One thing to keep in mind with the withdrawal option - make sure you have the cash flow to handle both paying back the 4 months of benefits AND potentially waiting several more months for your contract payments to come in. Contract work can sometimes have delayed payment schedules, and you don't want to be caught short on funds. Also, since you mentioned this is lucrative work, consider setting aside money for self-employment taxes (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare) if you'll be working as an independent contractor rather than an employee. The tax hit on a $60K contract can be pretty substantial when combined with repaying your SS benefits.

Just a heads up - when you file Form SSA-521 for withdrawal, SSA will send you a letter showing the exact amount you need to repay, including any interest. You typically have 60 days to make the repayment, but they may grant extensions if needed. The process usually takes 4-6 weeks from when they receive your form to when they send the repayment letter. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of everything - the withdrawal form, repayment documentation, and any correspondence with SSA. You'll need these for your taxes and when you eventually reapply for benefits. Some people forget that the repayment amount might include spousal or survivor benefits if applicable, so double-check all the details before proceeding.

As a disability benefits specialist, I want to emphasize a few critical points that haven't been fully addressed yet: 1. **Asset limits matter**: If your son transitions from SSI to DAC, he'll no longer be subject to the $2,000 asset limit that restricts SSI recipients. This means he could potentially save money or receive gifts without losing benefits. 2. **State supplemental payments**: Some states provide supplemental payments to SSI recipients. Check if your son receives any state supplements, as these might be affected differently than federal benefits during the transition. 3. **ABLE accounts**: If your son doesn't already have one, consider opening an ABLE account before the transition. These accounts allow disabled individuals to save money without affecting benefit eligibility and can be especially valuable when moving from SSI to DAC. 4. **Medicare enrollment timing**: If your son qualifies for DAC, he'll be eligible for Medicare 24 months after his disability onset date for DAC purposes (not necessarily when he first became disabled). Understanding this timeline is crucial for maintaining continuous health coverage. The consensus here about exploring DAC benefits is absolutely correct - in most cases, it results in higher payments and more flexibility. Just make sure to get everything in writing from SSA and don't rely solely on phone consultations for such an important decision.

I'm going through a very similar situation with my 29-year-old son who has cerebral palsy and currently receives SSI. My husband is 61 and we've been debating whether he should file at 62 or wait until his full retirement age. After reading all these responses, I'm realizing we need to seriously explore the DAC benefits option. Like your son, mine was disabled well before age 22, so he should qualify. The idea that his monthly payment could actually INCREASE rather than decrease is incredible - we had assumed any change would hurt him financially. I'm particularly interested in what several people mentioned about the Medicare/Medicaid dual coverage possibility with DAC benefits. Our son has significant medical needs, so maintaining comprehensive coverage is our top priority. One thing I'm curious about - for those whose children successfully transitioned from SSI to DAC, did you have to reestablish eligibility for any other programs like food assistance or utility help? Or do those programs typically recognize DAC as equivalent to SSI for eligibility purposes? Thank you for starting this discussion - it's opened my eyes to possibilities I never knew existed. I'm definitely going to request that BPQY report and find a benefits counselor before we make any decisions about my husband's retirement timing.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - had a large pension distribution in 2022 that I completely forgot would affect my 2024 Medicare costs. Like many others here, I overlooked the notification letter that came last fall. What I found really useful was calling my Medicare plan directly (not SSA) to confirm that my regular Part D premium was still being paid to them correctly, and that this new deduction was indeed just the IRMAA surcharge. They were able to explain that the two are completely separate - one goes to Social Security, one goes to the insurance company. It helped me understand that nothing was actually "wrong" with my coverage, just an additional cost I hadn't anticipated. For anyone still confused about whether this is an error, I'd recommend checking with your Part D plan provider too, just for peace of mind!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm 66 and just noticed the same thing on my Social Security statement - a new Medicare Part D deduction that wasn't there before. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly educational. I had no idea about IRMAA or how the 2-year income lookback works. In my case, I think it might be related to some stock sales I did in 2022 to help pay for home renovations. I definitely need to dig through my mail pile to look for that notification letter everyone mentioned. The advice about keeping a Medicare timeline and being more vigilant about October-December mail is so helpful. It's frustrating that this system isn't explained better during Medicare enrollment, but I'm grateful for everyone sharing their experiences here. Now I know this isn't an error and I have options like the SSA-44 form if my income situation has changed significantly since 2022. Thank you all for making this confusing topic so much clearer!

This is such a fantastic thread - I've learned more about IRMAA in the last 10 minutes than in months of trying to research this myself! I'm 64 and enrolling in Medicare next year, so this is perfectly timed. One question I haven't seen addressed: what happens if you have both traditional and Roth IRAs and want to take distributions from both in the same year? I assume the traditional IRA distribution would count toward IRMAA but the qualified Roth distribution wouldn't, so you could potentially take $50k from traditional (which counts) and another $50k from Roth (which doesn't count) and only the $50k would be considered for IRMAA purposes? This seems like it could be a powerful strategy for managing income in retirement while on Medicare. Also, does anyone know if there are good online calculators that factor IRMAA into retirement withdrawal planning?

This has been an incredibly informative discussion! As someone who's been working in retirement planning for over a decade, I wanted to add one more important consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet: the impact of spousal planning on IRMAA strategies. For married couples, it's worth noting that if one spouse dies, the surviving spouse will file as single the following year, which means they'll hit IRMAA thresholds at roughly half the income levels they had when filing jointly. This can be a nasty surprise if most of your retirement assets are in the higher-earning spouse's name and they pass away first. The Roth strategy discussed here becomes even more valuable in this scenario - having substantial Roth assets that can provide "invisible" income to the surviving spouse can help avoid unexpected IRMAA surcharges during an already difficult time. It's another reason to consider front-loading those Roth conversions earlier in retirement, even if it means paying some IRMAA in the short term. Also, I'd strongly recommend keeping detailed records of all Roth contributions and conversions with dates. While the 5-year rule is usually straightforward, having clear documentation can save headaches if there are ever questions about whether distributions are truly qualified.

UPDATE: Finally got through to SSA this morning! The agent confirmed they can easily change my start date from January to March 2025. She said it happens all the time and won't affect my application processing. She also mentioned I'll receive a letter confirming the change within 2 weeks. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

That's fantastic news! Really glad to hear SSA was able to help you out so quickly. It's reassuring to know they handle these date changes routinely - definitely saves other folks from the stress of thinking they need to start over completely. The fact that you'll get written confirmation is great too. Enjoy your extra couple months before benefits start, and congrats on getting everything sorted out!