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In 2014 I sold a piece of slice of my farm which pushed me over the Medicare premium minimums. Sometime in 2015 I received a letter that I was behind in Medicare payments. So I started using direct payments while setting up automatic deductions. I got more 'behind' notices so I also made online payments. What a mess. Soon I was caught up, then perhaps ahead on my payments, but of course never got any acknowledgement of that so I worried I was still behind. Eventually in October I called the main medicare number (no help) and main soc sec phone number (no help) and then two local social security offices. The last of these looked me up and said yes I had over paid, just wait until I got another bill. I said I was not getting any bills, she said she would make sure that I did. I would only be charged extra for one year. (Never got a bill.)
Now I get a letter from SS that they will contine the extra premiums for 2015, but I can appeal. I call Soc Sec. and after careful evaluation the lady sets me up with the earliest phone appointment at my local office. It is past the 60 days appeal deadline. But with an appoinment I can now go in person ahead of time and perhaps they will see me.
So here is my gripe. Each time you call either soc sec or medicare the wait time is 45 minutes before you can talk to someone. Then you spend 30 min with the consultant but may not be successful in getting an answer. It is exhausting, and it takes me a couple of days of fretting before I am willing to spend all that time for maybe nothing. There is no billing and customer service like for any other insurance service. The bill collector lists no contact info other than for you to pay the bill. It is not even obvious to me that you need to contact social security offices about medicare billing issues. What is up with 60 days for appeals when it takes 6 weeks just to get an appointment and there is no other acceptible process? My case must be quite common.
I put this in the retirement forum since many of us retire with medicare insurance. The older we get, the more frustrating it will become and the less likely we can haul ourselves to SS offices an hour away from home. Very frustrating to look forward to.
i don't understand why . there is a form you fill out if the income was a life change event like the sale of a property and it reverts to your 2015 taxes when you file .
i would double check . we sold some commercial lease rights in 2014 and hit a 500k taxable income .
my wife got the letter too a few weeks ago ,. it said your premium will stay the same . had you not already been on medicare and collecting your new rate would be 389.00 , so she is unchanged .
maybe the difference is she first went on medicare in august .
When I called Soc Sec the lady said the SS form the Nov 2015 letter mentions does not apply to me. The letter lists qualifying circumstances (none were appropriate) and then includes the line "we cannot make a new decision if your income has changed for a reason other than those listed above, such as receiving one-time income from capital gains." So I was forced to call.
Did you fill out a form in 2014? Maybe there was something that should have been sent in by the accountant back in that year?
i just looked at their definition of loss of income property . selling it is not a qualified "loss"
A significant reduction of income due to a loss of income-producing property beyond the beneficiary's, or the beneficiary’s spouse’s, control (e.g. natural disaster, arson or criminal theft) which ordinarily generates income used in MAGI may qualify a beneficiary to request and qualify for a new initial determination using a more recent tax year. Income-producing property is defined as any real or personal property that generates income. Some examples of income producing property are:
Real property (e.g., farmland, rental homes),
Crops,
Livestock and other animals (e.g., show dogs),
Vehicles used for business, (e.g., limousines, tractor-trailers).
NOTE: Property that does not generate income will not be considered and loss of that property cannot be used as an LCE. Some examples of properties that are not income-producing are:
Property held for investment that does not generate income (e.g. coin collection, stamp collection)
Real property that is used for purposes other than rental income, such as vacation homes and condominiums used for personal use only and not reflected on a tax return as income-producing.
The loss of income-producing property must not be caused by the beneficiary's direction. The loss must be caused by circumstances beyond the beneficiary's control. A loss due to donation, gift, sale or transfer of income-producing property is not considered a loss beyond the beneficiary's control and does not qualify for a new initial determination using a more recent tax year. Ordinary risk of loss taken at the time of investment in income-producing property is considered at the beneficiary's direction. Examples of circumstances beyond a beneficiary's control are losses caused by:
Natural disasters (such as flood, hurricane, tornado, fire, earthquake, volcano eruption)
Disease (affecting crops, livestock or other animals)
Arson
Buy-out of the property by a government under Eminent Domain
Theft (including the taking of money or property by blackmail, burglary, embezzlement, extortion, larceny, robbery, fraud, investment fraud or other criminal activity)
NOTE: Loss of dividend income does not qualify as a loss of income from income producing property unless the loss is due to criminal theft. See HI 01120.005D.
Marilyn only started medicare in august 2015 so we did nothing other then just apply . income never came up . we were working up until july .
here are the qualifying events .
(TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Marriage
Divorce/Annulment
Death of Your Spouse
Work Stoppage
Work Reduction
Loss of Income-Producing Property
Loss of Pension Income
Employer Settlement Payment
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-24-2015 at 07:58 AM..
Did you ever set up an online Social Security account? I've used mine to check my overpayments and underpayments over the years and also to access the form to request a reduction in my income-related Medicare monthly adjustment amount.
Online Social Security and Medicare accounts offer so much information and so many forms that people often dont have to call or go in person to handle their problems/questions.
Yes I did set up an online account, but I am not receiving SS yet. Maybe I am getting into the wrong places on the SS or medicare sites, but so far no one I call has helped me out. It's always, "We're sorry, but that is not available to you online".
Maybe I have a blackballed number, LOL.
Still so confused. I'll report back 6 wks from now when I have my appeal appointment. Seems to be no logic to follow.
i think if marilyn was on medicare in 2014 we would have had to pay the increase . but she had nothing to do with medicare yet so 2014 taxes did not play a role yet .
had we had that income in 2015 when she went on medicare we would have jumped to 389.00 a month .
they don't consider selling property , even if it was an income producing property grounds for a reduction . kind of unfair if it is a one time deal but i guess thems the rules .
Yes you can waste months of time doing what they say before they tell you to file the form which they could have told you on day one.
You can walk into your local SS office without an appointment. If it is convient I would try that.
Sounds like they are assuming that your current year income will match last year. Since you are not selling more assets they are probably wrong. I would get the form ssa-561-u2 and complete it and take it with you. If a meeting is not convient just mail the form. Tell them why your income is being reduced.
the rule is selling assets is not grounds for exemption from the increase in premium . it states it very clearly once you find their definitions .
your income is your income that year , period , whether it will happen again or not .
if not then you get adjusted back down the following year . only loss of the property to arson or theft is considered a loss of income property . it says , selling a property is not an exception .
you merely traded the income for a lump sum .
in 2014 we owned some commercial lease rights that generated 25k a year for us . those lease rights were sold to an investor group by our senior partner . we had no say in it .
but we were handed a lump sum instead and had we been on medicare in 2014 we would have been bumped up to 389.00 a month from the 104.00.
it is what it is and if that was your income then it is your income with out exception .
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-26-2015 at 05:10 AM..
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