The $1,148 Surcharge You Can Erase With One Form – If You File Within 60 Days of Retiring.

The post The $1,148 Surcharge You Can Erase With One Form – If You File Within 60 Days of Retiring. appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Picture the retiree who walked out of her corporate job in December 2025, opened her first Medicare bill in February 2026, and saw a Part B premium of $284.10 instead of the $202.90 standard. Her 2024 tax return, the one the Social Security Administration generally uses to set her 2026 premiums, still shows a full year of salary. She is now being charged on income she no longer earns. One form can reduce or erase the surcharge if her post-retirement MAGI falls below the IRMAA line.

This matters to a narrow group: CMS says income-related Part B adjustments affect roughly 8% of people with Medicare Part B. If your household MAGI is comfortably below $109,000 single or $218,000 joint, IRMAA may not be an immediate concern. If you are above either line, or about to retire from a job that put you above it, read on.

The mechanic: a two-year lookback that punishes the year you retire

IRMAA, the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, generally uses your MAGI from two years prior. 2024 MAGI generally sets 2026 premiums. 2025 MAGI will generally set 2027 premiums. MAGI is adjusted gross income from Form 1040 line 11 plus tax-exempt interest from line 2a, so municipal bond income counts even though it feels “tax-free.”

At Tier 1, the 2026 surcharge adds $81.20 per month to Part B and $14.50 per month to Part D. That is $1,148.40 per person per year on top of standard Part B and Part D premiums. For a married couple both on Medicare, the household hit is $2,296.80. The brackets climb fast: Tier 2 runs $2,884.80 per person, and the top tier reaches $6,936 per person at MAGI of $500,000 or more for single filers or $750,000 or more for joint filers.

A high earner who retires in late 2025 may have a 2024 return reflecting full-employment income. Without intervention, that tax year can drive surcharges for 2026. The lookback may eventually catch up after a later return shows lower income, but filing SSA-44 promptly can move the premium calculation to more recent income sooner if retirement reduced MAGI enough.

SSA-44 short-circuits the lookback

Form SSA-44, “Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, Life-Changing Event,” asks SSA to use more recent income instead of the two-year-old return when a qualifying event lowered household income. It recognizes eight qualifying events: marriage, divorce or annulment, death of a spouse, work stoppage, work reduction, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, and certain employer settlement payments. Retirement can qualify under work stoppage if it reduces income.

Be careful about what SSA-44 will not do. It applies only when household income dropped because of one of those eight events. A Roth conversion, a voluntary home sale, or a one-time RMD that pushed your MAGI up generally does not qualify. Readers routinely assume otherwise and file the wrong request.

Where the 60 days actually matter

You can file SSA-44 after a qualifying work stoppage or work reduction, and the form allows you to provide estimated MAGI for the affected tax year. Timing still matters:

• If SSA has mailed an IRMAA determination and the income figure is wrong, follow the appeal instructions in the notice. The standard reconsideration deadline is generally 60 days.

• If a qualifying life-changing event reduced your income, file SSA-44 promptly rather than waiting for the two-year lookback to catch up. At Tier 1, each month of delay can mean $95.70 per person in Part B and Part D surcharges while the request is unresolved.

The survivor trap

When one spouse dies, the survivor may still be able to file jointly for the year of death, but many older survivors eventually file as single. The single MAGI brackets are roughly half the joint ones, so income that sat safely under $218,000 can suddenly clear the $109,000 single line and trigger Tier 1 or higher. Death of a spouse is one of the eight qualifying events on SSA-44, so the survivor can file the form with documentation and a realistic income estimate if household income has fallen.

What to do

• Download Form SSA-44 from ssa.gov, check the box for work stoppage or the event that applies, and attach proof, such as an employer statement showing your last day, a final pay stub, or a benefits-termination notice. SSA says you can submit the request online through your Social Security account; otherwise, contact Social Security for the best way to provide the form and documentation.

• If you already received a 2026 IRMAA notice, read the appeal instructions immediately. If the income figure is wrong, the reconsideration deadline is generally 60 days. If the income was right but retirement reduced your current income, file SSA-44 promptly with proof of the life-changing event.

• If your MAGI sits within $20,000 of any bracket line and you are considering a Roth conversion, home sale, or large IRA withdrawal, run the math before December 31. SSA-44 will not unwind a voluntary income event simply because it created a Medicare surcharge.

Do Not Wait for the Lookback to Catch Up

Figures reflect 2026 plan-year rules from the CMS “2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles” fact sheet released November 14, 2025, plus SSA guidance on IRMAA, MAGI, and Form SSA-44 life-changing event requests.

The post The $1,148 Surcharge You Can Erase With One Form – If You File Within 60 Days of Retiring. appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..