Medicare Benefits per Dollar Paid, by Earnings Level

Ratio of lifetime Medicare benefits (net-of-premiums) to payroll taxes at age 65

Notes: Author’s calculations for a worker turning age 65 in 2025. Calculations assume each worker earns a constant, wage-indexed salary from ages 21 to 64. Medicare benefits reflect the net present value of expected per-enrollee outlays for Medicare Parts A, B, and D, based on the 2025 Medicare Trustees Report. Expected lifetime Medicare benefits are estimated using Social Security cohort life tables. Present value calculations use a two percent real discount rate and are inflation-adjusted using the CPI-W. Wage growth and inflation assumptions are based on the historical data and intermediate projections in the 2025 Social Security Trustees Report. We do not account for Income-Related Medicare premiums or low-income premium support in estimating lifetime Medicare benefits.
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