“That’s the second-highest Part B premium increase in program history,” Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, told Yahoo Finance.
It hits just as seniors are coming to terms with the modest 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in the retirement benefit that starts in January. Taken together, it means the higher Medicare premiums will consume nearly a third of the average Social Security COLA, which is about $56 for 2026. The Social Security Administration says the average retired worker’s monthly benefit will rise from $2,015 to $2,071.
This is especially noteworthy when considered in relation to the COLA. “That’s a 9.7% rate of increase vs. a COLA rate of just 2.8%,” Johnson said. “Part B premiums are rising almost 3.5 times faster than the COLA.”