Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTDavid BerenSun, July 26, 2026 at 5:56 PM GMT+2 5 min readQuick ReadA single first RMD can push a retiree two IRMAA brackets higher, jumping Medicare Part B premiums from $203 to $406 per month.IRMAA brackets work as cliffs, meaning that crossing a threshold by even $1 triggers the full surcharge for the entire year based on income from two years prior.Qualified Charitable Distributions and pre-RMD Roth conversions are the primary tools retirees use to reduce IRMAA exposure before distributions begin.Two retirees, same $1 million, same 4% rule, buy one finished with $1.4 million, the other hit $0 in 12 years. Our free reader guide explains the flaw that separated them, and the income-first method built to avoid it.The standard 2026 Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month, up from $185.00 in 2025, and for most beneficiaries, that number is the whole story. For a retiree who took his first Required Minimum Distribution in December and watched it land on top of his other income, the figure that arrived from Social Security was different: $405.80 a month. Same coverage, same doctors, two brackets higher on the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount schedule.Caftor / Shutterstock.comHow the Two-Bracket Jump WorksIRMAA is calculated on the modified adjusted gross income from two years back. For 2026 premiums, that means the 2024 tax return. An individual filer with MAGI at or below $109,000 pays the base $202.90. Crossing into the next bracket, up to $137,000, lifts the total premium to $284.10. Crossing again, into the $137,001 to $171,000 band, brings the monthly bill to $405.80. The brackets function as cliffs, and even one dollar over the threshold applies the full surcharge for the entire calendar year.The 4% Rule is Broken, Built On A World That No Longer ExistsEvery retiree knows about the 4% rule, but it frames retirement as a slow liquidation and still causes retirees with seven-figure accounts to agonize over a dinner out.There's a different way to run the math that makes more sense today. Build an income floor — dividends, interest, and Social Security that cover your essential bills every month — and you never have to sell shares into a down market just to pay them.Our free reader guide, The 4% Rule Is Broken, walks through it in about 15 minutes. Access the report here.A first RMD is the classic trigger. Under current law, RMDs begin at age 73 and are taxed as ordinary income at the federal level, with a top marginal rate of 37% in 2026. A retiree with a mid-six-figure traditional IRA can sit quietly in the base bracket for years while living on Social Security, a pension, and taxable interest. Then the first distribution arrives, the custodian reports it, and MAGI jumps by tens of thousands of dollars in a single tax year.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info