Social Security survivor benefits deducting Medicare premiums I already paid - double charged?

When I got widow's benefits last year, something similar happened. The SSA automatically deducts Medicare premiums from Social Security payments, but they don't know if you've already paid them another way. You need to call them ASAP and explain you paid directly, so you're being double-charged. They should reimburse you, but it might take a while. Getting through on the phone is a NIGHTMARE though!

had same problem!! they took out $183 evry month from my backpay even tho i already paid it thru my retirement account. took 3 months to get the money back but they did fix it eventually

This is actually a standard issue with retroactive benefit payments. What's happening is the system automatically deducts Medicare premiums from Social Security benefits. Since you received retroactive benefits covering several months, the system deducted all those months' premiums at once. The key here is that SSA doesn't automatically know you've been paying your Medicare premiums directly. You need to contact SSA and inform them you've been paying your Medicare premiums separately. They will verify this with CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and refund the duplicate premiums. Bring or send proof of your Medicare premium payments for the months in question. They should be able to process an adjustment and return the overpaid amount to you in a future payment.

My mom went through EXACTLY this last yr. She paid directly to Medicare for 2 yrs, then started SS and they took out premiums again. Social Security and Medicare don't talk to each other apparently 🙄

I had this issue when I started my survivor benefits in 2024. What you're experiencing is called "Medicare premium duplicate billing." Here's what to do: 1. Contact Social Security directly and explain the situation 2. Request a "Medicare Premium Billing Adjustment" 3. Provide bank statements or receipts showing you paid Medicare directly for those months 4. Ask them to coordinate with Medicare to update your payment preference going forward Moving forward, you'll probably want the premiums deducted from your monthly SS payment (it's easier than paying separately), but you should get a refund for the duplicated months. The refund usually comes as an adjustment to a future payment rather than a separate check. Also, make sure your Medicare enrollment status is set to "direct deduction from benefits" going forward to avoid confusion.

Try using Claimyr to reach SSA faster about your Medicare premium issue. I had this exact problem, spent days trying to get through. Used their service at claimyr.com and got a callback from SSA in under 2 hours. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The SSA agent told me this Medicare double-billing happens a lot with survivor benefits. They fixed mine right away once I actually got through to someone.

AVOID CALLING!!! Go to your local SSA office in person with your Medicare payment records. I spent weeks trying to fix this same issue by phone and got nowhere. Went in person and they fixed it in 20 minutes. They'll process what they call a "premium refund request" and you should get the money back within 1-2 payment cycles. The SSA system and Medicare system don't communicate well about who's paying what. It's a MESS!!! And don't even get me started on how they mess up IRMAA calculations too...

Just wondering - is the $1,380 exactly the total of the monthly Medicare premiums for those months? Because standard Part B is about $174/month in 2025, and for 8 months that would be around $1,392. If your deduction is slightly different, it might be because of income-related adjustments (IRMAA) based on your tax returns from 2 years ago.

I remember when my dad had this EXACT problem after my mom passed. Everyone here is giving good advice, but I want to add: SAVE COPIES OF EVERYTHING. My dad had to submit his proof THREE TIMES before they finally fixed it. The SSA is terrible about losing documents. If you mail anything, send it certified mail so you have proof they received it!

Update: Just wanted to report back that I got my Medicare premium issue resolved! I finally got through to SSA (took three attempts), and the representative confirmed this was a duplicate billing situation. They filed an adjustment request, and I received the refunded premiums in my next month's payment. They also switched my Medicare billing to come directly from my monthly survivor benefits going forward, which is much more convenient. Thanks to everyone for your advice - especially the tip about specifically asking for a "Medicare premium billing adjustment" - the agent knew exactly what I meant!