Our SSA payments got reduced!

Jan 24, 2017 3 Replies
J

I was age 80 last year and my wife 72.



I was shocked, shocked when we received notices from SSA late last year that our monthly payments were going to be reduced by about 6% this year, which they were this month. That has never happened to us before.



There was an explanation in the letters that our 2015 AGI exceeded the first of several levels of SSA benefit reduction.



Our AGI was high because of the hefty RMDs we had to take from our regular IRAs in 2015.



Is this a new rule or has our AGI been under the first "reduction level" in the past?



Can someone point me to an SSA web page which explains this in detail?



Jeff


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A

SSA benefits were not reduced. It sounds as though your AGI on your 2015 income tax return made you subject to IRMAA. The Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) is an additional amount that you pay for your monthly Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums and your monthly Medicare Part B (out-patient or doctor visit coverage) premiums. In

2017, you are not subject to IRMAA if your 2015 AGI on a joint return did not exceed $170,000.

You can find a table that contains the Part B and Part D adjustments based on AGI at:

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I

It's a passthrough of Medicare Part B increases. It's been in the law for several years now and is based on your AGI from two years' prior. In other words, your 2017 Medicare B cost is based on your 2015 AGI. 2018 will be based on 2016, etc.

You can learn more here:

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Ira Smilovitz, EA

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J

Thanks Alan, I understand it better now. Because our MAGI exceeded $170K in 2015 our Medicare Parts B and D premiums increased and we ended up with lower monthly payments this year than we received last year.

Jeff

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