Social Security Fairness Act Slams 71-Year-Old Retired Teacher With IRMAA Penalty

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A retired public school teacher, age 71, lives on a $48,000 state pension and pulls roughly $36,000 a year from a $1.1 million 403(b). That puts her ordinary income near $84,000 before Social Security even enters the picture. For decades she assumed Social Security would be a small add-on, because the Windfall Elimination Provision clipped her benefit as a non-covered government worker. Then Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025, repealing WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Signed into law by President Joe Biden, the act restored benefits to millions of teachers, firefighters, and other public employees.

The restored check is welcome. But the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) bump that comes with it creates a new problem.

IRMAA, the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, surcharges Medicare Part B and Part D for higher-income retirees. For 2026, the first surcharge tier kicks in for single filers with MAGI above $109,000. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, but cross into Tier 1 and the total jumps to $284.10, with a Part D surcharge of $14.50 stacked on top.

Her pension and 403(b) draws already sit around $84,000. Add restored Social Security (with the 2026 COLA of 2.8% baked in), and up to 85% of that benefit is taxable. Even a modest restored benefit can push her MAGI over the $109,000 line. One dollar over the threshold triggers the full tier.

The Appeal She Thought She Had

Form SSA-44 is the IRMAA reconsideration request, and it works only for a specific list of life-changing events: work stoppage, work reduction, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, loss of pension income, or loss of income-producing property. Receiving a previously withheld Social Security benefit is not on the list. Neither is “my MAGI went up because the law changed.” High income, on its own, is not grounds for relief.

The 2026 federal brackets for a single filer apply the 22% rate on income above $50,400 and the 24% rate above $105,700. Her marginal tax rate sits in the 22% band today, with real headroom before the 24% bracket begins. The IRMAA cliff at $109,000, however, hits well before the 24% bracket does.

Required minimum distributions on a $1.1 million 403(b) at her age compound the problem. The RMD percentage rises every year, which means future MAGI grows automatically whether she wants the cash or not. Each year of inaction makes the IRMAA tier harder to dodge.

One path dominates for most retirees in her position: bracket-fill Roth conversions, sized to the IRMAA tier rather than the tax bracket.

1. Convert 403(b) dollars to Roth in measured slices. Each conversion is taxable now at 22%, but future Roth withdrawals do not count toward MAGI. As Suze Orman says, “Money that’s withdrawn from a Roth does not count towards Social Security or Medicare B premiums.”
2. Size each conversion to stop short of $109,000 MAGI. Leave a buffer of a few thousand dollars for interest and dividends. At today’s 10-year Treasury yield near 4.5%, even conservative cash holdings throw off enough income to matter.
3. Time 403(b) withdrawals around RMD math. Pulling more now in lieu of conversions just shifts the same tax bill without solving the MAGI problem. Conversions shrink the future RMD base; ordinary withdrawals do not.

Pull a projected 2026 MAGI worksheet before year-end. Add pension, planned 403(b) withdrawals, taxable interest, and 85% of restored Social Security. If the total lands within a few thousand dollars of $109,000, consider a partial Roth conversion sized to the gap.

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