You received a one-time settlement payment from a former employer due to the employer's closure or bankruptcy. If a life change has dropped your income, you don't have to wait two years for your tax return to catch up — Form SSA-44 lets you ask Social Security to reduce your Part B and Part D surcharge now. Here's a worked 2026 example and the exact filing steps.
Quick answer: You received a one-time settlement payment from a former employer due to the employer's closure or bankruptcy. is one of the eight life-changing events on Form SSA-44 that let you ask Social Security to lower your Medicare IRMAA before the two-year lookback catches up. In the worked example below, that drop clears the surcharge entirely — saving about $385/month ($4,620/year).
Medicare's income-related surcharge (IRMAA) for 2026 is set from your 2024 tax return. When employer settlement payment lowers your income after that, the old figure keeps inflating your premium until your newer return finally posts — often two years later. Form SSA-44 short-circuits that wait: you report the life-changing event and your current income, and Social Security recomputes the surcharge. In the example above, an IRMAA of $385.00/month (a single filer whose income was spiked by a one-time payment) becomes $0.00/month after the change — worth about $4,620 a year.
A one-time settlement from a former employer's closure or bankruptcy can spike a single year's income and push you into a higher IRMAA tier — even though it will never recur. SSA-44 lets you show the payment was a one-time event so your surcharge is based on your ordinary, ongoing income instead.
IRMAA has two parts: an add-on to the standard Part B premium ($202.90 in 2026) and a separate Part D surcharge. In the example, a single income of $175,000 lands in an IRMAA tier where Part B is $527.50/mo — that's $324.60 above standard — plus a $60.40 Part D surcharge, so $385.00/month of total IRMAA. After employer settlement payment, income of $90,000 falls back under the single threshold, where there is no surcharge at all: Part B returns to the $202.90 standard and the Part D surcharge is $0. The whole $385.00/month disappears — $4,620.00 a year.
Enter your real income and filing status to see your exact 2026 Part B + Part D surcharge — and what you'd pay if this life-changing event drops you a bracket.
Open the 2026 IRMAA Calculator →Download Form SSA-44 (“Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount – Life-Changing Event”) from SSA.gov. In Step 1, mark Employer Settlement Payment as your life-changing event and enter its date. In Step 2, report the tax year your income dropped and your reduced Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) — and, if you also expect a further drop next year, use Step 3. Attach documentation of the settlement (for example the settlement letter or 1099) and a statement of your expected ongoing income. Sign it and either mail it to your local Social Security office, fax it, or bring it in person. There is no strict deadline, but file as soon as the event happens — SSA can only adjust going forward, so every month you wait is a surcharge you don't get back. Most beneficiaries hear back within a few weeks.
Yes. You received a one-time settlement payment from a former employer due to the employer's closure or bankruptcy. is one of the eight official life-changing events Social Security accepts on Form SSA-44. As long as the event genuinely lowered your income (or changed your filing status) versus the 2024 return that set your 2026 premium, SSA can recompute your Part B and Part D surcharge on your newer, lower income instead of making you wait for your tax return to catch up.
Your 2026 Part B and Part D surcharges are set from your 2024 tax return — a two-year lookback. That is exactly why SSA-44 exists: it lets you substitute more recent income when a qualifying life-changing event has since lowered it, instead of waiting two years for your tax return to catch up.
You can appeal a denial by requesting a reconsideration (Form SSA-561) and, if needed, a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Keep copies of every document you submit. If your income also changed for reasons that aren't on the SSA-44 list, you may still get relief automatically once your newer tax return is on file.
Walking a client through an SSA-44 that saves them $4,620.00/year is the kind of service that keeps a book of business for life. Our Medicare agent toolkits include IRMAA-appeal worksheets, a client CRM, and a 60-day renewal radar so no high-income client slips away.
See the Medicare agent tools on Etsy →The life-changing events and 2026 figures on this page are verified against U.S. government primary sources: