Terms of use

“Retirement Equation”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the operator of retirementequation.com. We publish reference tables and explanations about Medicare costs — IRMAA, late enrollment penalties and the enrollment mechanics around them — with figures copied from, or derived under rules stated in, primary public sources: CMS, SSA POMS, the United States Code, the Federal Register and eCFR, the IRS and BLS.

We do not sell insurance. We do not enroll anyone in a plan, we do not refer you to agents, brokers or carriers, and we take no leads. We do not operate as a Third-Party Marketing Organization under 42 CFR §§ 422.2260–2276 or 423.2260–2276.

We are not the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, or any other government agency, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the United States government or the federal Medicare program.

Section 1140 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320b-10) prohibits conveying a false impression of government endorsement. We use no CMS or SSA seals, no Medicare-card imagery, and no design imitating a .gov site. Official information is at medicare.gov and ssa.gov.

Everything on this site — every table, calculation, form walkthrough and example — is general information. It is not:

• financial, tax, legal, insurance or medical advice;
• a determination of your IRMAA, premium, penalty or eligibility;
• an offer or solicitation to buy or sell anything;
• a substitute for SSA, CMS, the IRS, a State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or a professional who has your records.

SSA, not this site, determines IRMAA from tax records. CMS, not this site, publishes the official tables. A calculation here shows arithmetic on published amounts; it does not decide what you owe or what you should do.

We do not tell you to convert a retirement account, change a filing status, delay enrollment or file a form. Where a page walks through Form SSA-44 or CMS-L564, the official form and its instructions control. If our page and the form disagree, use the form.

For your own coverage: Social Security on 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or medicare.gov. For free counselling, a SHIP counsellor at shiphelp.org.

We copy published figures faithfully and show the source. We do not guarantee that every page is complete, current or free of error: agencies change amounts, and a page can lag its source.

Where a figure here does not match the CMS, SSA, IRS or other primary document it cites, that document controls. Please tell us at our corrections address. That address is for corrections, errors and omissions. It is not a help line and not an advice channel.

Please do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, Medicare numbers or completed government forms. Messages asking what you should do in your own situation will not get an individualised answer: we are not licensed as financial advisors, tax preparers, insurance agents or attorneys.

Where CMS has not yet published a year’s figures, we say so on the page and label any illustration as not being a CMS figure. Do not treat those as official tables.

This site is intended for adults in the United States. You confirm that you are at least 18, or that you are using it with a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Your right to use the site is personal, is not transferable, and is for lawful purposes only.

We or our licensors own the site: text, tables, layout, compilation and code. You may access and use it for personal reference, including printing a reasonable portion, so long as source notices stay intact.

Without our prior written permission, please do not:

• bulk-download or scrape the site beyond ordinary browsing and search-engine indexing;
• frame the site, use our name or design, or imply affiliation with us or with CMS or SSA;
• resell or republish our tables as your own original work;
• interfere with the site or place an unreasonable load on it.

Search engines and AI assistants are welcome. Our robots.txt allows them deliberately, and quoting a figure from here with a link back is exactly what this site is for. We ask only that the source document we cite is credited alongside us, because it is the authority and we are not.

Government documents we cite remain those agencies’ works. Linking to them here is not a licence from us to misuse them.

Any calculation on this site runs on amounts loaded from the data files described in section 1, and anything you type stays in your browser for that session. We do not use what you enter to sell you anything or to build a lead — see our privacy policy.

Output can still be wrong: the underlying table may be stale, you may enter the wrong income or filing status, or a tier boundary may be easy to misread. Check the cited CMS or SSA document before acting on anything here.

We link to official sources and sometimes to other third-party pages. Links are for convenience and are not an endorsement; those sites have their own terms and privacy practices, and we are not responsible for their content or their handling of your information.

The site may display advertising. Advertising is not a recommendation of any product, plan or carrier. We do not accept payment to alter a published CMS or SSA figure, and we do not use advertising to enrol anyone in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.

THE SITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, or that any table or walkthrough is complete or current. Official agency documents control. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers; if you live in one, parts of this section may not apply to you and you may have additional rights.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE INFORMATION, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN TOLD SUCH DAMAGES ARE POSSIBLE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF THE SITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED 100 U.S. DOLLARS (US $100).

We are not liable for a premium, penalty, tax or enrolment outcome. SSA, CMS, the IRS, a plan or a court decides those.

New Jersey residents: nothing here limits any right you have under New Jersey law that cannot be waived.

You will defend and indemnify us against third-party claims, damages and reasonable legal fees arising from your misuse of the site, your breach of these terms, or content you send us — except to the extent caused by our own wilful misconduct.

We may change, suspend or stop any part of the site at any time, and we may update these terms by posting a new version here with a new “last updated” date. Material changes will be noted on this page. Continued use after that date is acceptance.

These terms are governed by applicable United States federal law, including the Social Security Act provisions cited above, and by the law of the state in which the site’s operator is located.

Before bringing a claim, please email us with “Notice of dispute” and a short description. We will try in good faith to resolve it within 30 days. We do not require arbitration.

Under California Civil Code §1789.3, California users may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, 1625 North Market Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95834, or (800) 952-5210.

These terms and the privacy policy are the entire agreement about your use of the site. If a court strikes one clause, the rest stands. A failure to enforce a clause is not a waiver. Headings are for convenience. You may not assign these terms; we may assign them in connection with a reorganisation of the site.

Questions about these terms go to [email protected].