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☕ DrinkCoffeeAndProfit
Smart money moves before breakfast
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
Take a look at this stack of papers covered in black marker:
What you’re looking at are the 750 White House files President Trump quietly “redacted” behind closed doors.
But what happened next was even more peculiar…
You see, directly after deleting federal files that had been in place since Jimmy Carter was in office…
Strangely enough, he didn’t utter a single word about it to the cameras. Even more fascinating, it turns out, Trump’s not acting alone…
If you follow the money trail…
Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates… even an up-and-coming tech titan who the late Charlie Munger referred to as, “the new emperor of the world”… have all poured billions into the same area.
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Inspiration Quote for the Day
“The hardest financial skill is getting the goalpost to stop moving.”
— Morgan Housel
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The Morning Ritual
Your Social Security Raise Was $56. Here Is How Much Actually Hit Your Account.
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My aunt sat down at her kitchen table in January with a calculator and her Social Security letter. The letter said her benefit was going up `2.8%`. For her, that meant `$56` more a month. She circled it in pen. Then she checked her bank deposit in February. The increase was `$38`. She checked it twice.
The missing `$18` was not a mistake. It was Medicare. And nobody warned her that the fine print in one government formula would quietly erase a third of another government promise.
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In One Sip
► The `2026` Social Security COLA added roughly `$56` a month to the average retiree’s check, raising the benefit from `$2,015` to `$2,071`.
► Medicare Part B premiums rose `9.7%`, from `$185` to `$202.90` a month. That `$17.90` increase is automatically deducted from Social Security checks.
► Net gain for the average retiree: about `$38` a month. Medicare consumed nearly a third of the entire COLA before a single dollar reached anyone’s grocery budget.
► This is the third straight year Part B premiums have outpaced the COLA. In `2024`, the premium rose `6%` against a `3.2%` COLA. In `2025`, it rose `5.8%` against `2.5%`.
► For retirees earning above `$109,000` (single) or `$218,000` (joint), income-adjusted surcharges called IRMAA push monthly Part B premiums as high as `$689.90`. Some lost more than `70%` of their COLA to Medicare alone.
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Why It Matters for Your Money
Start with the number everyone saw: `2.8%`. Now do the kitchen-table math.
The average retiree got `$56` more a month. Medicare took `$17.90`. The Part B deductible rose `$26` for the year. Net monthly gain: roughly `$38`.
Now spend that `$38`. Food prices are up `3.2%`. Energy is up double digits. Shelter climbed `3.3%`. By the time a retiree buys the same groceries, fills the same tank, and pays the same rent, the `$38` is gone. The “raise” bought nothing new.
The structural problem is the formula. Social Security calculates the COLA using CPI-W, an index that tracks spending for urban wage earners. Not retirees. An experimental index called CPI-E, which weights healthcare and housing more heavily, would have produced a COLA closer to `3.2%`. That gap means about `$10` more per month, every month, for life. Nobody votes on it.
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The Wealth Angle
The real squeeze hits retirees who do not think of themselves as wealthy. IRMAA uses your tax return from two years ago. If your adjusted gross income in `2024` crossed `$109,000` single or `$218,000` joint, your Part B premium jumps.
One-time income spikes trigger it. Selling a house, converting a traditional IRA to Roth, taking a required minimum distribution from a larger-than-expected balance. One good year on paper can cost `$100` to `$500` more per month in premiums the following year. And if your income has since dropped, you can file Form SSA-44 to request a lower premium. Most people do not know this form exists.
There is also good news buried in the same system. The Part D prescription drug cap dropped from `$8,000` in `2024` to `$2,100` in `2026`. Ten commonly prescribed drugs now carry negotiated prices that cut costs roughly in half. And a new Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs monthly instead of paying at the pharmacy. You have to opt in. Nobody enrolls you automatically.
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☕ Key Insight:
Your Social Security raise was `$56`. Medicare took `$18` before it landed. Inflation took the rest. The only way to keep more of your check is to audit the deductions: challenge your IRMAA bracket, claim the Part D drug cap, and opt into the payment plan. The raise will not save you. The phone calls will.
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Coffee Break Move
If you are on Medicare: Log into my Social Security at ssa.gov. Check whether you are paying an IRMAA surcharge. If your income dropped since `2024`, download Form SSA-44 and request a redetermination. This can save `$100` to `$500` a month.
If you take expensive prescriptions: Ask your pharmacist whether any of your drugs are among the `10` with new negotiated prices. Then call your Part D plan about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. It spreads your costs across the year instead of front-loading them at the counter.
My aunt rechecked her numbers last week. She had been paying an IRMAA surcharge because of a small Roth conversion she did in `2024`. She filed the form. Her premium dropped `$81` a month. She said the calculator finally made sense. She circled the new number in green.
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