21 retirement rules that switch on by age in California, with the source next to each one.
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What a single filer pays in extra Medicare premiums for one year after a tax return that came in $1 over the first surcharge line. For a couple, $2,296.80.
Source: CMS 2026 premiums; 42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)
A section from the free chapter, pasted here unchanged, so you can see what the book is before you give an email address for it.
Your Medicare premium in any year is set by your income from two years earlier. Cross a line by one dollar and you pay the full surcharge for the whole year.
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are income-tested. The surcharge is called IRMAA, and it is calculated from the modified adjusted gross income on your tax return from two years before: the 2024 return sets the 2026 premium, the 2026 return sets the 2028 premium. The income that counts is adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest. Unlike the marketplace subsidy, it does not add back the untaxed part of Social Security.
For 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month. The first surcharge line is $109,000 for a single filer and $218,000 for a couple, and the tiers are cliffs: one dollar over a line means the full surcharge for that tier for all twelve months.
| Single MAGI (2024) | Joint MAGI (2024) | Part B per month | Part D add-on |
|---|---|---|---|
| up to $109,000 | up to $218,000 | $202.90 | $0 |
| to $137,000 | to $274,000 | $284.10 | $14.50 |
| to $171,000 | to $342,000 | $405.80 | $37.50 |
| to $205,000 | to $410,000 | $527.50 | $60.40 |
| to $499,999 | to $749,999 | $649.20 | $83.30 |
| $500,000 and up | $750,000 and up | $689.90 | $91.00 |
The math. A single filer, 63, with $80,000 of income sells a small rental and recognizes a $30,000 gain. Her income for the year is $110,000: $1,000 over the line. Two years later, at 65, her first Medicare premium is $284.10 instead of $202.90, plus $14.50 on Part D. The cost of that $1,000 is $1,148.40 for the year. For a couple, the same step over $218,000 costs $2,296.80.
| Income at 63 | $80,000 plus a $30,000 gain = $110,000 |
| First surcharge line, single | $109,000 |
| Over the line by | $1,000 |
| Part B at 65 | $284.10 a month instead of $202.90 |
| Part D add-on | $14.50 a month |
| Cost for the year | $1,148.40 (a couple: $2,296.80) |
What this does to the conversion plan from Chapter 5: a couple that converts $100,000 at 63 on top of $140,000 of income lands at $240,000, over the joint line, and pays the first-tier surcharge for both spouses during their first year on Medicare. Whether that is worth it depends on what the conversion saves later, and the table in Chapter 5 is how you find out. What it is not is a surprise, if you know the lookback exists.
The appeal that works, and the one that doesn’t. If your income has dropped since the tax year Medicare is looking at, you can file Form SSA-44 and ask for the premium to be based on this year’s estimate instead. It works only for eight listed events: marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, stopping work, reducing work, loss of income-producing property through disaster or fraud, loss of a pension, or an employer settlement. Retirement is the common one and it is nearly always granted with a letter from the employer. A Roth conversion, a home sale, or a large IRA withdrawal is not on the list, and an appeal on those grounds is denied.
In plain terms. Starting at 63, the IRS tells Medicare what you earned, and Medicare uses it to set your premium at 65. There’s a line, about $109,000 single and $218,000 for a couple, and going over it by even a dollar costs you over a thousand dollars that year. If you retire and your income drops, you can ask Medicare to use the new number. If you just had a big one-time year, you can’t.
Questions to ask. For whoever prepares your taxes, starting the year you turn 63:
Sources: 42 U.S.C. 1395r(i); 20 CFR 418.1115, 418.1205; POMS HI 01101.010, HI 01120.005; CMS 2026 Parts A and B premiums fact sheet; Form SSA-44.
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The rule shown above cites: