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In certain specific circumstances when your income has recently gone down, you may be able to avoid paying a higher-income premium surcharge. The Social Security Administration calls the following circumstances life-changing events:

 You marry, divorce, have your marriage annulled, or are widowed.

 You or your spouse stops work — for example, you retire or lose your job.

 You or your spouse works fewer hours.

 You or your spouse loses income because your former employer’s pension plan ends or is altered.

 You or your spouse receive a settlement as a result of your current or former employer’s closure, bankruptcy, or reorganization — so in this case, the increased income doesn’t count toward a premium surcharge.

 You or your spouse loses income-producing property (such as a house you rent out, farmland and crops, or animals you’d otherwise have sold) due to a disaster or other event beyond your control.

If any of these events has happened to you, resulting in reduced income, and you’re already paying the premium surcharge or have been told that you must pay it soon, contact Social Security (at 800-772-1213 or TTY 800-325-0778) immediately and ask for a new initial determination, which is the phrase Social Security uses in this situation. Social Security decides whether you need to pay the surcharge without your having to go through a formal appeal.

If you request a new initial determination, you need to provide proof of the life-changing event on which it’s based, such as a death certificate or a letter from your former employer confirming that you’re no longer in your job. You also need to show a more recent tax return with evidence of reduced MAGI — or, if you haven’t yet filed a tax return for the current year, you must give Social Security an estimate of your reduced earnings and then provide a signed copy of the return after you’ve filed it with the IRS.

Social Security officials told me that a new determination request is usually processed on the day it’s received if it’s supported by proper documentation. Otherwise, the request will be delayed or denied for want of evidence. If Social Security agrees that one of the life-changing events on the list applies to you, it will revise its records and the premium surcharges will be waived or reduced. This adjustment may take a while, but any overpayments you’ve already made will be refunded. If your request is denied or you disagree with the new determination, you have the right to file an appeal by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213.

Check out some example scenarios:

 Kate had a well-paying job with health benefits and worked until she turned 68 in the fall of 2019. On retirement, she was dismayed to find that her Medicare Part B and D premiums included hefty high-income surcharges. The amounts had been based on her latest tax return, filed early in 2018, which reflected the large salary she had earned in 2017. But in retirement, her income had fallen sharply. However, retirement counts as a life-changing event, so Kate was able to apply to Social Security for a reassessment. Her premiums were reduced to the standard amounts, and Social Security refunded the excess payments she’d made.

 Jose and Maria didn’t grumble too much about paying the higher-income surcharges because, though well into his 70s, Jose was still earning good money as a self-employed consultant. That ended abruptly with his sudden death from a heart attack. Without his earnings, Maria’s income more than halved. Acting on a friend’s advice, she asked Social Security to reduce her Medicare premiums to the standard rate. Because Jose’s death counted as a life-changing event, Maria’s request was granted.