Does Medicare Take Your $79 COLA in 2027? A Veteran Asked. Here Is the Answer.

A veteran asked me if Medicare takes his $79 COLA in 2027. The Social Security 2027 COLA forecast puts his raise at roughly $79 a month. He asked because he remembers last year. Last year the average Social Security raise was $56 a month. Medicare took $17.90 of it before most veterans ever saw a dime. Almost a third of the raise, gone.

His question makes perfect sense. And the answer surprised him.

The projected answer is $6.60. But the number comes with three catches. The third catch is the reason my 82-year-old dad does not worry about this question at all.

The 2027 COLA Forecast

The Senior Citizens League currently forecasts the 2027 COLA, the cost of living adjustment, at 3.8%. The official number gets announced on October 14, 2026. Every Social Security 2027 COLA forecast is still a projection until then, and the 2027 COLA predictions will keep moving as new inflation data comes in. If the forecast holds, the average retired worker check of about $2,071 a month goes up roughly $79 a month.

What Medicare Takes From the 2027 COLA

The 2026 Part B premium is $202.90 a month. The Medicare Trustees Report projects the 2027 premium at $209.50. The projected increase is $6.60.

Last year the raise got eaten. This year, most of the raise is projected to land in your pocket. Before you celebrate, you need to hear the three catches.

Catch 1: The $6.60 Is a Projection

Projections on this number have a history of coming in low. The $209.50 figure comes from the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report. One year earlier, the same report projected the 2027 premium at $218.60. Private forecasters looking at actual spending data currently project somewhere between $216 and $219.

If the private forecasters are right, the increase is not $6.60. It is $13 to $16 a month. Nobody knows the real number until Medicare announces it in November 2026.

The honest answer to the veteran’s question is this. The bite is projected to be small. It might not stay small. And either way, the increase was never the real problem.

Catch 2: The Raise Is the Headline. The Premium Is the Bill.

Everyone argues about the $6.60 increase. Nobody talks about the $209.50 itself. The 2027 COLA is the headline everyone reads. The premium is the bill everyone pays. Even if the projection holds perfectly, you are still paying $209.50 a month for Part B. About $2,514 a year.

If you are drawing Social Security, the premium comes out of your check before the deposit hits your bank. If you are not drawing Social Security yet, Medicare bills you directly every quarter. And the premium goes up almost every year.

Catch 3: Page 11

Catch number three is sitting on Page 11 of a handbook the government mailed to your house. Medicare Advantage, also called Part C, is the part of Medicare almost nobody explains to veterans.

Medicare rules allow Part C plans to have premiums as low as $0 per month. And the second half of the quote is Medicare’s own language. Options exist for your Part B premium.

Here is what you need to know. To be eligible for Part C, you must have Medicare Part A and Part B. You cannot skip Part B and get Part C. Part A and Part B are the foundation. And Part C plans are not allowed to change your VA health benefits in any way. Your VA benefits stay exactly the same.

The Proof: Dad’s Actual Medicare Account

My 82-year-old dad Wallace is a Vietnam-era veteran. He worked his whole life. He paid into Medicare through FICA on every single paycheck. Military service, civilian jobs, it did not matter. FICA came out. Then he turned 65, and the system he paid into for 40 years started sending him a bill for Part B.

A few weeks ago I told him about the 2027 COLA forecast. The 3.8% raise. The projected premium increase. You know what he did? He laughed.

In the video above, we log into Dad’s real Medicare.gov account on screen. Here is what the account shows.

Dad’s Part C plan costs $0 per month. Dad is not receiving any low income subsidies. Because of what Page 11 describes, Dad gets $185 of his $202.90 Part B premium covered. Dad pays $17.90 a month for Part B. Not a claim. Not a story. The account is on your screen in the video.

When your Part B bill is $17.90 a month, a projected $6.60 increase is not a crisis. It is a rounding error.

And Dad is not the only one. The average veteran who goes through our process has $145 of their Part B premium covered. Some veterans have more covered. Some have less.

The 2027 COLA Double Raise for Veterans With a Disability Rating

2027 is projected to be a double raise year for you. The same 2027 COLA drives both checks. Federal law ties your VA disability compensation increase to the same cost of living adjustment as Social Security. Congress passed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act in 2026. The increase takes effect December 1, with the first adjusted payment landing in January 2027.

Run the numbers on a 100% rating. The 2026 rate for a veteran with no dependents is $3,938.58 a month. At 3.8%, the raise is roughly $150 more per month if the forecast holds. Add the projected $79 from Social Security and you are looking at around $225 more per month between the two checks.

And here is the part almost nobody mentions. Your VA disability compensation is tax-free. It is not in your adjusted gross income. The IRS does not see it. It does not push you into a higher Medicare premium bracket. Your VA raise arrives clean. Two raises. One tax-free. And if your county has the right Part C option, Medicare takes almost none of it.

Three Veterans. Same 2027 COLA. Three Outcomes.

Veteran one watches $6.60 come out of his raise and calls it a win. He never finds out whether options exist in his county. He pays the full premium without ever asking the question.

Veteran two listened to bad advice years ago and skipped Part B. Now he pays a 50% penalty on top of his premium every month. For life. His raise does not go in his pocket. His raise goes to the penalty. And the penalty grows every time the premium grows. It is a double whammy.

Veteran three did what Dad did. He looked at the Part C options in his county. He enrolled on time. He used what he earned. Now his Part B bill is a fraction of what veteran one pays, and his raise lands in his pocket. His VA benefits did not change. Medicare Advantage working harder for him.

Same raise. Three completely different outcomes. Which veteran are you going to be?

What You Do With This

If you are approaching 65, you have a seven-month window around your birthday to enroll without penalties. Three months before, your birthday month, three months after. Miss the window and the penalties last for life. No reset button.

If you are already on Medicare, October 15 through December 7 is when you look at what is available in your county for 2027, with the official 2027 COLA number in hand.

You earned Medicare. Part C makes Medicare work harder for you.

2027 COLA Quick Reference

Watch the full video, including the live walkthrough of Dad’s Medicare.gov account: https://youtu.be/E3snMhHslw8

Veterans are sharing their experiences here: veteransadvantagefinancial.vet/our-veteran-client-testimonials