SSA-44: How to Lower IRMAA When Retirement Cuts Your Income

Yes. Retirement counts as a work stoppage, one of the eight life-changing events that let Social Security cut or remove your IRMAA. File Form SSA-44 with proof that you stopped working and your lower income for this year or last year, and the new premium applies back to January 1 of the year you file. File by December 31, 2026 to get this year's surcharge back. SSA processes the request on your own estimate and checks it against your IRS return later. Today, pull out your IRMAA letter, note the tax year SSA used, and ask your former employer for a signed letter showing your last day of work.

Why you pay IRMAA on income you no longer have

SSA sets each year's surcharge from your federal tax return two years back. Your 2026 premiums come from your 2024 return, or your 2023 return if the IRS had nothing newer, and your 2027 premiums will come from your 2025 return. SSA counts modified adjusted gross income (MAGI): the adjusted gross income on line 11 of your 2024 Form 1040 (line 11a on the 2025 form) plus the tax-exempt interest on line 2a.

The surcharge starts above $109,000 of MAGI on an individual return and above $218,000 on a joint return. The 2026 amounts, per person, per month:

MAGI, individual return	MAGI, joint return	Part B premium	Part D add-on
$109,000 or less	$218,000 or less	$202.90	$0
Above $109,000 to $137,000	Above $218,000 to $274,000	$284.10	$14.50
Above $137,000 to $171,000	Above $274,000 to $342,000	$405.80	$37.50
Above $171,000 to $205,000	Above $342,000 to $410,000	$527.50	$60.40
Above $205,000, under $500,000	Above $410,000, under $750,000	$649.20	$83.30
$500,000 or more	$750,000 or more	$689.90	$91.00

The Part D add-on is tied to Medicare's base premium, so it is the same whichever drug plan you pick at open enrollment. SSA deducts it from your Social Security payment even when you pay the plan premium to the plan; if you get no payment yet, or it is too small, CMS or the Railroad Retirement Board bills you.

As of October 26, 2026, CMS has published no 2027 Part B premium or IRMAA brackets.

The eight events SSA accepts, and the proof for each

SSA counts only these eight events, for you or your spouse. The event has to come before the drop in income, however long ago it happened.

Event	Proof SSA asks for
Work stoppage: you retired or stopped working	A signed employer letter, pay stubs, or papers showing you transferred your business. Without these, your signed statement on the SSA-44, under penalty of perjury.
Work reduction: fewer hours or partial retirement	The same, such as before-and-after pay stubs showing the change in hours.
Marriage	The original marriage certificate or a certified copy of the public record.
Divorce or annulment	A certified copy of the decree.
Death of your spouse	A certified copy of the death certificate or coroner's certificate.
Loss of income-producing property, not by your choice: disaster, arson, lost crops or livestock, fraud	An insurance adjuster's statement of loss or a government letter about the uncompensated loss; for fraud or theft, proof of the conviction too.
Loss of pension income when an employer's plan ends, terminates or reorganizes	A letter from the pension fund administrator explaining the cut.
Settlement from an employer because of its closure, bankruptcy or reorganization	A letter from the employer stating the settlement terms and how they affect you.

For a retirement or a cut in hours, an original signed employer letter, copies of pay stubs or your signed statement on the form is enough. For the other events, SSA needs originals or certified copies and mails them back. If SSA already has the death or marriage on record, you skip that proof.

These fall outside the list: a capital gain from selling property, an IRA conversion, cashing bonds, lottery or casino winnings, an ordinary fall in dividends, lost alimony or child support, and higher medical or living costs. A one-time gain sets one year's premium; the next year's comes from the next return.

Which year's income to put on the form

Step 2 asks for a tax year more recent than the one SSA used. For 2026 premiums:

Report 2026, as an estimate, if your income dropped in 2026, or dropped in 2025 and will be lower still in 2026.
Report 2025 if the drop came in 2025 and 2026 will be no lower. Once you have filed the 2025 return, include a signed copy or an IRS transcript.

An estimate is the AGI you expect on that year's Form 1040 plus the tax-exempt interest you expect on line 2a, with your expected filing status. Step 3 takes the next year's estimate if income will fall further. Leave it blank and SSA carries your Step 2 figure into the next year, so one form covers 2026 and 2027.

Example (hypothetical): A single filer with 2024 MAGI of $180,000 retired in June 2025 and expects 2026 MAGI of $80,000. Her 2026 letter charges $527.50 a month for Part B plus $60.40 for Part D. She reports 2026 at $80,000, and SSA moves her to the standard $202.90 with no Part D add-on: $385 a month, or $4,620 for 2026.

