I'm a Medicare advisor and I will tell anyone reading: this is an excellent video.

Just successfully appealed IRMAA to use 2023 income instead of 2022. Your videos very helpful. I mailed mine in as suggested so I would have a delivery receipt. Ended up not working because a month after delivery they still had not logged it in. I finally went out on Monday and took a number mid-day, line was too long so I left came back 30 min before close, got another number, saw someone in 15-20 min and was done in 10min or less. They looked at but didn't even want a copy the SSA-44 or my backup info for my estimate. The guy I talked to was super nice, straight forward and zeroed it out based on 2023 income. My advice would be, get your info pulled together fill out the forms and show up when your local office opens and sit there till you make it happen. I wasted a month mailing it in. Thanks for your great explanations and advice on the process. Got a refund (direct deposit) today for the first month (2 days after they zeroed the IRMAA out) deducted through SS check, but now I have to go back and get refund for first two months of the year that I paid directly to CMS BEFORE I started taking SS. Lots of moving parts.....

Thank you! I was a tad hesitant about filing. You gave me the confidence I need to file that appeal!!!😊

Thank You

Followed your guide and got my IRMAA appeal approved in under 2 weeks from when I dropped off the form and supporting docs at my local SSA office. Thanks!

I watched several videos by other organizations on this topic and this was by far the most helpful, with several tips that clarify how I will appeal the IRMAA decision. Well done!

I will be charged IRMAA, but because I will retire in at the end of June( currently we are in May) I was told by Social Security rep to wait until I retire to file SSA-44.

Outstanding video tutorial! Thank you!

Very helpful. You have done the best job of explaining. We just got hammered at the highest level of IRMAA because 2 years ago we sold our business and now have limited income. Thank you so much for this explanation.

Helpful video. Thanks!

Great info. Thanks !!!

Very helpful thank you very much!!!

Hi Andy. You answered a question I asked a couple of months ago - thanks for that! I now have another question. My wife and I went on Medicare Parts B and D effective September 1, 2022. Medicare determined that we would owe a Part B and Part D IRMAA, but we had just retired and our income would therefore be lower than in previous years, so we each filed an IRMAA appeal. Medicare accepted our appeal and removed the IRMAA. I received an inheritance in late 2022, and now that I'm completing our 2022 tax return, I'm realizing that we will actually owe the IRMAA after all because the inheritance puts us into a higher income bracket. Will Medicare catch up with this and bill us the IRMAA for the four months we had Medicare in 2022? I believe that we are going to have the same problem in 2023. We successfully filed IRMAA appeals for 2023, so we are now paying the base Part B premium. But I expect another inheritance in 2023 that will put us into a higher bracket again that will require IRMAA payment. I'm assuming Medicare will realize this once I file the tax return and bill us the IRMAA for the months we haven't paid it (and for the rest of the months in 2023). In order to avoid this situation in the future, is it possible to wait to file the IRMAA appeal until you complete your tax return for the year in question? For example, pay the IRMAA each month in 2023, and then when you do your 2023 taxes in early 2024 and realize that your income is low enough that IRMAA didn't apply for 2023, file the appeal at that time and have Medicare refund the IRMAA premiums that you paid throughout 2023)?

My wife started with Medicare in March 2023. I retired recently in Oct 2023. Our income for 2023 is in alignment with our current IRMAA assessment. However in 2024, our income will be reduced due to my retirement. Should I wait to file SSA-44 until we get a new IRMAA letter for 2024 (assuming they will send a new letter in December) or submit now using the 2023 form but put in my estimated income for 2024 in step 2.

Andy-- Thank you for the concise and informative video. My father will no longer be receiving LTC insurance payments. This was the reason he went over on income into the next bracket. His expenses are not going down, he no longer has the LTC AND his SS income is going down??!! Does loss/end of LTC insurance constitute one of the qualifying reasons to file? thanks very much

Thank you for this information, I submitted an appeal and it was accepted! Now I just need to figure out which Medicare option is best for me…

Great information however, I do have one question. If my wife and I file our taxes as "Married filing jointly" do we both have to fill out separate a SSA-44 Forms ?

I have a question regarding a possibility of a late appeal. This is a repeat, but this question was not answered. "Is it possible to wait to file the IRMAA appeal until you complete your tax return for the year in question? For example, pay the IRMAA each month in 2023, and then when you do your 2023 taxes in early 2024 and realize that your income [for 2023] is low enough that IRMAA didn't apply for 2023, file the appeal at that time and have Medicare refund the IRMAA premiums that you paid throughout 2023)?". Many thanks for the excellent video and all the answers.

I am a high income W-2 earner, and plan to stop working at the end of 2023. Income (wages) for 2024 and beyond will be $0.00, I will have passive income in 2024 and beyond but not to exceed the lowest IRMMA bracket. Before I request a IRRMA, must I first apply for Medicare part B? I am currently covered by employer health insurance, and will continue through the end of 2023. I would like to know in advance what my medicare part B premiums will be starting January 2024. I am a CPA and familiar with IRS and tax forms just not sure on the order to filing for a IRMAA waive.

