The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law by former American President Joe Biden and restored federal workers’ Social Security benefits retroactively to January 2024. Besides the obvious increase in the benefits because of the act, another thing that might change for the beneficiaries is the way they pay their Medicare premiums and how much money is needed for the same.
Before the Social Security Fairness Act, beneficiaries had to make direct Medicare premium payments. However, after the act, those who are covered by Social Security benefits, will have their medical premiums deducted directly from their social security money.
However, it is important to note here that if someone is making direct payments for their medical premiums, they should continue to do so until asked otherwise. It has been mentioned by the Social Security Administration that no changes should be made by the beneficiaries and they should keep paying as per their normal methods until they receive notice from the SSA informing them that their Social Security records have been updated.
After that notice, the medical premium payments will be deducted directly from the Social Security payments. In case of prepaid premiums that are eligible for refunds, the SSA will take care of that as well.
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People who make their medical premium payments online will have to follow a different process to get on board with the automated payments. As reported by GoBaninkingRates, people using Medicare Easy Pay have to “complete the Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payments form (SF-5510) to stop the payments.” For those who use the online bill payment method, they will need to log into their account or contact the bank to stop the payments.
The change brought forth by the Social Security Benefit Act might also impact the payment one makes for their medical premium. As reported by GoBankingRates, “Most beneficiaries pay the standard premium, which is $185 in 2025 and covers 25% of the cost of Parts B and D. The government subsidizes the rest. But higher-income individuals pay a larger share — 35% to 85% of the total cost, depending on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).”
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The report further adds, “In 2025, you’re considered a high-income beneficiary if your MAGI is more than $106,000, or more than $212,000 for married joint filers. However, Medicare uses the MAGI from your IRS tax return two years prior in its premium calculations, so be aware that you might not see the premium increase until 2026, based on your 2024 tax return.”
Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the changes that the SSA is bringing forth to make sure that the beneficiaries make the most out of their Social Security benefits.
