Medicare IRMAA Adjustment Downward?
Hi Terry! I am new to Medicare as of this year, September 2022. I am being charged a very high IRMAA adjustment for the last four months of 2022, based on income tax filings for 2020. During that year, I had a much higher than usual income, due to the sale of stock. My income went down substantially in 2021, as shown in my tax return, enough to drop me two IRMAA brackets. Will the IRMAA decision be automatically revisited and recalculated each year, based on income in the two year look-back period? I have tried to ask this question by calling SSA, and by reaching out to Medicare.gov live chat, and have received conflicting answers. Thanks for reading, and any thoughts you could offer. I love your talks on WGN, and have spread your advice to family and friends!
Terry Says
Here is a link to the form that you send to Medicare to inform them that your life has changed. But it will probably require you to file your 2022 tax return next spring before they will make an adjustment. And the adjustment might not come until the following year (2024) — But file the form now! They are always a tax-year behind.
Here is a quote from their website as to what constitutes a “life-changing” event:
The required form has a list of “life-changing” events that qualify as reasons for reducing or eliminating the IRMAAs, including marriage, death of a spouse, divorce, loss of pension or the fact that you stopped working or reduced your hours.
So your retirement would be a reason for a reconsideration of your IRMAA.
