Minor note on IRMAA

[SecondCor521]

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I've never seen it mentioned.

I think a lot of people know that higher income seniors have to pay more for their Medicare premiums. And a lot of people know that when one half of a married couple dies, the survivor loses a Social Security payment and faces higher tax rates.

But in trying to figure out why my Dad's Social Security payment will be dropping significantly in 2019, I've come across something else.

He got a statement showing the COLA but his IRMAA amounts were surprisingly large. It turns out that IRMAA surcharges are based on both one's income and one's filing status from 2 years ago.

My Mom passed away in 2016, so my Dad's filing status changed from MFJ to Single on his 2017 return. Since their income was mostly due to RMDs and my Dad's Social Security, his income didn't drop that much. So in Social Security's eyes, he went from a somewhat higher income MFJ to a higher income Single. Which meant his IRMAA adjustments went up a lot in 2019, 2 years after the filing status change.

Anyway, probably not much to do about it other than be aware, but I thought I would share in case it helped anyone.

 

[Katsmeow]

I am not sure if it will help him, but there are situations where you can go in and exceptions will apply to the IRMAA adjustment. It might be worth talking to SS about it to see if any of the exceptions apply.

 

[SecondCor521]

I am not sure if it will help him, but there are situations where you can go in and exceptions will apply to the IRMAA adjustment. It might be worth talking to SS about it to see if any of the exceptions apply.

None of them do, unfortunately. Good idea though.

 

[kaneohe]

Good point..........the income may go down a bit or even significantly but because of the filing status change, the IRMAA threshold limits get cut in half.