Industry story
SSA-44 IRMAA Appeal: File Early, Don't Wait for Your Notice
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If your spouse retired in 2025 and took a large payout on the way out, Social Security will price your 2027 Medicare premiums off that spike year unless you file an SSA-44 appeal now. You don't have to wait for the official IRMAA notice (the surcharge higher earners pay on top of standard Medicare premiums) to arrive before acting. File the form proactively with employer documentation or a sworn statement, enter 2026 as the lower-income year you want them to use, and add a 2027 estimate if that year looks even leaner. Getting the paperwork in before January is the difference between avoiding the surcharge entirely and spending the first months of the plan year overpaying while Social Security catches up.
Analysis
Showing the shorter version.
The SSA-44 lets Medicare enrollees ask Social Security to use a more recent year's income instead of the standard two-years-prior figure when calculating IRMAA surcharges. You qualify if a life-changing event occurred: retirement or work stoppage, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, or an employer settlement payment.
One question that comes up often: if the income spike was in 2025 but you want relief on 2027 premiums, which year goes in Section 2? You enter the year whose lower income you want Social Security to apply. If 2026 is the cleaner year, enter 2026. If 2027 will be lower still, you can submit an estimate for 2027 and Social Security will reconcile it once your actual return is filed.
The more useful update: you no longer have to wait for your official IRMAA notice before filing the SSA-44. File proactively, either with employer documentation of the work stoppage or with a signed sworn statement, and attach your income estimates. Get it in early enough and Social Security may process the request before January, which means you avoid paying the surcharge for even the first month or two of the new plan year.
The SSA-44 form allows Medicare enrollees to ask Social Security to use a more recent year's income — rather than the standard two-years-prior figure — when calculating IRMAA surcharges, provided a qualifying life-changing event occurred (retirement or work stoppage, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, or an employer settlement payment). A listener whose wife retired in 2025 and received a large vacation payout asked which year to enter in Section 2 of the form when the spike income was in 2025 but relief is sought for 2027 premiums. Chris Stein explained: enter the year whose lower income you want Social Security to use — 2026 in this case — and if 2027 income will be even lower, you can also submit an estimate for 2027 and they will reconcile it after your actual return is filed.
An important update: you no longer have to wait to receive your official IRMAA notice before filing the SSA-44. You can file proactively, either with employer documentation of the work stoppage or with a signed sworn statement, and submit income estimates. Filing early improves the odds that Social Security processes the request before January so you avoid paying the surcharge even for the first month or two of the new plan year.
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