IRMAA
What would your retirement look like if YOU LOST a percentage of your Social Security NET BENEFIT?
Don’t be caught off guard when a letter from Social Security tells you your premiums are about to double, or Triple!
IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) is a surcharge upon the current year’s Medicare Part B and Part D premium for Medicare beneficiaries who earn too much income in a given year. It is based on your MAGI on your tax return from two years prior.
IRMAA was signed into law on Dec. 8, 2003 under the Medicare Modernization Act:
“In the case of an individual whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds the threshold, the monthly amount of the premium subsidy applicable to the premium under this section for a month after December 2006 shall be reduced (and the monthly premium shall be increased)”. – page 2364
The IRMAA Income Threshold Brackets work like a cliff rather than a gradual slope
Being Just $1 over a threshold can cost you more than $1000 a year in extra premiums.
IRMAA Income is Defined as:
Modified Adjusted Gross Income
According to POMS (Program Operations Manual System)
Your Social Security Check
Your Medicare premiums are deducted from your Social Security check (assuming you are collecting Social Security)
Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Income for Social Security taxation is called Provisional Income and it’s calculated by adding…
= Provisional or Combined Income
Medicare may actually be in worse trouble than Social Security, according to the trustees…
“By 2039, Medicare’s cost is expected to exceed that of Social Security—and will continue to do so through 2099.”
—Beth Pinsker, MarketWatch, June 18, 2025
“Paying 11% more on a hospital stay that costs $100,000 would amount to an additional $11,000 in out-of-pocket costs.”
—Beth Pinsker, MarketWatch, June 18, 2025
“We knew this problem would arrive at our feet in 1983 and Congress has had since then to solve this. We’re marching up the hill to the cliff, and about to be pushed over.”
—Marcia Mantell, quoted in MarketWatch
“Source: MarketWatch, Beth Pinsker, June 18, 2025”
What is an IRMAA Certified Planner?
By 2036, about 25 million Medicare beneficiaries (25.4% of all those on Part B) will pay an income-related premium (known as IRMAA) — up from roughly 6.3 million in 2020 under the current thresholds. Seeing an IRMAA Certified Specialist can help put you in a better financial position for understanding how IRMAA can impact you.
IRMAA is Just One Part of an overall retirement tax plan
- IRMAA Planning
- Roth IRA Conversions
- Tax Loss Harvesting
- Tax-Free Investments
- Health Savings Accounts
- Retirement Plan Distributions
- Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
- Asset Location
- Social Security Taxation
Want To Know Where You Stand?
Want to know where you stand? Follow these simple steps to see how IRMAA will impact you.
- Supply your basic financial info
- We run a test with our Retirement Advisor Pro software
- Forecast IRMAA Brackets in Retirement
- Calculate Total Medicare Costs
- Identify A Plan To Avoid IRMAA
Take The IRMAA Self-Quiz
Take 5 minutes to answer the questions on our IRMAA Self-Quiz and get a general idea of your potential IRMAA exposure in retirement. This quiz is a helpful first step before attending one of our IRMAA workshops.
After navigating to the form, fill it out online, then download "with your changes" to your computer. Once you retrieve it, send as an attachment to gayle@lifetimeadvisorsgroup.com. We will run a test with our Retirement Advisor Pro software to assess your IRMAA exposure.
