At a glance: If your income dropped because you retired or had another life-changing event, you do not have to keep paying a Medicare surcharge based on your old salary. Form SSA-44 asks Social Security to re-price your premium using your newer, lower income. For a couple in the middle IRMAA tier, a successful request can be worth roughly $3,400 a year.
You did everything in the right order. You worked, you saved, you retired. Then a letter arrives saying your Medicare premium is going up — by hundreds of dollars a month — because of income you earned two years ago and no longer earn.
That extra charge is called IRMAA (the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — an added premium charged when your income passes a set limit). Here is the part the letter does not shout about: IRMAA is not final. If your income fell because of a life-changing event, there is a formal way to ask for a new decision. It is one form — here is how it works.
Why your premium is based on a life you no longer live
Social Security sets each year's IRMAA using your tax return from two years earlier. Your 2026 premiums rest on your 2024 return — specifically on your MAGI (modified adjusted gross income: adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest).
That lag is harmless while you work. It turns painful the year you retire: the return shows two full salaries, while your actual life now runs on a pension, some savings, and maybe part-time work. And nothing fixes itself — Social Security does not watch your income fall and adjust your premium for you. You have to ask.
The 2026 IRMAA brackets, in dollars
For 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month. Above these income lines (based on that two-year-old return), surcharges are added:
| Your MAGI (single / married filing jointly) | Extra for Part B, per month | Your total Part B premium |
|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less / $218,000 or less | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| $109,001–$137,000 / $218,001–$274,000 | $81.20 | $284.10 |
| $137,001–$171,000 / $274,001–$342,000 | $202.90 | $405.80 |
| $171,001–$205,000 / $342,001–$410,000 | $324.60 | $527.50 |
| $205,001–$499,999 / $410,001–$749,999 | $446.30 | $649.20 |
| $500,000 or more / $750,000 or more | $487.00 | $689.90 |
There is also a smaller Part D (drug plan) surcharge on top of your plan premium: $14.50, $37.50, $60.40, $83.30, or $91.00 a month, on the same tiers. Roughly 8% of Medicare beneficiaries pay IRMAA each year.
See the full brackets: every 2026 tier for Part B and Part D, single and married filing jointly, is laid out in Medicare IRMAA Brackets 2026: The $1 Cliff That Can Cost a Couple $2,296.80 a Year.
IRMAA is a cliff, not a slope
Cross a bracket line by one dollar and you owe the entire next tier's surcharge for the whole year. For a couple, landing $1 over the $218,000 joint line costs $81.20 extra for Part B and $14.50 extra for Part D — per spouse. That is $2,296.80 a year, triggered by a single dollar. Remember this when you estimate income on the form: precision matters.
Meet Robert, 67: what this looks like in real dollars
Robert is a made-up example, but every figure below uses the real 2026 brackets above.
Robert retired on June 30, 2025, after 30 years with the same company. His wife Linda, 66, cut back to part-time work. Their 2024 return — the one Social Security used for their 2026 premiums — showed a MAGI of $286,000: two careers, both still running.
That put them in the third tier. Each was billed a Part B premium of $405.80 plus a $37.50 Part D surcharge — $480.80 a month in surcharges alone, $5,769.60 for the year, for income that stopped arriving in mid-2025.
Robert filed Form SSA-44 reporting a work stoppage. His MAGI for 2025, the year he retired, came to about $232,000 — a half-year of salary, Linda's part-time pay, and their other income. Social Security moved them down one tier: surcharges of $81.20 (Part B) and $14.50 (Part D) each. New combined surcharge: $191.40 a month instead of $480.80 — a saving of about $3,473 for 2026.
And because the couple's first full retired year (2026) should come in near $158,000, their surcharge should disappear entirely once normal tax data catches up. The form did not change their tax bill by a cent. It stopped Medicare from pricing a life they had already left.
Do you qualify? Two tests, both must pass
Test 1 — a qualifying life-changing event happened to you or your spouse, after the tax year Social Security used.
Test 2 — the event actually lowered your MAGI, enough to move you down at least one IRMAA tier (or out of IRMAA altogether). No real income drop, no new decision.
The 8 life-changing events Social Security accepts
- Marriage
- Divorce or annulment
- Death of a spouse
- Work stoppage — you or your spouse stopped working (retirement is the classic case)
- Work reduction — you or your spouse cut your hours
- Loss of income-producing property — through a disaster, disease, fraud, or another event beyond your control
- Loss of pension income — your employer's pension plan was terminated, reorganized, or stopped payments
- Employer settlement payment — a settlement because your employer closed, went bankrupt, or reorganized
That list is the whole list. If your situation is not on it, SSA-44 is not your tool.
What does NOT qualify — read this before you file
- A Roth conversion. A conversion raises your income in the year you convert; it is not a life-changing event and never, by itself, grounds for a lower IRMAA. Retired and converted in the same year? You appeal on the retirement — and your estimate must honestly include the conversion amount.
- Selling your house, or a one-time capital gain. Social Security says this plainly in its own notices: it cannot re-decide when income changed for a reason outside the list, "such as receiving one-time income from capital gains." If one big year put you in IRMAA, the usual outcome is to pay it for that year and plan so it does not repeat.
- Your investments went down. A smaller portfolio is not lost income-producing property unless the property itself was lost to an event beyond your control.
- Turning 65, enrolling in Medicare, or moving house. None of these is on the list.
One more route exists, and it is not SSA-44: if the IRS data was wrong, or you filed an amended return for the year Social Security used, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) instead — that is handled as a data correction, with a copy of the amended return and proof the IRS received it.
How to file Form SSA-44, step by step
The form is titled Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — Life-Changing Event. It has five steps. No lawyer, accountant, or fee required.
