Tested Templates & Toolstested before it ships

● Free tool · retirement

IRMAA appeal calculator: your new Medicare premium after a life-changing event (Form SSA-44)

Enter the MAGI that set your current premium (from two years ago) and your estimated MAGI for the more recent year you're asking Social Security to use instead. See both 2026 IRMAA tiers side by side and what a successful SSA-44 life-changing-event request would save.

✓ TestedSame 2026 CMS tier table as the IRMAA calculator, checked against SSA's current life-changing-event rules
New Part B premium if approved–
Current (2-year-old MAGI)Requested (your estimate)

This runs your two MAGI figures through the same 2026 IRMAA tier table as the IRMAA calculator -- it doesn't decide whether you qualify. SSA only grants a new initial determination for one of eight exclusive life-changing events (marriage, divorce/annulment, death of a spouse, work reduction, work stoppage, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, or an employer settlement payment), each with its own required evidence, and it uses an estimate of your current-year or prior-year MAGI in place of the usual 2-year lookback -- not a guess at what the surcharge "should" be. Full event-by-event evidence list, how to file Form SSA-44, and the timing rules in the SSA-44 appeal guide. Figures: CMS's 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums and deductibles announcement and 2026 Part D IRMAA amounts, published November 14, 2025; life-changing-event rules from SSA's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) HI 01120.001-.043.

How it works

SSA will recalculate your Medicare IRMAA using a more recent year's MAGI estimate instead of the standard 2-year-old return, but only after one of 8 exclusive life-changing events: marriage, divorce or annulment, death of a spouse, work reduction, work stoppage, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, or an employer settlement payment. This tool runs your old and new MAGI through the same 2026 CMS tier table: a single filer going from $205,500 (5th tier, $649.20 Part B plus an $83.30 Part D surcharge) to an estimated $95,000 after retiring drops to the 1st tier, the standard $202.90 with no surcharge -- $529.60 less a month, $6,355.20 less for the year, if SSA grants it. The event-by-event evidence SSA requires and how to file Form SSA-44 (mail or in person -- there's no online appeal portal) are in the SSA-44 appeal guide.

Worked examples