Medicare Part D

Laramie retirees and the Medicare income surcharge rules

LARAMIE, Wyo. — As Medicare's fall Annual Enrollment Period runs through Dec. 7, higher-income retirees in Albany County are getting a fresh look at something that surprises a lot of people: your tax return from two years ago can quietly raise your monthly Medicare premiums.

Laramie retirees: here's how income shapes your 2027 Medicare bill

It's called IRMAA — the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. The 2027 income thresholds haven't been published yet; CMS typically releases them later this fall, usually in November, alongside the Part B figures.

What IRMAA actually is

Most people on Medicare pay the standard Part B premium and whatever their Part D drug plan charges. But if your income is above a certain level, Social Security adds a surcharge on top of both your Part B and your Part D premiums. That extra amount is IRMAA.

A few things to keep in mind:

• IRMAA is based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) from two years earlier. So your 2027 premiums will be based on your 2025 tax return.
• It applies to both Part B and Part D — even if you get your drug coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan.
• You'll get a letter from Social Security if it applies to you. The surcharge is usually pulled straight from your Social Security check.

The IRMAA income thresholds

For 2026, IRMAA starts once your MAGI goes above $109,000 for a single filer (or above $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly). Below those numbers, you pay the standard premiums with no surcharge.

Above those thresholds, the surcharge climbs in tiers — the higher your income, the higher the add-on for both Part B and Part D. The very top tier applies to single filers with MAGI above roughly $500,000 (and married couples above $750,000).

For the exact tier amounts each year, the most reliable source is the "Costs" page at Medicare.gov, which is updated by CMS.

Why this matters for Laramie in particular

Wyoming has no state income tax, which sometimes leads folks to assume their federal Medicare costs won't be affected by income either. They can be. A one-time bump — selling a ranch or a second home, cashing out a large retirement account, taking a lump-sum pension distribution, or converting a traditional IRA to a Roth — can push your MAGI over the line for a single year and trigger IRMAA two years later.

For retirees in and around Laramie who did any big financial move in 2024, it's worth checking that return now so a premium notice in January doesn't come as a shock.

If your income has dropped, you can appeal

This is the part a lot of people miss. If you had a life-changing event since that two-year-old tax return, you can ask Social Security to recalculate. Qualifying events include:

• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• You or your spouse stopping work or cutting hours
• Loss of pension income
• Loss of income-producing property (not from your own sale)

You file Form SSA-44 with Social Security and include documentation. If approved, the surcharge is reduced or removed — you don't have to just accept it.

The other program numbers worth knowing

While you're reviewing costs, a few program-level figures apply to everyone on Medicare drug coverage next year:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100. Once your covered drug costs hit that ceiling, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Maximum Part D deductible: $615. Plans can charge less, but not more.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. If you'd rather spread big drug costs across the year, you can opt in to pay your pharmacy share in monthly installments instead of all at once.

Laramie is in Albany County, and plan availability — how many Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D options are offered — is set at the county level. You can see the current count for Albany County by using the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov.

Key dates to remember

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Annual Enrollment Period. Change your Part D or Medicare Advantage plan for 2027.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in an Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to another or drop back to Original Medicare.