Key Takeaways
- Medicare adds 10% to the Part B premium for each full 12-month period someone could have signed up and didn’t, and for most people the surcharge lasts as long as they have Part B.
- On the 2026 standard premium of $202.90 a month, three missed years add $60.87 a month, or $730.44 a year.
- The penalty falls on people who sign up late with no Special Enrollment Period, such as retirees without coverage from a job.
- Signing up in the 7-month window around 65 avoids it, and CMS sets next year’s premium in November, which changes the penalty’s dollar cost.
It’s pretty rare to find insurance that will charge you extra for not using it.
But that’s exactly what happens if you’re eligible for Medicare Part B and delay signing up for it.
Consider a hypothetical 68-year-old retiree has no coverage from a job and never signed up for Medicare Part B when she turned 65. If she signs up between January 1 and March 31, she’ll pay 30% more than the standard premium for as long as she has Part B.
At 2026’s price, that’s $730.44 a year, and it’s usually for life.
10% for every year you wait
According to Medicare.gov, anyone who signs up for Part B late, without a Special Enrollment Period, pays an extra 10% for each full 12-month period they could have signed up and didn’t.
The penalty doesn’t fade with time. Medicare says it’s usually charged for as long as someone has Part B. For most people, that means a lifetime penalty.
The way to avoid it is pretty simple: Sign up on time. The first window opens around the 65th birthday and lasts 7 months: it starts 3 months before someone turns 65 and ends 3 months after the month of the birthday.
Anyone who misses it with no other coverage has to wait for the General Enrollment Period, which runs from January 1 to March 31 each year. Each year spent waiting adds another 10%.
That’s why the penalty lands on a narrower group than you might think. People who still have coverage through a job usually have a Special Enrollment Period. The penalty is for people who leave work, or never had job coverage, and don’t sign up.
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What three years cost
Our retiree let three full 12-month periods pass without the Part B she could have had. At 10% for each, her penalty is 30%.
CMS set the 2026 standard Part B premium at $202.90 a month. Here’s what 30% adds to it:
- The penalty is 30% of $202.90, or $60.87 a month.
- Her monthly premium comes to $263.77, against $202.90 for someone who signed up on time.
- Over 12 months, the penalty adds $730.44, which lifts her year of Part B premiums to $3,165.24 from $2,434.80.
That’s a 30% raise on a bill she’ll pay every month for the rest of her life, for a decision she made at 65.
Waiting longer makes it worse. If she let a fourth full 12-month period pass before signing up, her penalty would rise to 40%. At 2026’s premium, that’s $81.16 a month, or $973.92 a year.
The window at 65 is the cheap one
For anyone approaching 65 without coverage from a job, the 7-month window is the one that matters. Signing up during it means no late penalty at all, whatever the premium does later.
For someone already past that window, like our retiree, the next General Enrollment Period is the earliest chance to stop the count from growing. Each January-to-March window she skips adds another 10% to a surcharge that usually never comes off.
People who are still working and covered through a job are in a different spot. A Special Enrollment Period usually lets them delay Part B without the penalty. Anyone in that group who leaves the job, or loses the coverage, is back on the clock.
The dollar cost resets in November
The penalty is a percentage of the premium, so its dollar cost moves with whatever CMS sets each year. CMS publishes next year’s Part B premium in November. It released 2026’s figures on Nov. 14, 2025.
If the 2027 premium comes in higher, our retiree’s $60.87 a month grows with it. Her 30% stays the same, applied to a new number every year.
So skipping Part B for three years without job coverage costs $730.44 a year at today’s premium. And for most people, that surcharge stays on the bill for as long as they have Part B. The one thing that changes it is the premium itself, and next year’s figure is a few weeks away.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
