IRMAA Appeal
IRMAA is an extra charge for your Medicare Part B premiums based on your income. It can be scary when you’ve been notified that you owe this amount. So what can you do? Can you appeal IRMAA?
IRMAA stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount.
Medicare uses your income from 2 years ago to decide how much you will pay for your part B Premium. Here’s the bracket and how much you can expect to pay for Medicare Part B depending on your income from 2 years ago.
But many people make more income when working compared to when they retire. Sometimes significantly more. So what happens if you retire now and your income drops? Does Medicare still use your income from 2 years ago?
Yes they do. So what can you do?
There is a process to follow to have your situation reviewed. It starts with completing form SSA-44 with Social Security.
Life Changing Event
There are many reasons to complete this from including:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Death of a spouse
- Work stoppage
- Work reduction
- Loss of income-producing property
- Loss of pension income
- Employer settlement payout
Work stoppage is what many people would refer to as retirement. A work reduction where you still work some but the amount you work and thus earn is less. These are the 2 most common reasons I talk with people about completing this form.
Completing Form SSA-44 for your IRMAA Appeal
Step 1
Select the appropriate life changing event form. Only select one even if multiple apply to you. Also include the date the event occurred. S
So if you retired on December 31st, 2020 then you would select work stoppage and use that date as the date of the event.
Step 2
Select how you file your taxes.
You complete this section for the tax year and income for the year you expect the change in income to occur. In earlier example the retirement date was December 31st, 2020 but the change in income won’t be until 2021. So we would use 2021 as the tax year and income information.
Step 3
Only complete step 3 if your income will be lower in the future than the year you used to step 2. If it is, complete step 3, otherwise move on.
Step 4
Include some form of evidence for your life changing event. Page 8 includes acceptable forms of documentation you can use. For work stoppage, many people use a letter signed by their former employer that you retired.
Step 5
Sign the form and include your contact information like phone number and mailing address.
Submit form and supporting documents to Social Security
If your local office is open, you can submit these IRMAA appeal forms in person. If you mail them, I recommend mailing them certified so you have evidence of the date they were received. I have seen people take up to a month for their paperwork to be reviewed after it was mailed.
Keep your paperwork for next year
That’s right. I recommend keeping your paperwork for your IRMAA appeal for the following year because you will go through this process again.
Medicare uses your income from 2 years ago so you will likely have to submit the information again. In our example, the person retired on December 31st, 2020. Since their Medicare coverage is for 2021, Medicare was originally using their income from 2019 for their Medicare Part B premium.
Which means in 2022, Medicare will use their income from 2020. Unless you submit this paperwork again for 2022. So it’s easier to keep records compared with starting from scratch a year from now.
Medicare Supplement and Drug Coverage
If you are getting an IRMAA notice, then you should definitely consider what to do about your Medicare supplement and prescription drug coverage. Call me for comparison to see what your options really are so you can decide which Medicare supplement makes the most sense to you.
Mike Lovell
855-712-7316
This website has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.