🇺🇸 A trusted non-government website. Here's how you know.
716.833.0252
What Is Medicare IRMAA, And When Does It Apply Living In WNY?
By Andrew L Hibbard @WNYMrMedicare
Originally Posted: 29 MAY 2023
Updated & Revised:
If the government thinks you made, or continue to make, more money than they want you to be making, you’ll likely pay more for your Medicare when you sign up than others.
This added irritation is called the Income-Related Medicare Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. It’s an ongoing monthly surcharge of sorts which can significantly increase the price you’ll pay for both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D.
There are four income brackets set, so dependent on where your (or you plus your spouses) income falls on the government sliding scale, you may pay double or up, in some instances, more than 4 times higher a monthly price for Medicare --- forever --- or until your income decreases to a lower bracket.
Here’s what you need to know, PLUS a hidden little trick that they don’t willingly tell you about, or want you to know about, but you shouldn’t be afraid to use…
You are subject to Medicare IRMAA based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), so creative tax planning which can help reduce your MAGI should be a welcomed strategy.
Social Security, in conjunction with the IRS, reviews your tax return from the former 2 years to determine how high your IRMAA assessed amount might be.
But I believe there should be a significant concern with this way of figuring out facts and figures on your behalf. It is flawed. Incomplete and inadequate.
Let me explain…
More often than not, when you sign up for Medicare, you are typically retiring, your earned income salary or wages are being replaced with your Social Security income, and your commercial Employer Group Health Insurance is being replaced with a private Medicare plan, right?
This transition and change occurs around age 65, after being in the workforce for 40 years most likely, and your last 2 years (or more) may have been your highest earning years because of career advancement, senior employee status, extra overtime, etc.
Those last 2 highest earning years while working, are the very same last 2 years the government is basing what you should pay for Medicare when you sign up, without taking into account, when retired, and no longer working, you are likely not still earning the same level of income as when you were actively employed.
I believe it is unfair to assess you an IRMAA penalty based off past money made, without accurately analyzing the money you will make moving forward.
But stuck away in the shadows is a hidden form which many never know about because they don’t willing offer it to you or tell you about it (or really want you to know it exists).
I have used this form --- time and time again --- with almost all of my high-net-worth personal private clients, to successfully request their IRMAA premium penalty be reconsidered and readjusted down to a decreased lower bracket.
In most cases, we can show significant earning loss in retirement due to work stoppage, or sale of income producing property which allows IRMAA to be removed and replaced completely with no further penalty.
In some cases, we can only show temporary work reduction which allows an IRMAA premium penalty to be reduced but not removed entirely until work completely stops and seizes at a future date and time.
Either way, without plotting and planning a smart path when making your move to Medicare can expose you to great financial costs and unnecessary risk.
Ok, there’s a lot to deal with, right? I get it.
And as an active adult in WNY, who’s always on the run, you need a smart solution to cut through all the clutter.
If you want some light shed on your situation, your hand held the whole way, and making your move to Medicare simpler, easier, seemingly stress-free and almost effortless, I can do just that. Here's how...
NEARING AGE 65 AND AREN'T SURE WHERE TO START?
**If you are TURNING 65 IN 6-12 MONTHS, my #1 Amazon best-selling guidebook, "Starting Medicare Smartly" will give you a great overview of everything you need to know, before you need to know it. Instead of buying on Amazon for $12.99, click HERE now and let me send you a completely free copy, all at my expense.
**If you are TURNING 65 IN 4-6 MONTHS, you should be getting ready to enroll and your paperwork prepared to either sign up at 65, or suspend --- you can't do nothing. If you don't have the time or desire to deal with doing any of the dirty work with Medicare yourself, OR, you feel frustrated, confused and kind of clueless about figuring out the fine print with Medicare, you can rely on my free Medicare SmartStart Program and let me take away all your stress of trying to tackle anything on your own. It's how I help people just like you. Weekly availability is limited to the first 10 folks, and maximum 40 per month. Don't delay. Click HERE now to learn more about my nationally recognized program, and how you can put it to work for you --- for free.
