What is SSA-44?
What is the SSA 44 used for?
How do you complete it?
We will look at what it is, what is the purpose of completing an SSA-44 form, what it looks like, how to fill out the SSA44 form, we’ll refer you to additional resources and more!!
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Table of Contents
What is SSA-44 form
The SSA-44 is used to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) of changes to your income that may result in a change in your Medicare premiums.
The SSA 44 form is called “Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount – Life-Changing Event”.
There are many ways people commonly refer to this form, such as:
- IRMAA form
- Medicare exempt form
- Social Security life changing event form
- Medicare life changing event form
- Life changing event form
They all refer to the same SSA 44 form.
Typically, when you enroll in Medicare part B, the premiums you’ll need to pay are a function of your income.
The more income you earn, the higher your premiums (and vice versa).
When you are required to pay a higher premium, you will be asked to pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA).
All aspects related to the change in your Medicare premiums are managed using SSA form 44.
The Form SSA44 is technically not an appeal form.
Rather, it’s a request that you make so the SSA can consider certain events in your life that can impact your Medicare premium calculation.
What is the purpose of Form SSA-44
When you experience a life-changing event resulting in your income going down, you can use the Social Security Form SSA 44 to request a reduction in your income-related monthly adjustment amount.
In other words, if you notice that your premiums of Medicare part B or prescription drug coverage include income-related monthly adjustment, you can use Medicare form SSA-44 to request a reduction of premiums.
At the end of the day, you want to ensure that you are not overpaying Medicare premiums.
If your income goes down due to a life-changing event, you have the right to request the reduction of your Medicare premiums.
What are life-changing events
Life-changing events are important events that happen in a person’s life, such as:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Marriage annulment
- Death of a spouse
- Work stoppage
- Work reduction
- Loss of pension income
- Employer settlement payment
Now that you know what’s a life-changing event, the following changes in your life are not considered as life-changing:
- Loss of dividend income
- Higher medicare expenses
- Higher living expenses
- Loss of child support
- Loss of alimony
- Voluntary sale of an income-producing property
What does the Social Security Form 44 look like
Get the Form SSA44 here!
Outline of Form SSA 44
The SSA-44 form is composed of the following sections:
- Step 1: Type of Life-Changing Event
- Step 2: Reduction in Income
- Step 3: Modified Adjusted Gross Income
- Step 4: Documentation
- Step 5: Signature
How do you fill out SSA 44
In Step 1, you’ll need to check “one” of the life-changing events that you have experienced along with the date the event took place.
If you have more than one life-changing event, you should not use form SSA 44.
Instead, you should contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.
In Step 2, you’ll need to indicate which tax year your income was reduced by the life-changing event.
You can find the information needed by consulting your IRS Form 1040 giving you:
- Adjusted gross income
- Tax-exempt interest income
- Tax filing status
In Step 3 you will need to provide an estimation of how much your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) will be for the following year.
In Step 4, you’ll need to provide evidence of your modified adjusted gross income and life-changing event.
To provide the evidence, you can either mail the evidence along with your application to the SSA office (they’ll consult the original and return them to you).
Alternatively, you can bring your evidence to your local SSA office and show the evidence to an SSA employee in person.
The last step, Step 5, is your signature.
How to submit Form SSA 44
Once you have completed your Social Security Form SSA44, you are now ready to sign.
Make sure you verify the content of your information to ensure they are correct.
Also, you’ll need to make sure that you have all your documents with you, including:
- The evidence of your life-changing event
- Copy of your federal tax return
- Any other evidence showing a more recent tax year’s MAGI
Once you have verified your application is complete and the evidence is adequate, you are ready to sign.
To submit your completed application, you can either mail to the SSA office or bring it in person.
If you have original documents that you do not want to lose, you may want to bring your application and documents directly to the SSA office and show your original evidence in person.
Additional resources on SSA 44
If you are looking for more information and resources on Form SSA-44, you can consult the following resources:
Social Security Administration
For more information on the Social Security Form SSA-44, you can contact the SSA office at 1-800-772-1213.
You can look for a local SSA office by using the Social Security Office Locator tool.
For any public inquiries, you can also write to the Social Security Administration office at the following address:
Good Luck!
