Medicare Part D

Aurora, IL: IRMAA on Medicare Part B and D 2027

Aurora, Ill. — As Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period runs through Dec. 7, many Kane County retirees are opening letters from Social Security with an unfamiliar acronym: IRMAA. If your income crossed a certain line two years ago, it can quietly raise what you pay for Medicare Part B and Part D in 2027 — even if your plan itself didn't change.

Here's a plain-English look at how income-related surcharges work, where the thresholds stand now, and what Aurora-area readers can do if a notice arrives in the mail.

What IRMAA is, in plain terms

IRMAA stands for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It's an extra amount added to your standard Part B premium and, if you have Part D drug coverage, to your Part D premium too.

Most people with Medicare pay the standard Part B premium. But if your income is above a set threshold, Social Security adds a surcharge on top. The surcharge is paid directly to Medicare — not to your insurance company — and it applies whether you have Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.

The income thresholds for 2027

For 2026, IRMAA surcharges begin when your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is above $109,000 for a single filer or $218,000 for a couple filing jointly, based on your 2024 tax return.

There are several tiers above that starting point. The higher your income, the larger the surcharge on both Part B and Part D. Social Security uses the most recent tax return the IRS has on file — typically two years back — to decide which tier applies. For exact tier amounts, Medicare.gov publishes the full IRMAA table each year.

Why the letter shows up two years later

This is the part that surprises people most. Your 2027 Medicare premiums will be based on your 2025 income. So a one-time bump — selling a home, cashing out an IRA, taking a large Roth conversion, or a final year of full-time work — can push you into an IRMAA tier long after the money is spent.

The good news: IRMAA is recalculated every year. If your income drops back down, the surcharge goes away the following year.

When you can appeal

Social Security allows an appeal (called "Life-Changing Event" reconsideration) if your income has fallen because of specific events, including:

• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• You or your spouse stopped working or reduced hours
• Loss of a pension
• Loss of income-producing property due to disaster or other events beyond your control

You'd file Form SSA-44 with documentation. If you got an IRMAA notice this fall and one of these events applies, don't wait — appeals are handled on a case-by-case basis.

What else is new for 2027

Even if IRMAA doesn't affect you, two changes are worth knowing about:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: The annual limit on what a Part D enrollee pays out of pocket for covered prescriptions is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• Part D deductible cap: The maximum deductible a Part D plan can set is $615 for 2026 and $700 for 2027.
• Payment smoothing: The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.

The old coverage gap — the "donut hole" — is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.

A quick local note

Aurora sits in Kane County, where Medicare beneficiaries have a range of Advantage and stand-alone Part D options during Annual Enrollment. Plan availability is set at the county level, so if you live in Aurora, the plans you see when you compare on Medicare.gov will reflect Kane County's list. IRMAA, on the other hand, is federal — the thresholds are the same in Aurora as they are anywhere else in the country.