Dear Toni,
My wife, Joyce, who is not yet 65, was released from her job in February, and our joint income has changed because she is no longer earning $230,000 per year. My Social Security check for 2026 is $4,000 monthly. I began taking my required minimum distributions from my 401(k) when I turned 73 last October. For 2026, Medicare uses our joint income of $278,000 to charge me a monthly Medicare premium of $443.30 for 2026, which is $405.80 for Part B and $37.50 for Part D.
Please explain how I advise Medicare that my income level has changed since Joyce is unemployed, and our yearly income is well below $218,000. And when I began taking my required minimum last fall, is this amount also added to the total yearly income for my Medicare premium? Thanks, Toni, for your help.
— Gerald from Lubbock, Texas
Hi Gerald,
Yes, taking your required minimum distributions can raise your Medicare Part B and D premiums. Many Americans do not realize that any increase in your modified adjusted gross income when you are filing jointly can increase your premiums. Medicare bases your premium on both your and your spouse’s income, whether one is Medicare age or under.
Your required minimum distributions and Social Security check, combined with your wife’s income of $230,000, have raised your Medicare premiums. The 2026 Part B premium of $405.80 and $37.50 for Part D tells me that your joint income in 2026 was between $274,001 and $342,000.
But I have good news for you, Gerald! Since Joyce is no longer employed or earning a salary of $230,000 since February of this year, you can file an appeal with Social Security to have your Medicare Parts B and D premiums reduced.
Gerald, the important question is: Do you want to wait two years for the IRS to inform Medicare via Social Security that your income has decreased due to a “life-changing event” (such as a layoff, retirement, death of a spouse or divorce), or do you want to let Medicare know now, by filing a form with Social Security notifying them you have had a life-changing event and are no longer in that income bracket? The simple answer is yes: inform Medicare that your income has changed.
The Social Security form you need is SSA-44, Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amount, and is available at ssa.gov/forms. The form can help to lower your income related monthly adjusted amount. Examples of life-changing events that can help lower your reported modified adjusted gross income are:
— You have gotten married, divorced or your spouse has died.
— You or your spouse have stopped working or have reduced your hours.
— You or your spouse have lost an alternate income source (e.g., income-producing property, pension income).
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 Part B and Part D premiums to reflect your current income. A lower income amount can lower your Medicare Part B and D monthly amount.
In 2026, if your income as an individual is over $109,000 or married over $218,000, your Medicare Parts B and D premiums will be higher. Social Security explains in the letter you will have received how they arrived at the Part B and D premiums based on your modified adjusted gross income from your last filed tax return. Gerald, your modified adjusted gross income was over $274,001, and the letter you received from Social Security shows what the Part B and Part D premium adjustments will be. You will have to keep filing the SSA-44 form each year until your annual income, whether as an individual or couple, finally corresponds to the year’s modified adjusted gross income lower amount.
Remember, with Medicare, what you don’t know WILL hurt you!
Toni King is an author and columnist on Medicare, Social Security and long-term care issues. She has spent nearly 30 years as a top sales leader in the field. If you have a Medicare question, email info@tonisays.com or call 832-519-8664. Sign up for the Toni Says newsletter at tonisays.com to keep up to date on Medicare changes.