67-Year-Old Who Stayed on COBRA Discovers Medicare Premium Is Now Higher for Life

67-Year-Old Who Stayed on COBRA Discovers Medicare Premium Is Now Higher for Life Carl Sullivan Mon, August 17, 2026 at 10:09 AM EDT 5 min read Quick Read COBRA coverage does not count as creditable for Medicare Part B, so retirees who rely on it miss the 8-month Special Enrollment Period and face a permanent penalty. The Part B penalty adds 10% of the standard premium for each year of delay, stacking permanently on top of any IRMAA surcharge and growing as premiums rise. Only workers with active group coverage at employers with 20 or more employees can safely delay Part B past 65 without triggering a lifetime surcharge. Many financial professionals are salespeople paid on what they push, not whether you end up wealthier. A fiduciary is the opposite. The SEC legally requires them to put your interests first. Advisor.com's free matching tool pairs you with vetted fiduciaries from major national firms, all in under three minutes. See who you match with today. A man retires at 65 with a comfortable nest egg, keeps his employer health plan through COBRA because the coverage is familiar and generous, and lets the 18 months run out. He then applies for Medicare Part B and gets a letter with a premium noticeably higher than the standard rate, and a note that the surcharge stays on his bill for life. designer491 / iStock via Getty Images This is the Part B late-enrollment penalty. It is separate from IRMAA, stacks on top of IRMAA, and unlike almost every other Medicare cost, it is pe…