We are going to do it asap. Apparently our IRMMA did go down from last year. DH isn’t on SS yet so we get a bill to pay each month, and it was half of what it was last month. And I got no bill at all (my IRMMA was high enough that my minuscule SS benefit didn’t cover it). According to the letter I got from SS…I will have a net deposit made to my bank account this month, and moving forward…something I haven’t had in several years.
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you can mail in the form. I had to complete a separate form for two years: the first was approved within a few weeks; the second never got approved and I had to appeal, which was then approved.
You don’t have to wait until taxes are filed. If they have already started IRMAA withholding when you get approved, you will receive a refund automatically.
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This is so helpful, y’all. Thank you!
This is helpful. My situation doesn’t fit their requirements. I took out a large sum to help my son buy a house. SS included this as income, so raises my part B Medicare premium by $400+. With the supplement, about $1000.00 a month.
MY GF took out $100.00 to pay for 2 weddings and a roof; her premium also went up.
My accountant was of no help. Just said to make an appointment with SS office.
The good news with IRMAA is that it is recalculated each year. So your one time large sum distribution will only impact the one year. It seems that the re-evaluation is mostly impacted by job loss/retirement.
I was able to eliminate my first IRMAA with a letter of retirement and the W-2 for the last year I worked. However, the following year I had investment capital gains and the IRMAA returned.
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I’m not sure taking out large sum would qualify, people do large Roth conversion and that means you have the tax first, but it’s worth a try talking to SS in person.
Can you clarify what you mean by ‘took out’? Did you sell some assets (stock/bonds?) to help your son? If so, that creates income that you voluntarily incurred (regardless of the reason) and would be subject to IRMAA rules.
The IRMAA appeal is only for those with an involuntary change in circumstances.
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Well…sort of. When one chooses to retire, that is actually a voluntary change for many…and IRMAA is adjusted for this.
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It doesn’t matter what we think, it’s what the SS will decide is what matters.
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@DrGoogle123 i completely understand. I have the form here to complete…and my DH retired, and and “work stoppage” is clearly listed as one of the allowable reasons. That can be voluntary.
In this context, does “work stoppage” specifically mean a strike or lockout in a labor dispute? If so, that is not really voluntary on an individual basis, although it can be indirectly voluntary on a collective basis (e.g. union membership voting to authorize a strike, then the union calling a strike).
It’s any kind of work stoppage from what we understand. We were specifically told to complete this form when DH retired as his income substantially is reduced.
Here is what the form says:
“You or your spouse stopped working or reduced the number of hours that you work”
Are you folks here saying this isn’t true?
You know what’s not listed there and people I’ve read on other forums have successfully appealed is selling of a rental which caused a spike to his income, capital gain and such. So for people it’s worth a try to appeal.
Would those people continue working or not, if they retire for whatever reason, they should qualify.
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@thumper - It seems like regular retirement is an allowable reason to appeal the Medicare surcharge (based on prior year income).
“The most common reason is that you’ve stopped working or are working less hours as you move into retirement. In that case, your monthly income is likely quite a bit less than when you were working. For example, let’s say you are single and your income was $96,000 when you retired in 2021. After retirement, your income is only $40,000 from Social Security and IRA distributions. This gives you a pretty good case as to why you should not have to pay a higher Part B premium based on your former income.”*
From How to Appeal a Higher Medicare Part B Premium | Boomer Benefits
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Oh my! DH signed up for Medicare this year & then a few months later a new job entered the picture. Checked all the steps to pick up work insurance and stop Medicare, but they keep sending quarterly bills (not on SS yet) as delinquent.
We just emailed in hopes that doing it in writing will work, but, what an annoyance.
My insurance also got messed up in the transition, too. Still trying to fix that.
For those who has Fidelity account, check to see if you get a free TT, I got mine yesterday. It’s good time to fine tune my Roth conversion for this year using TT.
Some changes might be coming…
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/success/retirement-savings-secure-2-0-omnibus/index.html
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I believe Secure 2.0 (or whatever it’s called) has passed, and that means delays in having to take RMDs for many of us.
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Thanks for the news. Was unaware it had passed.
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