So you can't just keep appealing every time you have a big year...correct? If Medicare does a 2-year lookback annually, won't your bracket automatically adjust? Once we all start taking RMDs won't we be in a higher bracket for the rest of our lives?

Thank you for the great video! Clarification question: I and my wife filing joint taxes. I am retiring (hence 'work stoppage' is the reason to file on my form). My wife retired some time back and does not currently have a separate income. What should be chosen as a reason on her SSA-44 form.

Medicaremindset: I retired in September of 2021. Did a 401k rollover to a IRA ( not a Roth ) with part of the funds. The rest I used to buy a property to live. That increased my annual income for that year. I’m 65 in May of this year. Got my IRMMA notice for medicare and the premium is $360 more for Part B and $70 for part D. I filled an appeal based on life changing event work stoppage in 2021. In 2022 my income is 58k. I provided an estimate for this year for $58k. I also have some health issues that keep me from getting a part time job to pay for this increase. So I wanted them to understand the financial burden this puts me in. Do you think this would qualify for a lower premium?

hi, great video, I will subscribe. My question is: I had a life-changing event in 2018 and my wife was just laid off from her job on February 1st, 2024. Do I file my form with my 2018 event and hers with her 2024 event? If we do that, do we put our 2023 joint tax return information on my step 2 and an estimate for 2024 on her step 2? Note that our 2023 return (already filed) has AGI of $157K and our estimate for 2024 will be about $164K. Or, do we file with just my wife's event on both forms? In that case, do we put 2023 or 2024 on both forms? And say "No" on part 3.

How late in 2023 can I file an iRRMA appeal for a 2022 reduction in income?

Great video! I just started medicare at 65 this month as i have gone to very part time. My IRMAA determination notice put us in the Married filing jointly bracket in my 2021 MAGI that starts at 366K. I just filled out my 2022 1040 and that form puts my MAGI in the middle bracket 306K to 366K. My 2023 income will be lower than 306K but I might have to do a ROTH conversion that would artificially increase my income. My life changing event was a reduction in work hours on 4/3/2023. What do I put in step 2 and Step 3? Should I try to push for the lower bracket in Step 3 based on probable lower income (

I am a New York city employee and will retire next week. Is it correct what they say that NYC employee who retired getting pension from the city get s reimbursed for all that they paid for Medicare Part B including IRMAA? Thank you

Great video/instruction. For clarification purposes: My income-changing event was in Mid-2022 when I 'lost my job' (separation agreement). With that occurring, I decided at 64, to take Soc Security on Dec 22. I will begin a part-time job this May 2023. Right now my IRMMA will be based on our 2021 MAGI. 2021 was our highest income jointly. 2022 will be slightly lower and 2023 will be the lowest. Should I fill out SSA 44 with 2022 actual in step 2 and the 2023 estimate in step 3 or only 2023 estimate in step 2? Last question, even though I am only filing an IRMMA reconsideration based on my lower income, am I still filling out the "MAGI estimates" on that form for our lower "JOINT MAGI"?

Great Video! I do however have a question. I am on disability and receive Medicare, my husband retired in 2021. I chose to wait to submit the "work stoppage" SSA form due to bonuses and real-estate income that still kept us in the higher bracket which in turn reduced my benefit by $200. This year will be the actual yearly income which is significantly lower than the previous years. I am not really sure if I should submit now or wait? It is definitely intimidating!

I'm signed up for Medicare starting 9/23. In June of 2019 I sold my business and retired. For the last 3 years I have been receiving payments for the business that have put me in a higher income bracket. The income is a capital gain. I received my last much smaller payment in January 2023. I recently received an IRMMA determination based on my 2021 income which is significantly higher than my 2023 income will be. I did fill out SSA-44 form and submitted it about 3 weeks ago along with evidence that I was no longer receiving payments and an estimate of my 2023 &2024 income. I then received a letter asking for payment for the first 3 months. The payments didn't include an additional IRMMA amount. Does that mean it was accepted?

Hi Question does Medicare pays negotiated changes to providers like private or groups insurance does

I retired from a job in 2023 so my MAGI for 2024 and going forward will be decreased at least one range. When do I notify SSA of this change? Do I wait until I receive my IRMAA statement in November and then file an appeal or can I do it beforehand? Also, I have a question concerning documentation. The company has since filed bankruptcy and reorganized so getting any new documentation will be difficult. I do have a copy of a company email announcing my retirement at the time, is this sufficient? The only other thing I have is a note on my 401(k) account stating my termination date. Very informative video and thanks for the help.

Thank you for your information, yes the form is very confusing and even speaking to a SS rep, doesn't offer much in the way of clarification. We have a life changing event, a work force reduction for in 2023. We are paying higher IRMMA based on 2021 tax year. One income has been slashed effectively 2 months into this year and we are having to pay higher IRMMA rates based on 2021. We will probably elect to take Unemployment, but no guarantee he will get another job (at his age and may even elect to retire), do we complete the form in step 2 as Tax Year 2023 with adjusted gross income minus his salary? The intent is to reduce the current IRMMA, which we are no longer in a position to pay. Thank you for this video, very helpful.

