Will my IRMAA for Medicare be based on 2024 income or 2025 SS benefits income?

They look at your tax return from 2 years prior, so for 2025 Medicare, they'll initially use your 2023 income. However, you can file Form SSA-44 for a life-changing event (retirement qualifies) to have them use your more recent income instead. Make sure you keep documentation of your retirement date and income change.

When my husband retired I thought they would automatically adjust the IRMAA but NOPE! We had to pay the higher amount until we filed that SSA-44 form. Defintiely do that right away when you retire so you dont get stuck paying the higher amount.

Just went through this myself. SSA uses a 2-year lookback for IRMAA, but retirement is considered a "life-changing event" that allows you to request an adjustment. You'll need to complete Form SSA-44 and provide proof of your retirement (last paystub, employer letter, etc). The form asks for your estimated income for the year, which in your case would just be your SS benefits for 2025. One important thing - Social Security retirement benefits aren't counted in the IRMAA calculation, but certain other income like taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, and retirement account withdrawals are. Make sure you're only counting truly countable income on your form.

I STILL don't understand why they make this so complicated!!! I had to pay higher premiums for TWO YEARS after I retired because I didn't know about the stupid form and the lady at the SSA office never told me about it when I signed up for Medicare!!! SO FRUSTRATING!!!

My dad just went thru this. Be careful about any IRA or 401k withdrawls you make in 2024 too, those count towards IRMAA and could bump you up.

You might also want to consider how your survivor benefit timing affects things. If you take it in January 2025 versus December 2024, that's one less month of benefits in 2024 that might affect your IRMAA calculation. Every little bit can help if you're near a threshold. I highly recommend using Claimyr.com to reach SSA directly about this specific question. I was trying to figure out a similar IRMAA issue and was facing 3+ hour hold times until I found their service. They got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed exactly how my retirement would affect my IRMAA. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

also remeber u can appeal the IRMAA if its a hardship. my neighbor did that when her income dropped alot after her husband passed away.

I was in almost the same situation last year - I filled out the SSA-44 when I retired and it worked fine, but make sure you're precise about your income estimate. I had to amend mine because I forgot about a CD that matured and the interest pushed me into the next IRMAA bracket!

The IRMAA thresholds for 2025 haven't been announced yet, but for 2024, the standard Medicare Part B premium is $174.70, with IRMAA surcharges starting at incomes above $103,000 for single filers. Since your income will be much lower in 2025 after retirement, filing the SSA-44 promptly will save you from paying the higher premium amounts based on your 2023 income.

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice! I'm feeling much better about this now. I'll definitely file the SSA-44 form immediately after retiring to report the life-changing event. And I'll be careful to account for any non-SS income like interest when estimating my 2025 income. I'm glad I asked because I had no idea they initially use a 2-year lookback period! That would have resulted in much higher premiums than I budgeted for. This forum has been incredibly helpful.

Just wanted to add one more tip - when you file the SSA-44, make sure to keep copies of everything you submit and follow up if you don't hear back within 30-60 days. I've seen cases where the forms get lost in the system. Also, if you have any pension income or other retirement distributions planned for 2025, those would count toward IRMAA too, not just the interest income you mentioned. Good luck with your retirement planning!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also consider the timing of when you actually file the SSA-44 form. While you definitely want to file it right after retirement, I'd recommend having all your documentation ready before you retire - your final paystub, retirement letter from your employer, and a good estimate of your 2025 income. That way you can file the form immediately in January 2025 rather than scrambling to gather paperwork later. Also, if you're planning to take survivor benefits starting in 2025, make sure you understand exactly when those payments will start since the timing could affect your total 2025 income calculation. The SSA representative you spoke with about your restricted application should be able to clarify this for you. Better to have all the details sorted out now than to be surprised later!

I went through something very similar when I retired early due to a disability. One thing that really helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track all my income sources for the year - wages through retirement date, any final bonuses or payouts, interest from savings accounts, dividends, etc. It made filling out the SSA-44 form much more accurate and gave me confidence I wasn't missing anything. Also, don't forget that if you have any HSA distributions that aren't for qualified medical expenses, those count as taxable income too. And if you're planning to do any Roth conversions in your early retirement years, the timing of those could impact your IRMAA as well. It sounds like you're being really thoughtful about your planning though - that's going to serve you well!

As someone who just went through Medicare enrollment myself, I wanted to add that you should also be prepared for the possibility that even after filing the SSA-44, your first few Medicare premium bills might still reflect the higher IRMAA amount based on your 2023 income. The adjustment can take a few months to process, so you might need to pay the higher amount initially and then receive a refund or credit once they approve your life-changing event form. I'd recommend setting aside some extra money in your budget for those first few months just in case, rather than being caught off guard by a higher-than-expected premium. The good news is that once the adjustment goes through, any overpayments you made will be refunded. Just another thing to factor into your retirement planning timeline!