Why Is My Medicare Part B Premium $615?
Dear Toni,
I have been reading your articles regarding turning 65, being laid off, and enrolling in Medicare properly but I have not read an article on how to lower my Medicare monthly premium. I need help.
I turned 65 in September and enrolled in Medicare. I received a letter from Social Security stating that I must pay $544.30 for Part B and $71.30 for Part D, totaling $615.60 monthly. The IRS states that my income was $345,000 in 2020.
My husband passed away in February, I only have my Social Security check of $2400 a month to pay bills, no longer including my husband’s income.
How do I inform Social Security that my income has changed? I have heard from friends that you are aware of a special way I can bring my Medicare premium to a lower, affordable amount? Thanks…Gwen from Destin, FL
Hi Gwen:
Do you want to wait 2 years for the IRS to inform Medicare that your income has decreased due a “Life Changing Event” such as death of a spouse, recently married/divorced, retired, been laid off/working part-time, etc., or do you want to let Medicare know now that you have had a “Life Changing Event,” because you or your spouse are no longer earning that amount of income?
Many Americans still believe that everyone pays the same amount for their Medicare Parts B and D premium. Those days are long gone!
If your income as an individual is over $91,000 for 2022 and $97,000 in 2023 or married income is over $182,000 for 2022 or $194,000 in 2023, then your Medicare Parts B and D premiums will be more. Social Security explains in the letter that is mailed to you, how they arrived at the Part B and D premiums based on your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” (MAGI) from your last filed tax return.
Your MAGI was over $340,000 and the table used in the letter you received from Social Security shows what the Part B and Part D “premium adjustment will be, whether you are filing single or married.
There are special situations also known as “Life Changing Events” that can lower your “income related monthly adjusted amount” (IRMAA).
Below are some of the life changing events that can make your income go down:
- You have gotten married or divorced, or your spouse has died.
- you or your spouse have stopped workingor have reduced your hours.
- you have lost property that you were making money from due to a disaster or other event beyond your control; or
- yours or your spouse’s benefits from an insured pension plan stopped or went down
Use form SSA-44 titled “Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjusted Amount – Life-Changing Event” to advise Social Security of your change in income. Visit SSA.gov to download SSA-44 or view chapter 8 of Toni’s Medicare Survival Guide Advanced edition for Medicare forms including SSA-44 and others.
Once Social Security is satisfied with the evidence, it will update its records and correct Part B and Part D premiums to what your current income is.
**Social Security reviews your filed tax returns each year and will adjust your Part B and D premiums to correspond with your new income level the following year. You will want to keep filing Form SSA-44 until your last filed return reflects your current income.
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