you manage Medicare and IRMAA can change your lifetime income and healthcare costs by a meaningful amount. These are decisions worth understanding before you make them.
Social Security: the claiming decision
You can generally claim as early as 62, at your full retirement age, or as late as 70. Claiming earlier means smaller monthly checks; waiting means larger ones. The “right” age depends on your health, your spouse, your other income, and taxes. For married couples, coordinating both benefits — and protecting the survivor — is especially important.
Medicare and IRMAA
Most people become eligible for Medicare at 65. Higher-income retirees may pay an income-related surcharge on their premiums called IRMAA, which is based on your tax return from two years earlier. That two-year lookback is why decisions like Roth conversions and large withdrawals need to consider Medicare timing.
Have questions about your own situation? Tracy is glad to talk it through with you — clearly and without pressure.