Let say one year a stock sale increase our IRMAA. While me and my spouse was retired and on medicare. What box will I check the next year when our income reduces under 194,000. What date will I use for Life-Changing Event?

I am retired and in 2020 I purchased a home of which I sold some stock to put down a 20% down payment and therefore increased my tax return substantially when I filed in 2021. This was a one-time event yet it put me into a high tax bracket that year for my Medicaire premium in 2023. All of my other tax returns from years before are substaintially lower. Can I appeal this one time life event? Again next year will be back to my normal earnings for my tax return. TIA

I plan to retire next year when I turn 70, August 2023. I know my premium for Medicare B will be based on 2021 yearly income. But I plan to continue to work part time one day a week after retirement after retiring. Will my premiums be automatically readjusted by Medicare due to the change in yearly income or will I have to fill out a form in future years? Next question will this change my monthly social security check amount with the drop in income?

As others have stated, this is an extremely helpful video. Thanks so much for putting it together! I do have one question. I received an IRMAA notice for 2023 and I want to appeal it because I retired earlier in 2022, so my income in 2023 will be lower than my 2021 income. I downloaded form SSA-44, but it's dated 12-2021 and it has the IRMA brackets for 2022, not 2023. So it appears that the form for 2023 has not been created by the Social Security Administration yet. Can I use this 12-2021 form (with the 2022 brackets) to appeal my 2023 IRMAA?

If i payoff my mortgage using my IRA monies my income for that year will be high but be back to normal later. Will IRMMA take that as a life changing event?

Very good, thanks! One question that confuses me: It seems that in one place both you and the form say for Step 2 to go back two years, so that would be 2020. But on the form for Step 2 they very specifically say, "Fill in the tax year in which your income was reduced by the life-changing event." I retired in mid-2021so my income is much lower than 2020. Is it okay to put in for Step 2, 2021? Or does Step 2 always have to be two years back? Thank you!

I retired in October 2021 but had not filed for SSA-44. Is it too late now to file for Premium year 2022 now?

Hi Andy! I filed for Medicare this year and will start June 1. I received a Medicare Premiums notice in the mail. From TY 2021 to 2022 household income will drop by 70%. 2022 taxes have been filed. Should I wait until Medicare starts before filing an appeal or should I do it now? Thank you!

I've retired in September 2022 and my MAGI is still is several IRMAA brackets up. My wife will start Medicare in December 2022, when filing the appeal form should I put 2022 income in step two or an estimate of 2023? Should I wait to file the appeal until 2023 and just pay the increase premiums for one month and receive a refund?

I am on ssdi and I have had the premium deducted from my benefit payments from the begining.recently my case worker said she wasn't sure why they were taking the payments because of my low income i qualified for state insurance and programs that would have covered the cost and that I could possibly be reimbursed for all those payments...I have scoured the internet and am just more confused as to how to go about filing I think its called a premium claim??? Is there any merit to what she said?any information would be really appreciated thanks

I retired in mid November 2021. My 2021 income is very close to my 2020 income but under IRMAA but my 2022 income will be much less than the last 2 years. Do I put in my 2021 income or my estimated 2022 income as I retired in 2021?

I was "retired" by my company in 2018. I have been recieving annual distributions from a non-qualified 401k type program which could not be rolled over and the distributions show as regular W2 income. Those just ended June 2022. So that income will still show on my 2022 return even though they have now stopped. Do I have to wait until 2023 to appeal or can I document this to show the income will no longer be forthcoming?

I'm trying to understand IRMAA and More Importantly the 2 year look back for IRMAA determination. My birthday month/year is 12-1962, December 1962. To apply for Medicare I have the 7 Month window [09/2027-03/2028] 3 months before my birthday month, My birthday month, and 3 months after my birthday month without suffering an increase in lifetime cost for Medicare. Makes sense, if I apply during 09/2027-12/2027, that the 2 year look back to determine IRMAA would be on my 2025 Federal Tax return. If I apply for my Medicare in 01/2028-03/2028 would my IRMAA 2 year look back be on my 2026 Federal Tax Return?

I have a question This year 2023 my husband and I will applied to Medicare part B We will receive a higher premium for that. My husband was laid off two weeks ago but for the severance package our income will be higher for this year Until next year will be lower Can I appeal next year ?

It is three months now since the local SSA received my SSA-44. They still have not processed it (as far as I know). I called them after a month, and they verified they have the form I submitted. In the meantime, I'm being charged a lot more money for my Medicare Advantage plan. Question: Once they process and approve my SSA-44, do you know if they reimburse me for the higher premiums that were taken out of my Social Security check while I was waiting for them to complete my paperwork?

Irma is bs the price for alllllll should be the same!!!!!