Required distributions can raise Medicare premium

Dear Toni: I am over 73 and began taking RMDS (required minimum distributions) from my 401(k) when I turned 72. Could this have increased my Medicare Part B premium for 2023?

This year my monthly premiums increased to $329.70 for Part B and an extra IRMAA premium of $31.50 for Part D.

I am married and my wife began a new job in 2021 with a higher salary. Since we are filing jointly, could this have increased my Medicare premiums? She has recently been laid off and our joint income has changed drastically. What can I do? — James, Pearland, Texas

Dear James: Some Americans believe that everyone pays the same amount for their Medicare Parts B and D premiums. Those days are long gone. So yes, taking your RMD at 72 and your wife’s new job could have raised your Medicare premiums.

If your income as an individual is over $97,000, or over $194,000 as a married couple, your Medicare Parts B and D premiums will be more. Social Security explains in the letter it mails to you how it arrived at the Parts B and D premiums based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from your last filed tax return.

Any increase in your MAGI can increase your Medicare premiums. Medicare bases your premiums on you and your spouse’s income whether one is Medicare age or under. Your RMDS combined with your wife’s increased income raised your Medicare premiums.

Do you want to wait two years for the IRS to inform Medicare that your income actually decreased because of a “life changing event”? Or do you want to let Medicare know now that your MAGI has decreased?

The 2023 Part B premium of $329.70 and $31.50 for Part D tells me that your joint income in 2021 was in the $246,001 to $306,000 range.

The good news: Since your wife is no longer employed and earning the salary she did in 2021, you can file an appeal with Social Security to have your Medicare Parts B and D premiums reduced.

There is a special form, SSA-44, available at Ssa.gov. Submitting this form can lower your IRMAA (income related monthly adjusted amount). Examples of qualifying life-changing events are:

■ You have gotten married or divorced.

■ Your spouse has died.

■ You have stopped working or had your hours reduced.

■ Your spouse has stopped working or had work hours reduced.

■ You or your spouse lost pension income.

■ You or your spouse lost income-producing property.

Fill out form SSA-44 and attach the original documents or certified copies to verify your change in income.

Once Social Security is satisfied with the evidence, it will update its records and correct your Parts B and D premiums to what your current income is.