Are Medicare Premiums Deducted from Social Security?

Yes. If you receive Social Security, your Medicare Part B premium is deducted from your monthly benefit before the payment reaches your bank account. In 2026, that standard deduction is $202.90 a month.¹ Any Part A premium you owe and any income-related surcharge come out of the same check. Premiums for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans are handled differently: they aren’t withheld unless you ask.

What Comes Out Automatically

Federal law directs the Social Security Administration to withhold your Part B premium from your monthly benefit and forward it to Medicare.² This applies whether you’re collecting retirement, disability, or survivor benefits. If you receive Railroad Retirement Board payments instead, the premium is deducted from those.

A few other charges ride along on the same deduction:

Part A premiums, if you owe them. Most people don’t, because they or a spouse earned at least 40 quarters of work credits. With 30–39 quarters, the 2026 Part A premium is $311 a month; with fewer than 30, it’s $565.¹
The Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) on Part B, which higher-income beneficiaries pay on top of the standard premium.³

The 2026 Part B premium climbs with income. Individuals with modified adjusted gross income above $109,000 (or joint filers above $218,000) pay a surcharge that ranges from $81.20 up to $487.00 a month at the top bracket, bringing the total Part B premium as high as $689.90.¹ Social Security uses your tax return from two years earlier to set the amount, so 2026 premiums are based on your 2024 income.⁴ Whatever surcharge applies to you is withheld from your Social Security payment along with the base premium.

What Isn’t Deducted Unless You Ask

Premiums for Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Part D drug plans are not withheld from Social Security automatically. If you want them deducted, contact your plan provider and request it. The insurer coordinates with Social Security to confirm your benefit is large enough to cover the premium, and the switch from direct billing to withholding takes roughly 60 days.

Keep paying your plan directly during that window so coverage doesn’t lapse. Once the deduction starts, it will show up on your monthly benefit statement. If it hasn’t appeared after two billing cycles, call the plan.

Two limits are worth knowing. If your monthly Social Security check is too small to cover the Part C or Part D premium, Social Security can’t process the withholding and you’ll keep paying the plan directly. And the Part D IRMAA surcharge, which uses the same income brackets as Part B and ranges from $14.50 to $91.00 a month in 2026, is billed by Medicare separately rather than pulled from Social Security.¹³

The Six-to-Eight-Week Startup Gap

When your Social Security payments first begin, automatic Medicare deductions can take six to eight weeks to kick in.³ During that gap, Medicare will bill you directly. Pay those bills on time. Once the withholding starts, you’ll see the deduction on your benefit statement, and each December Social Security sends a notice showing your benefit amount and Medicare premium deductions for the coming year.⁵

If You Have Medicare But Aren’t Collecting Social Security Yet

Plenty of people sign up for Medicare at 65 but delay Social Security to earn a larger benefit later. If that’s you, there’s nothing to deduct from, so Medicare bills you directly using a form called the CMS-500, typically covering three months of premiums at a time.⁶

You can pay the bill several ways:

Medicare Easy Pay, which pulls the amount automatically from your bank account each month
Your online Medicare account, using a credit card, debit card, or bank transfer
Mail, using the coupon on the bill with a check, money order, or card payment

Watch the due date. If your payment goes 90 days past due, your bill will show a coverage termination date and Medicare will end your coverage.⁷ Getting back in means waiting for the next General Enrollment Period and possibly paying a late enrollment penalty for the gap. Once you do start Social Security, the direct billing stops and the deduction takes over.

Hold Harmless: Why Your Check Usually Doesn’t Shrink

A federal rule known as the “hold harmless” provision keeps a Part B premium increase from cutting your net Social Security payment below the prior year’s amount. If the annual cost-of-living adjustment isn’t large enough to absorb the premium hike, your Part B deduction is capped so the check you receive doesn’t drop.⁸

To be protected, you need to already be receiving Social Security and have your Part B premiums deducted from those benefits in both November and December of the current year. Three groups are excluded:

First-time Part B enrollees, who pay the full standard premium
Higher-income beneficiaries who owe IRMAA
Dual-eligible beneficiaries whose state Medicaid agency pays their Part B premium

Checking What’s Being Withheld

Sign in to your my Social Security account at ssa.gov to see your current Medicare premium withholding. Your benefit verification letter lists your Medicare number and the premium amounts.⁹ If premiums aren’t being deducted and you think they should be, Social Security will point you to Medicare to sort it out. Keep your name, address, and contact information current in your Social Security record, since Medicare pulls from that data for your account.

1
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395s – Payment of Premiums
3
Medicare. How to Pay Part A and Part B Premiums
4
Social Security Administration. Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount – Life-Changing Event (Form SSA-44)
5
Social Security Administration. Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
6
Medicare. Medicare Premium Bill (CMS-500)
7
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Understanding Your Medicare Premium Bill (CMS-500)
8
Social Security Administration. How the Hold Harmless Provision Protects Your Benefits
9
Social Security Administration. Manage Your Medicare Benefits