IRMAA reset timing?

[Perryinva]

DW just got her IRMAA email from SSA and is mad at me for not warning her. I knew we were close to IRMAA in 2018, and as it turns out, were about $5k over, so 2020 starts the increase. SSA states that if you have a reduction in income due to a life event (ie retirement), You must contact them before Sept of that year, and that you can have the IRMAA reset.

I ASSUME (as it’s not clear), that once you can prove your actual income is lower in the year that you are paying, they will process it and delete the IRMAA penalty, rather than waiting until start of the next year. Is that correct?

2019 income is way over the IRMAA, thanks to a big bonus, and double dipping pension with severance pay. But 2020 will be under IRMAA. So once my severance stops in July of 2020, and I supply the paperwork to prove my 2020 income is lower, will the penalty remain in place for the remainder of 2020 and also 2021, because of 2019s income, or once the income is shown lower, for 2020, does that eliminate it for good for the future? I don’t ever expect to have a MAGI over $170k again.

[braumeister]

You can only get it cleared due to one of the specific "life changing events" they list.

• You married,
• You divorced, or your marriage was annulled,
• You became a widow or widower,
• You or your spouse stopped working or reduced work hours,
• You or your spouse lost income-producing property due to a disaster or other event beyond your control,
• You or your spouse experienced a scheduled cessation, termination, or reorganization of an employer’s pension plan, or
• You or your spouse received a settlement from an employer or former employer because of the employer’s closure, bankruptcy or reorganization.

[Golden sunsets]

I would send the letter next July after your severance stops. Focus your letter on the changed circumstances/working hours listed by Braumeister.

I had a change in circumstances occur after a one time event that brought an outsized amount of cash in. Focus the letter on the unique, unusual and one time nature that caused the income spike. It worked for me AND they reimbursed me for the IRMAA payments we had made thus far in that year.

Do you have the correct form number to complete? I also hand delivered the letter to our social security office. Keep a copy of everything you send.

[Perryinva]

Ah, that was not even a possibility I understood. So it is possible (not a sure thing, I know) that because my 2020 income WILL be lower than IRMAA level, regardless of the previous years over IRMAA levels, I may get reimbursed for the entire year? Interesting!