This is the most common reason people file Form SSA-44. Your 2026 Medicare premium is based on your 2024 tax return. If you were still working in 2024 and have stopped since, your IRMAA reflects a paycheck you no longer get.
You don't have to wait two years for the lookback to catch up. Retirement counts as a work stoppage, one of the eight life-changing events Social Security accepts. You can ask it to use your newer, lower income now.
What counts as a work stoppage
Social Security's manual describes it as a reduction, or an expected reduction, in income before or after you, your spouse, or both of you stop working (POMS HI 01120.030). Its examples:
- retirement
- a lay-off
- the sale of a business or corporation
A few points people often miss:
- Your spouse's retirement counts. The SSA-44 wording is “you or your spouse stopped working.”
- It can be expected, not just past. The form lets you report an income drop you expect this year or next.
- Cutting back is a different box. Partial retirement or going from full-time to part-time is a work reduction (POMS HI 01120.025). It's also a qualifying event, but you check “Work Reduction” instead.
- It can be long ago. Social Security accepts the event regardless of how far in the past it happened, as long as it came before the income drop (POMS HI 01120.005).
Each spouse files separately
A work stoppage request only applies to the person who reports it. If you and your spouse both pay IRMAA and both are affected, each of you needs to make your own request.
The drop has to change your tier
Social Security only acts on a significant reduction. That means one that lowers your IRMAA tier or ends IRMAA for that year. If your newer MAGI still lands in the same tier, nothing changes.
If you state under penalty of perjury that the work stoppage caused the drop, Social Security accepts that. It doesn't look into what your income is made of. It only checks that your MAGI went down and that the event happened first (POMS HI 01120.005).
See if an SSA-44 could lower your IRMAA. Start the free IRMAA check →
The proof Social Security accepts
Proof that you stopped working
The SSA-44 asks for one of these:
- an original signed statement from your employer
- copies of pay stubs
- original or certified documents showing a transfer of your business
Social Security's manual (POMS HI 01120.030) accepts any evidence that clearly documents the stoppage, including:
- a statement from an employer
- a retirement letter
- corporate minutes
- a record of a business transfer or sale
- your own statement, under penalty of perjury, about the work stoppage
If you don't have documents, the form says Social Security will accept your signed statement on the form itself. The manual tells staff to “accept the beneficiary's statement as proof of the stop in work.” The regulation adds that it won't accept work-change evidence that can't be substantiated (20 CFR 418.1260). So if you have a retirement letter, include it.
Proof of your newer income
- Already filed that year's return? Send your signed copy or an IRS transcript. If you filed electronically, print it and sign it.
- Not filed yet? Give an estimate of your MAGI and filing status for that year. Social Security decides using the estimate, then asks for a signed copy of the return once you file.
Which year to ask for, and when it takes effect
On the SSA-44 you name a tax year more recent than the one Social Security used. For a 2026 request, the form's rule works out like this:
- Retired in 2026? Use your 2026 estimate, because your income didn't drop until 2026.
- Retired in 2025, and 2026 won't be any lower? Use 2025.
- Retired in 2025, and 2026 will be lower still? Use your 2026 estimate.
The retirement date must fall in the same year as, or before, the tax year you pick. If you had Part B all year, the new decision generally takes effect in January of the year you ask about. If your Part B started partway through the year, it starts with your first month of Part B (POMS HI 01120.005). It can never take effect before the year of the event.
You can make the request any time during the year your income drops. If you stop working in October, November or December and that significantly lowers your income for that year, you have until March 31 of the next year to ask about it (20 CFR 418.1310). More on timing in IRMAA appeal vs. SSA-44.
A worked example: single
You're single. Your 2024 MAGI was $150,000, mostly wages. Your 2026 IRMAA notice puts you in the “above $137,000 up to $171,000” tier. That means $405.80 a month for Part B, plus $37.50 on top of your drug plan.
You retired in March 2026 and estimate your 2026 MAGI at $95,000. On SSA-44 you check Work Stoppage, write 03/2026, and write 2026 in Step 2 with your estimates. You attach your employer's retirement letter. At $95,000 you're under the $109,000 line, so you'd pay the standard $202.90 and no Part D add-on.
That's $240.40 a month less ($202.90 + $37.50), or $2,884.80 a year. You had Part B all year, so the change would generally reach back to January 2026.
A worked example: married
You and your spouse file jointly and both have Medicare. Your 2024 MAGI was $300,000, so each of you pays $405.80 for Part B plus $37.50 for Part D in 2026. Your spouse retired in 2025, and your 2025 joint MAGI was $200,000. 2026 won't be any lower, so the right year is 2025.
At $200,000 you're under the $218,000 joint limit. Each of you could drop to $202.90, a saving of $240.40 a month per person. But only if both of you file. Together that's $480.80 a month, or $5,769.60 a year.
Before you send it
- Don't file if you aren't paying IRMAA now. The form says not to, even after a life-changing event.
- Pick a tax year newer than the one on your IRMAA letter.
- If you used an estimate and it changes, tell Social Security. If you don't, it may make corrections later, including retroactive charges or refunds.
Ready to go line by line? Use our SSA-44 step-by-step instructions, or run the free IRMAA and SSA-44 check to see your own savings.