Medicare sets your 2027 premium using the tax return you filed for 2025, the most recent complete year Social Security has on file. If you were still working full time in 2025 and retired sometime this year, that return still shows your full salary, and possibly a surcharge that no longer matches your income.
There is a fix. Form SSA-44 lets you report the change and give Social Security a more current income estimate instead. Most new retirees never hear about it until a premium notice arrives that doesn't match their new budget.
Decision
Tell us where you are right now
Pick the description that fits your situation today.
Why Your 2027 Premium Uses a Number From 2025
Social Security calls this the two-year lookback. Your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for a given year are set using your modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, from your tax return filed two years earlier. For 2027, that means your 2025 return.
The lookback exists because a current-year tax return usually isn't filed yet when premiums are set each fall. It works fine for most retirees whose income holds steady. It works badly for anyone whose income just dropped for a real reason, like leaving a paycheck behind.
The Life Changes That Qualify for a Reset
Retirement isn't the only life-changing event Social Security recognizes for this form. Work reduction, marriage, divorce or annulment, the death of a spouse, a lost pension, and losing income from property or investments after a specific event can all qualify.
You don't have to fit every detail perfectly. You have to show the event happened, give the date, and estimate your income going forward. Social Security fills in the rest.
Know what to ask before you call Medicare or Social Security.
Build my listClose tool
Prepare short, specific Medicare or Social Security questions before your next call.
Checklist
Confirm this actually applies to you
A few minutes of checking saves you from filing paperwork you don't need.
0 of 3 done.
Checklist
Which of these happened to you
Check any that apply. You only need one to qualify.
0 of 5 done.
Timeline
If you've already stopped working
Work these in order once you have your stop-work date.
Pull your final pay stub, retirement letter, or separation notice showing the date.
Submit it online, by mail, or at your local Social Security office with your estimate and proof attached.
Call to confirm your new determination is in place before your next premium is due.
Save what you confirmed here so you can follow through with Social Security.
What Form SSA-44 Actually Asks For
The form asks for the event, the date it happened, and your estimated income for the current year going forward, not your income for the whole prior year. You'll need to attach proof: a retirement letter, a final pay stub, a death certificate, or a divorce decree, depending on the event.
Social Security uses your estimate to set a new premium while it waits for your actual tax return to catch up. If your estimate turns out to be wrong, it reconciles the difference once your real return is filed, not before.
Calculator
Estimate the number SSA-44 asks for
Add up what you expect to bring in this year now that your paycheck has stopped or dropped.
Enter your numbers to see the total.
Timing That Actually Works With the Form
Because you're already retired, the order of steps below matters more than the paperwork itself. File too early and you won't have proof yet. File too late and you've paid months of a surcharge you didn't need to.
