Retirement Income Planning

Why Medicare and income planning belong together

Medicare's income-related surcharge uses your income from two years earlier. A Roth conversion, a large capital gain, or a lump-sum distribution can therefore raise your Medicare premiums two years later — a connection most people discover only when the notice arrives.

In 2026 the Part B premium ranges from $284.10 to $689.90 a month by tier, against a standard $202.90 (CMS). Planning around the thresholds is real money.

Appealing IRMAA after a life change

If your income fell because you retired, were widowed, divorced, or lost a pension, you can ask Social Security to use current income instead of the two-year-old figure. File form SSA-44 — see ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa. It's one of the most commonly missed savings in Medicare.

The long-term care question

Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care, and neither does Medigap. That's the largest uncovered risk in most retirement plans. The options are self-funding, insurance, or Medicaid once assets are spent down — see long-term care coverage and the NM Aging & Long-Term Services Department.

Guaranteed income

Covering essential expenses with income you can't outlive — Social Security, a pension, and possibly an annuity — lets you take sensible risk with the rest. The honest caveats about liquidity, fees, and inflation are on our annuities page.

The survivor gap

When one spouse dies the household keeps the larger Social Security benefit and loses the smaller one entirely, while the survivor still pays a Part B premium. For couples with different earnings histories that's a permanent income drop worth planning for — see life insurance.

How we work

We start from what you want to happen, not from a product, and we'll tell you when the answer is to do nothing. We are licensed insurance advisors, not investment advisors or tax professionals — for tax and investment strategy we'll say plainly when you need a CPA or a fiduciary planner.

Not sure which of these fits you? A free 15-minute call with a licensed local advisor sorts it out — no pressure, and no cost to you. We do not offer every plan available in your area. For a complete list of every plan in your county, use Medicare Plan Compare or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

How a planning conversation actually goes

We start with the shape of your retirement rather than with any product.

• What your essential monthly expenses are, and what already covers them.
• What Social Security and any pension provide, and when you'll claim.
• What would happen to household income if one spouse died.
• Whether a long-term care need would be funded from savings, insurance, or Medicaid.
• What income you expect to report over the next few years, given IRMAA looks back two.

Often the conclusion is that nothing needs buying — the plan simply needs sequencing, or an IRMAA appeal needs filing. We'd rather reach that conclusion with you than sell around it.