Part B Penalty Estimator

Enroll during your Initial Enrollment Period, or keep creditable coverage through a current employer and enroll through a Special Enrollment Period when that coverage ends. The key is making sure your coverage actually counts as creditable for Part B — COBRA and retiree plans often don't. We track your dates so you sign up at the right time.

For as long as you have Part B — it's a lifelong surcharge, not a one-time fee. Each full 12-month period you delayed without creditable coverage adds 10% to your monthly premium, and that amount stays added every month. Because it's permanent, avoiding it up front is almost always the cheaper path.

Usually no. COBRA and most retiree plans are generally not considered creditable coverage that lets you delay Part B without a penalty — only coverage from a current employer typically does. This catches a lot of people off guard, so confirm your situation before relying on COBRA to bridge the gap. We're glad to check it for you.

It's 10% of the standard Part B premium for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't, with partial periods rounded down. So a 14-month gap counts as one period (10%), while 25 months counts as two (20%). The surcharge is then added to your premium every month for life.

It adds 10% of the standard Part B premium for every full 12 months you went without coverage when eligible. So one year late means about 10% more each month, two years roughly 20%, and so on. Because the surcharge rides on the standard premium for life, it grows in dollar terms as premiums rise over the years. We can estimate your specific percentage from your dates.

It begins once you finally enroll in Part B and shows up as a higher monthly premium from your first Part B bill onward. There's no separate notice or lump sum — it's simply baked into what you pay each month. Since it then continues for as long as you keep Part B, catching the issue before you enroll is the only way to avoid it. We're glad to check your timeline.

Rarely. In most cases it's permanent once it applies. A few narrow exceptions exist — for example, if you can show you had creditable coverage that should have let you delay, or in certain situations involving incorrect information from a government source, you may be able to request a correction. Those cases are limited, so enrolling on time is far safer. We can help you review your records.

Usually not. Retiree plans and COBRA generally don't count as the current-employer coverage that protects you from the Part B penalty, and many people get caught assuming they do. The coverage that typically lets you delay is an active group plan tied to your or a spouse's current job. Before you rely on a retiree plan to bridge to Medicare, let us confirm whether it actually qualifies.

Three full years counts as three 12-month periods, so the surcharge would be about 30% added to your standard Part B premium, every month for as long as you have Part B. If part of that time you had creditable coverage through a current employer, those months wouldn't count against you. Send us your exact dates and we'll work out the real number rather than a rough guess.

It's calculated against the current standard Part B premium, not the one from when you first became eligible. That means the dollar amount of your penalty can rise over time as the standard premium increases, even though your penalty percentage stays fixed. It's another reason the cost of waiting tends to grow. We can estimate both the percentage and roughly what it means in dollars today.