20 CFR § 418.1205 - What is a major life-changing event?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t20/s418.1205"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "20 CFR § 418.1205 - What is a major life-changing event?"
title_number: 20
title_name: "Employees' Benefits"
section_number: "418.1205"
section_name: "What is a major life-changing event?"
chapter_name: "SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION"
part_number: "418"
part_name: "MEDICARE SUBSIDIES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
regulatory_source: "70 FR 77675, Dec. 30, 2005, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "418"
---


# 418.1205 What is a major life-changing event?

For the purposes of this subpart, we will consider the following to be major life-changing events:

(a) Your spouse dies;

(b) You marry;

(c) Your marriage ends through divorce or annulment;

(d) You or your spouse stop working or reduce the hours you work;

(e) You or your spouse experiences a loss of income-producing property, provided the loss is not at the direction of you or your spouse (e.g., due to the sale or transfer of the property) and is not a result of the ordinary risk of investment. Examples of the type of property loss include, but are not limited to: Loss of real property within a Presidentially or Gubernatorially-declared disaster area, destruction of livestock or crops by natural disaster or disease, loss from real property due to arson, or loss of investment property as a result of fraud or theft due to a criminal act by a third party;

(f) You or your spouse experiences a scheduled cessation, termination, or reorganization of an employer's pension plan;

(g) You or your spouse receives a settlement from an employer or former employer because of the employer's closure, bankruptcy, or reorganization.

[71 FR 62931, Oct. 27, 2006, as amended at 75 FR 41086, July 15, 2010]