What to do today

Read your IRMAA letter. Note the tax year, MAGI and filing status SSA used, and the letter's date.
Get proof of the event. Ask your former employer's HR office for a signed letter with your last day of work or new hours, or gather before-and-after pay stubs. Without either, sign the statement on the form.
Work out your MAGI. Use last year's filed return or estimate this year. Print and sign an e-filed return, or use an IRS transcript from IRS.gov.
Fill out the SSA-44. Step 1: the event and its month and year. Step 2: tax year, AGI, tax-exempt interest, filing status. Step 3: next year's estimate, if lower. Step 5: sign, with your phone number and mailing address.
Send it. Online, sign in from SSA's Request to lower IRMAA page and submit the form. By mail or fax, send the form and evidence to your local office (use the office locator). For an appointment, book it there or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). If the employer letter is not ready, submit the SSA-44 online or by fax before December 31 anyway: your signed statement on the form is proof of a retirement, and a 2026 estimate needs no return yet. Send it so SSA receives it before December 31; online or fax is safest.
File one for each spouse. If you both pay IRMAA, each of you sends an SSA-44, because SSA applies a new decision only to the person who asked.

When the lower premium starts and what follows

Back to January. SSA mails a written decision that takes effect January 1 of the year you file, or your first month of Part B or drug coverage that year if later, and corrects the months already paid.
Late-year retirement. If you stop work late in the year and your income drops only the next year, the lower premium starts the next January 1.
Events in October, November or December. If one cut that year's income, you have until March 31 of the next year to fix the earlier year. SSA takes later requests for good cause, such as serious illness.
The IRS check. If the IRS figure for the year you estimated differs, SSA uses it and corrects every month of that year: a bill for the difference or a refund. Report a changed estimate to SSA by the end of the year after the tax year you reported.
Carryover. SSA keeps using your figure each year until the IRS sends a return for that year or a later one, you report a new event, or the year you reported is more than 3 years before the premium year.

Where it splits

If SSA used your return from three years back (2023 for 2026): call or visit SSA with a signed copy or transcript of your 2024 return, or tell SSA you had no 2024 filing requirement. You need no life-changing event. Ask by the end of the premium year, or by March 31 if the letter came in October, November or December.
If the IRS data is wrong or you amended the return: for an amended return, call 1-800-772-1213 for an appointment and bring it with the IRS letter acknowledging it, or an IRS transcript, within 3 calendar years after that tax year ends. For an IRS error, get a correction from the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 first, then give SSA the IRS paperwork; SSA dismisses an appeal filed only to dispute IRS data.
If you filed married filing separately but lived apart all year: call SSA instead of using the SSA-44. Sign a statement that you lived apart and give both addresses, and SSA uses the individual brackets.

If SSA says no: file again or appeal

A dismissal: file again. If SSA dismisses your SSA-44 instead of deciding it, because the event is not one of the eight or your proof did not arrive within 30 days, that dismissal cannot be appealed. If proof was the problem, send it with a new request before December 31.
A decision: reconsideration within 60 days. If you disagree with a decision SSA makes on your SSA-44 or your IRMAA, request reconsideration within 60 days of receiving it; SSA treats a letter as received 5 days after its date. File online with the non-medical reconsideration request, on Form SSA-561-U2, or at a local office. Inside the 60 days you can file an appeal and an SSA-44 together.
Late filing and higher levels. SSA extends the deadline for good cause, such as serious illness or a death in the family; give the reason in writing. After reconsideration come a hearing before an administrative law judge at HHS's Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, Medicare Appeals Council review and federal court. Bring in an attorney or other representative at the hearing stage.
Free help. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free counseling, including on appeals, at shiphelp.org. For the tax figures, see free tax preparation.

What to say at your SSA appointment

At an appointment, SSA records a missing document as pending and gives you 30 days to send it. To the claims representative: "I want to request a new initial determination of my [2026] IRMAA because of a life-changing event. I stopped working in [month and year]. My [2026] MAGI will be about $[amount], filing status [status]. Please record my request with proof pending for [my employer's letter / pay stubs], and I will send it within 30 days." If you report 2025 instead, add: "I will also bring my signed 2025 return or an IRS transcript."

Today

Find your IRMAA letter and circle the tax year and MAGI SSA used.
Get the employer letter or pay stubs, and work out this year's MAGI estimate.
Submit the SSA-44 online from SSA's Request to lower IRMAA page, or mail it with your evidence to your local office.

SSA mails a new decision with your premium from January 1 of the year you filed. If your 2027 letter still charges you for a working year's income, file a new SSA-44 for 2027 that week.