Step 1 — Name your event. Check the life-changing event and write the date it happened (your last day of work, the date of death, the divorce date).
Step 2 — Show the income drop. For the tax year the event happened, write your adjusted gross income, your tax-exempt interest, and your filing status. Add the first two together and you have that year's MAGI. Already filed that return? Copy the figures straight from your Form 1040. Not filed yet? Give your best honest estimate — you will be expected to stand behind it later.
Step 3 — Estimate next year, if it is lower still. If the following year's MAGI will drop further (Robert's first full retired year, for example), add that estimate too. Skip this step if it is not lower.
Step 4 — Attach your proof. This is where requests succeed or stall; the table below matches documents to events. Social Security asks for original documents or certified copies of the event proof. Keep copies of everything.
Step 5 — Sign, date, and submit. Upload the form through your my Social Security account on ssa.gov, fax or mail it to your local office, or book an appointment. Mailing it? Use delivery tracking.
Rather have all of this on one page? Our free SSA-44 IRMAA Appeal Checklist lays out the documents, the steps in order, and the dates to watch, in printable form. Download the free checklist →
The documents to gather
| Your event | Proof to include |
|---|---|
| Work stoppage or reduction | A signed statement or letter from your employer showing the date you stopped or cut hours; a final pay stub helps |
| Marriage | Marriage certificate |
| Divorce or annulment | Divorce decree or annulment papers |
| Death of a spouse | Death certificate |
| Loss of income-producing property | Records showing the property was lost and why (insurance claim, disaster or fraud records) |
| Loss of pension income | A letter from the pension plan administrator confirming the plan ended, was reorganized, or stopped the payments |
| Employer settlement payment | A copy of the settlement agreement |
| Your lower income (every case) | A copy of your filed federal tax return for the more recent year — or, if not yet filed, your form estimate plus pay stubs or statements |
What happens after you file
Social Security reviews the form and your evidence, then mails you a new decision (called a new initial determination). If it is in your favor, the corrected premium applies back to January 1 of the premium year — or to your first month of Part B enrollment, if that was later. Already paid some months at the higher rate? The excess is adjusted or refunded, and the Part B and Part D surcharges are corrected together, since both ride on the same income figure.
Three timing rules are worth knowing:
- Do not wait. If your income dropped during January–September, Social Security's own notice language says to tell them before the end of that same year. If the event happened on or after October 1, you have until the end of the following March.
- There is no promised processing date. Social Security publishes no guaranteed timeline, and times vary by office. Filing early, with complete documents, is the only speed control you have.
- If your income changes again, say so. If the return you later file shows a different MAGI than your estimate, contact Social Security to update it. Estimates that quietly turn out wrong are how small problems become overpayment notices.
If Social Security says no
A denial is not the end of the road. You can ask for a reconsideration — a fresh review by someone who was not part of the first decision. The deadline is 60 days from the date you receive the notice (Social Security generally counts you as receiving it five days after the date printed on it). Requests use Form SSA-561, available on ssa.gov, and you can add any evidence the first request was missing. Further appeal levels exist; most well-documented cases never need them.
7 mistakes that get SSA-44 requests denied or delayed
- Filing for a non-event. Roth conversions, house sales, and market losses are the three most common dead ends.
- An event, but no tier drop. If your lower income lands in the same bracket, there is nothing to correct.
- Estimating wishfully. An estimate far below the return you eventually file invites a reversal — and a bill.
- Sending no proof. A claim of retirement with no employer statement, date, or pay record stalls fast.
- Forgetting tax-exempt interest. MAGI includes it; leave it out and your numbers will not match Social Security's.
- Missing the year-end window. Waiting until February to report a March retirement can cost you that year's correction.
- Keeping no copies. If a fax or envelope goes astray, your copies are your only proof you filed.
Frequently asked questions
Does IRMAA go away on its own when my income drops?
No. Social Security keeps using the two-year-old return until a newer one works through the system — or until you file Form SSA-44 and ask for a new decision.
How much can an approved appeal actually save?
It depends on the tiers involved. For a couple, escaping the first tier alone is worth $2,297 a year in 2026 — and Robert's single one-tier drop was worth roughly $3,473.
Can I appeal because of a Roth conversion?
Not for the conversion itself — it increases income and is not a life-changing event. If you also retired, the retirement (work stoppage) is your event, and the conversion amount belongs inside your income estimate.
What if I have not filed the tax return for the year I retired?
File the form anyway, using a careful estimate, and keep the records behind it. When you later file the return, contact Social Security if the real figures differ.
Does one form fix both Part B and Part D?
Yes. The same income figure drives both surcharges, and a new determination corrects both together.
What if both spouses are on Medicare?
The surcharge is per person, and so is the saving — the example above counts a couple as two premiums, both corrected under the same new determination.
Your next step, on one page: the free SSA-44 IRMAA Appeal Checklist from The Retirement Desk puts the documents, the five form steps, and the deadlines on a single printable page — take it to your desk, or to your Social Security appointment. Download the free checklist →
Sources & official forms
- CMS — 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (standard premium and all 2026 Part B and Part D IRMAA amounts): https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
- Social Security Administration — Request to lower an IRMAA (Form SSA-44, submission options, phone numbers): https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa
- Form SSA-44 (PDF) and SSA's notice language on life-changing events and deadlines: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ and https://secure.ssa.gov/POMS.nsf/lnx/0601194005
Last updated: October 22, 2026 — figures checked against CMS and Social Security sources on that date.
Disclaimer: The Retirement Desk publishes education, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Robert and Linda are a hypothetical example; your figures and outcome will differ. Rules change every year — confirm your situation with Social Security, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.
Filed under: Medicare & IRMAA — The Retirement Desk, the situation-first retirement money desk for Americans 60–75.
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