Will my first Social Security payment be reduced for Medicare premiums I've already paid in advance?

the ssa computers don't talk to the medicare computers very well lol... they will DEFINITELY take out your medicare premium even if you paid ahead. happened to my wife last year. you'll eventually get a refund but it took almost 3 months. seriously frustrating!!!!

Your application timeline isn't unusual - SSA is typically taking 2-3 months to process retirement applications right now. Regarding the Medicare premiums, here's what will happen: 1. When your Social Security starts, SSA will automatically begin deducting your Part B premium regardless of what you've paid directly to Medicare. 2. The Medicare system will eventually recognize you've paid in advance and issue you a refund for the overlapping months. This isn't automatic - you'll need to contact the Medicare Premium Collection Center at 1-800-633-4227 to request the refund. 3. Going forward, you should stop making direct payments to Medicare once your benefits start, as all future premiums will come out of your Social Security. Don't worry about your Stage 2 status - that's normal processing. If you haven't heard anything by mid-March, then I'd suggest trying to contact SSA.

When I went through this exact situation in 2023, I received a letter from Medicare (not SSA) about 6 weeks after my Social Security started. The letter explained I had overpaid and gave me two options: request a refund OR have them credit future premiums. I chose the credit option and they just didn't deduct Medicare premiums from my Social Security for the months I had paid ahead. Much simpler than waiting for a refund check! As for your application being stuck, that's unfortunately pretty standard these days. If you need to reach SSA urgently, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a representative in about 15 minutes after I'd spent days trying on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth considering if your patience runs out. Good luck!

WAIT DON'T LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE!! You need to IMMEDIATELY call Medicare and cancel your direct payments or you'll be double charged for MONTHS and getting a refund from the government is a NIGHTMARE!!! I had to wait 8 MONTHS for my refund check and had to call CONSTANTLY. The SSA and Medicare systems are COMPLETELY BROKEN. Also your application should NOT take this long - something is wrong and you need to go to your local office ASAP!!

im in almost the same boat applied in december for january start but im 70 so delayed credits and all that. my online account also says stage 2 for like 6 weeks now. medicare comes out of my wifes ss check so dont have that issue thank god

My SS application took almost 3 months to process last year, and I also had this Medicare premium overlap issue. For me, the local office was actually super helpful - I made an appointment and the rep put notes in my file about the advance Medicare payments. Still took about 8 weeks to get it all sorted out, but it did get fixed eventually. I wouldn't panic yet about your application timeline, but definitely keep checking your MySocialSecurity account for updates.

A few important facts to understand: 1) Medicare and Social Security are separate systems that don't communicate in real-time, which is why these overlaps happen. 2) For a January 2025 entitlement date filing in November 2024, your first payment would typically arrive in February (paid one month in arrears). Given current processing times, March is more likely. 3) By law, Medicare Part B premiums must be deducted from Social Security benefits when available - this isn't optional. However, CMS (which manages Medicare) tracks advance payments. 4) The standard procedure is that Medicare will identify the duplicate payment and either: - Issue a refund check for overpaid premiums - Apply a credit to future premiums The most efficient approach is to wait for your first SSA payment, then contact the Medicare Premium Collection Center specifically about the overlapping premium issue. Request the credit option rather than a refund for faster resolution.

my brother had this happen in 2024 and they ended up taking the medicare premium twice! he had to wait like 3 months to get his money back. government efficiency at its finest lol

Quick update for everyone following this thread: SSA processing times for retirement benefits have improved slightly in the past few weeks. Applications filed in November/December 2024 are now being completed in about 8-9 weeks on average, so the original poster should likely see movement very soon. The Medicare premium refund process has not changed, however - still expect 8-12 weeks for that resolution once benefits begin.