Q:  My wife and I run a small business and I’m turning 65 this year.  May I postpone enrolling in Medicare Part B?  My income is more than $190,000 and I’m concerned I will have to pay more because my income is over the limit.

A:  Typically, working adults age 65 and older can delay enrolling in Medicare without penalty, if they continue to receive group health insurance through their employer.  The employer, however, must have more than 20 or more employees.  Employers with fewer than 20, fall under Medicare primary payer rules.  Under current law, Medicare is the primary payer at age 65 and if you don’t sign up by your Initial Enrollment deadline, your former insurance will no longer cover you, because by law, Medicare pays first.  In addition, you would be subject to permanent late enrollment penalties for the rest of your life when you do get around to signing up for Medicare.

Due to your income, you are subject to paying high income premium surcharges for both Part B and Part D drug coverage.  The income brackets that determine the amount of your premiums have been adjusted for inflation this year after no adjustments in 2011 through 2019.

To determine your 2020 income-related premium amounts, Social Security uses your most recent federal tax return which would be for tax year 2018, that you filed in 2019.  The 2020 Part B total premiums for high income beneficiaries are shown in the following table:

Premiums for high-income beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, but file a separate return, are as follows:

Medicare.gov has details about Medicare costs at :

https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance .

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