**If you are TURNING 65 IN 1-4 MONTHS, you are cutting it close to your Medicare late penalty period. If you have NOT yet filled out and filed your Medicare forms, you are behind and against the clock. It is URGENT we get together as soon as possible so I can do all I can, before it's too late, to help you avoid paying a costly late penalty for life. Click HERE now to immediately schedule an emergency Medicare SmartStart Strategy Session with me...if there are any still available.
HAVE MORE MEDICARE QUESTIONS?
Read the most common questions folks in WNY ask when they aren’t sure how to get started with Medicare. Click HERE to see the complete Medicare SmartStart Answers article archive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew L Hibbard is a prominent name when mentioning Medicare in WNY, but one you may have never heard of. Working behind-the-scenes, he is a best-selling author, expert advisor and successful agency owner. Focused on educating first, Andrew prides himself on being considered “the only advocate in WNY fighting for better and more reliable Medicare resources, free from insurance company conflict of interests.”
To take away the stress of trying to tackle Medicare alone and feeling forced to figure it all out by yourself --- Andrew created the WNY Medicare SmartStart Program; a free, step-by-step plan, that holds you by the hand to sign up and start Medicare smartly. (More than 850+ people have gone through the program and call it “the lazy way to get Medicare done for you without costing you a dime”).
**SPECIAL FREE GIFT** If you want to see how hundreds of WNY'ers each year are doing things different with Medicare, and getting it all done in record time, you can request a special "Medicare SmartStarter Info Kit” at no-cost to you, Andrew will give it to you as his free gift. It will prove, without a doubt, why his Medicare SmartStart Program is widely considered the most popular and preferred way to sign up and get started with Medicare in WNY, Guaranteed! Simply click HERE right now, and everything will be rushed to your right away. It's that easy!
You Can Feel Confident Knowing What To Do With Medicare.
I Can Take Away The Stress Of Trying To Tackle It On Your Own.
Figuring out all the fine print with Medicare doesn't need to feel stressful. You don't have to spend your scarce free time at home, alone, in isolation, relying on your own assumptions and hit-or-miss guesses, attempting to do-it-yourself.
Confidently knowing exactly what to do (and when) with Medicare is the key to avoiding future fines and fees and only my Medicare SmartStart Program will show you how.
If you don't have the time or the desire to deal with Medicare directly, and want a BETTER, SMARTER, time-saving solution to short-cut hours of your own trial and error so you know --- without question --- you aren't messing anything up making a mistake...
Let me put my proven Medicare SmartStart Program to work for you.
Click the link below to take the next step and schedule a complimentary Medicare SmartStart Strategy Session with me --- it's that easy!
You Can Feel Confident Knowing What To Do With Medicare.
I Can Take Away The Stress Of Trying To Tackle It On Your Own.
Figuring out all the fine print with Medicare doesn't need to feel stressful. You don't have to spend your scarce free time at home, alone, in isolation, relying on your own assumptions and hit-or-miss guesses, attempting to do-it-yourself.
Confidently knowing exactly what to do (and when) with Medicare is the key to avoiding future fines and fees and only my Medicare SmartStart Program will show you how.
If you don't have the time or the desire to deal with Medicare directly, and want a BETTER, SMARTER, time-saving solution to short-cut hours of your own trial and error so you know --- without question --- you aren't messing anything up making a mistake...
Let me put my proven Medicare SmartStart Program to work for you.
Click the link below to take the next step and schedule a complimentary Medicare SmartStart Strategy Session with me --- it's that easy!
Get Started For FREE!
Who Is Andrew Hibbard?
Since 2015, Andrew has helped over 850+ Western New Yorkers through his nationally recognized Medicare SmartStart Program, taking away all the stress from folks trying to tackle Medicare on their own. His impressive record of success has been gotten Andrew featured in Forever Young Magazine and the BEE Group Newspapers, exclusive interviews on WECK Radio's Senior Matter's Program, and author an #1 Amazon best-selling guidebook on the subject, "Starting Medicare Smartly," revealing how the rules specifically and significantly differ for NY residents versus other states.
- 716.833.0252
Copyright 2015-2022. www.WNYmedicare.org
All Rights Reserved.