Medicare Savings Program income limits for 2026 run from $1,350 a month for a single person under QMB, the program that pays the most, up to $1,816 a month under QI, the last tier that still pays the Part B premium. For married couples the range is $1,824 to $2,455. In most states countable savings must also stay under $9,950 for one person or $14,910 for a couple. Qualify for any of the three and your state pays the $202.90 monthly Part B premium, which comes to $2,434.80 over a year.
State Medicaid offices run these programs, not Social Security or Medicare, so the application goes to the state. The federal figures above work as a floor. Some states set higher limits, and some skip the savings test entirely.
The four programs and their 2026 limits
There are four Medicare Savings Programs, and the state decides which one fits you when you apply. Medicaid.gov publishes the limits each year in its 2026 dual eligible standards, with separate, higher rows for Alaska and Hawaii. A single person in Alaska, for instance, can have up to $1,683 a month and still qualify for QMB.
QMB, the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, is the broad one. It pays the Part B premium, the Part A premium for anyone who doesn’t get Part A free, and the deductibles, coinsurance and copays in Parts A and B. SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary) and QI (Qualifying Individual) pay only the Part B premium. QDWI is a narrow program for people under 65 who lost premium-free Part A after going back to work with a disability, and it pays only the Part A premium.
All three of the main programs come with Extra Help for Part D drug costs, without a separate application. In 2026 that caps what you pay at $12.65 for each covered prescription.
Does the $20 disregard change the limit?
It’s already in there. Medicaid.gov labels each limit as a share of the federal poverty level plus $20, the monthly income disregard borrowed from the SSI program. QMB is 100% of poverty plus $20, SLMB is 120% plus $20, QI is 135% plus $20. So there is no need to knock $20 off your income before you compare. Do that and you count the disregard twice. Put your gross monthly income next to the table as printed.
Gross is the word that matters for Social Security. Most people have the Part B premium taken out of their monthly payment, so the deposit in the bank is smaller than the benefit. Use the benefit amount on your annual Social Security letter, before Medicare comes out, not what actually lands in your account.
Income from a job gets gentler treatment. The Medicare guide to getting help with costs says people with earnings may qualify even when their income is above these limits, since a paycheck is counted more leniently than a pension or a Social Security check.
What counts as savings, and what doesn’t
Plenty of people assume everything they own counts toward the resource limit. It doesn’t. Checking and savings balances, stocks and bonds are counted. Your home, one car, a burial plot, up to $1,500 set aside for burial costs, and your furniture and other household and personal items are left out. A retiree with a paid-off house worth $300,000, a 2017 Camry and $8,000 in the bank is under the $9,950 limit.
The burial money only escapes the count if it’s actually set aside for that purpose. $1,500 sitting in an ordinary savings account alongside everything else is just savings. Ask the Medicaid office how your state wants a burial fund labeled before you apply.
Some states drop the resource test entirely for QMB, SLMB and QI, and others set it higher than the federal amount. Medicare’s own guide puts it bluntly, saying the only way to know if you qualify is to apply.
Two households, worked through
A widow, 72, gets a Social Security benefit of $1,580 a month and has $7,200 in the bank. She owns her house and one car. Her income is above the QMB line of $1,350 and below the SLMB line of $1,616, and her countable savings are under $9,950. She qualifies for SLMB. The state starts paying her $202.90 Part B premium, so her Social Security deposit goes up by that amount: $202.90 times 12 is $2,434.80 a year back in her budget. She also gets Extra Help with her prescriptions.
A married couple, both 69, draw $2,400 a month in Social Security between them and have $13,500 in savings. The couple limit for QI is $2,455 and the couple resource limit is $14,910, so they fit with $55 a month to spare. QI pays both Part B premiums, $405.80 a month together, or $4,869.60 for the year. If one of them takes a part-time job, the earned income rules may still keep them in.
Had the widow’s benefit been $1,300 instead, she would land in QMB, and the gain is much larger than the premium. QMB also covers the $283 Part B deductible and the 20% coinsurance on doctor visits, and a hospital stay would no longer carry the $1,736 Part A deductible.
QMB billing rules most people never hear about
If you’re in QMB, doctors, hospitals and other Medicare providers are not allowed to bill you for Medicare-covered services, according to the Medicare Savings Programs page on Medicare.gov. You may owe a small Medicaid copay in some states, but a bill for the 20% coinsurance on a covered visit isn’t something you have to pay. When a provider sends one anyway, call the office and tell them you’re a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary. If the bills keep coming, call 1-800-MEDICARE.
The other QMB rule works against you if you wait. QMB isn’t retroactive the way most Medicaid coverage is. The federal QMB eligibility guide for states says coverage begins on the first day of the month after the state decides you qualify. Every month you put off applying is a month of premiums and coinsurance you pay yourself.
People on a Medicare Advantage plan can still use QMB. The same guide lists cost sharing under Part C along with Parts A and B, so the plan’s copays for covered services fall under the program too. SLMB and QI work the same way for Advantage members as for anyone else, since all they touch is the Part B premium, which Advantage enrollees still owe.
Why QI can run out
Each state has a limited pot of QI money, so states approve it first come, first served, with priority for people who had QI the year before. You also have to reapply every year. Someone who qualifies in November could be told the state’s QI money is used up and to try again in January. Apply early in the calendar year if your income puts you in that $1,616 to $1,816 band, and don’t skip the yearly renewal.
What about 2027?
Two numbers will change. CMS announces each year’s Part B premium in the fall, and the 2026 premium fact sheet came out November 14, 2025, so the 2027 premium is likely a few weeks away. The income limits move with the federal poverty guidelines, which are updated early each year, so the $1,350, $1,616 and $1,816 figures will rise sometime in 2027. If you’re just over a line now, a cost-of-living increase in your Social Security can push you further over, but the poverty guideline usually rises too. Reapplying after the new limits are posted is worth the phone call.
How to apply
Applications vary by state, but expect to show your Medicare card, your Social Security benefit letter or other proof of income, and recent bank statements. Many states take the form online, by mail or in person at a county office.
- Find your gross monthly Social Security benefit on your benefit letter and add any pension or other income, before deductions.
- Total your countable savings: bank accounts, stocks, bonds. Leave out the house, one car, household goods and a set-aside burial fund up to $1,500.
- Call your state Medicaid office, or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to get its number, and ask for a Medicare Savings Program application.
- Send it in even if you’re slightly over the federal limits. Your state may use higher ones.
- Once approved, check that the $202.90 deduction stops showing on your Social Security payment, and mark your calendar for renewal.
Related reading
- Social Security COLA for 2027 Is 3.6%, or $72 More on a $2,000 Check
- Social Security at 62 vs 67: How Much Smaller Is the Check?
- How Much Does LIHEAP Pay Toward a Heating Bill This Winter?
The limits here are the 2026 federal standards for the 48 contiguous states and DC, and your state’s Medicaid office may use higher income or resource limits or none at all for savings. Ask that office which program you fit before you count on the Part B premium being paid.
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