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2027 Social Security COLA: How Much of Your Raise Will Medicare Part B Take?

A blank sheet of paper and a pen on a kitchen counter, with a sticky note reading “$75?”.
Photo by Marc Pell on Unsplash

The 2026 Social Security raise came to about $56 a month for the average retiree. Then the Part B premium went up $17.90. Close to a third of the raise was gone before it reached anyone's bank account. The 2027 raise and the 2027 Part B premium are set weeks apart, and the second comes out of the first. How much you keep depends on your own check, and on a one-page notice that arrives in early December.

See the 4 lines to check in December

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By Margaret Linwood · Updated Oct 16, 2026 · Reviewed against SSA, CMS, Medicare Trustees Report, Medicare.gov, KFF

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Colorful pills spilling from an orange prescription bottle on a blue background, with a sticky note reading “+$300?”. Medicare Your Part D deductible can reach $700 in January. Check this line A stack of U.S. quarters on a white surface, with a sticky note reading “$202.90 a month?”. Medicare Your state may pay your Part B premium. Check one income line

The raise is a percentage. The Part B increase is a flat dollar amount, about the same for nearly everyone. So a bigger check gets more dollars out of the raise, while a smaller one pays the same premium increase out of fewer of them.

Part B isn't the only thing standing between your gross benefit and your deposit, either. There can be up to three more deductions, and each one has its own fix. The notice that lists them all often shows up just days before the December 7 deadline for most of the choices behind it.

See what else comes out of your check

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When the floor under your check doesn't apply

One rule in the law, called hold harmless, trims your Part B increase when it's bigger in dollars than your raise, so your net payment doesn't fall below last year's. It doesn't reach everyone, though.

  1. New to Part B. If 2027 is your first year on Part B, the rule doesn't cover you, so plan around the full premium.
  2. An income surcharge. People who pay IRMAA, the extra Part B charge for higher incomes, are outside the rule. That surcharge looks at a tax return from two years back, so an old, higher income can put you in this group.
  3. A bill instead of a deduction. If Part B is billed to you directly rather than withheld from your benefit, the protection doesn't apply.
  4. State help already in place. If your state already pays your Part B premium, the rule doesn't apply, since the premium isn't coming out of your check in the first place.

Even when the floor holds, it only promises your deposit won't shrink. It says nothing about how much of the raise you get to keep, or whether your state could take over the premium for you.

See if your state could pay Part B

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