IRMAA Rules: The Hidden Medicare Surcharge

How can I appeal an IRMAA assessment if my income has gone down?

IRMAA, or the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is one of Medicare’s most surprising costs for retirees because higher income can trigger extra premiums for Part B and Part D, sometimes long after the income that caused them has disappeared. Derick Buckley views IRMAA as a painful but predictable surcharge that can catch retirees off guard, especially since even modest increases in income can cause premiums to jump sharply based on tax returns from two years earlier. He stresses that retirees should prioritize steady, tax-efficient income and careful planning over simply chasing the highest returns, because events like selling property, taking required minimum distributions, or rebalancing investments can create future Medicare surcharges.

Key Takeaways

-IRMAA is an income-based Medicare surcharge that can raise Part B and Part D costs for higher-income retirees above the standard premium.

-Because Medicare uses tax returns from two years earlier, retirees can still face IRMAA even after their income drops in retirement, making income planning important.

-Retirees can appeal an IRMAA assessment with Forms SSA-44 and SSA-795 to request a premium adjustment based on a documented drop in income.

Connect with Derick Buckley:

https://www.thebuckleyinsurancegroup.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/derick-s-buckley-3a3b099/

AI Disclosure: This episode and its supporting materials were produced with the assistance of AI technology. All final content is curated and approved by the Peace of Income Show team.