Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
A surviving spouse can claim a one-time $255 Social Security death benefit, an amount unchanged since 1954
Among the checks Social Security can send after a death is one many families never collect: a single $255 payment meant to help with the...
Banks must refund unauthorized electronic transfers you report within 60 days
When money vanishes from a checking account through a fraudulent debit, an unauthorized ACH pull, or a stolen card number, federal law puts the burden...
Delaying a Social Security check past age 70 adds nothing to the benefit
The standard advice to wait on Social Security is right up to a point, and then it becomes a costly mistake. Benefits grow for every...
Social Security’s family maximum caps what one worker’s record can pay at roughly 150% to 180%
Social Security can pay benefits to more than one person on a single worker’s earnings record. A retired or deceased worker’s spouse, minor children, and...
Long-term-care insurance can spare a spouse from spending down savings for nursing care
A nursing-home stay is one of the few expenses in retirement large enough to drain a couple’s savings entirely, and long-term-care insurance exists to stop...
Higher 2026 income limits let more seniors qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help
A larger group of older Americans can qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help in 2026, after the income limits that govern the program rose again alongside...
Medicare Advantage members get a January 1 to March 31 window each year to switch plans or return to Original Medicare
A Medicare Advantage plan that looked right in the fall can turn out to be a poor fit once a new year begins and the...
Up to 85% of a Social Security check can be taxed once combined income passes $34,000, a line set in 1993 and never raised
Once a retiree’s combined income tops $34,000, up to 85% of each Social Security benefit becomes subject to federal income tax — and that $34,000...
Retirees who return to work can drop Medicare Part B and its premium under an employer plan
A retiree who goes back to work and picks up health coverage through the new job is not required to keep paying for Medicare Part...
Cash App must pay users up to $120 million under a federal consumer-redress order
Block, Inc., the company behind Cash App, is under a federal order to return as much as $120 million to users, part of a $175...
Remarrying after age 60 does not cost a widow her Social Security survivor benefit
A widespread belief keeps some older widows and widowers from remarrying: the fear that a second marriage will cancel the Social Security survivor benefit earned...
Medicare now covers the shingles vaccine and other Part D shots at no cost
The shingles vaccine used to carry a sticker price that stopped a lot of older Americans at the pharmacy counter, often around $150 to $200...
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, more with IRMAA
The number that sets a retiree’s Medicare budget for 2026 is $202.90. That is the standard monthly Part B premium, up from $185.00 in 2025,...
Grandparent and romance scams cost older Americans hundreds of millions last year, and a verify-first call stops most
Older Americans reported losing $2.4 billion to fraud in 2024, and two of the schemes that hit them hardest, the grandparent scam and the romance...
Minimum wage rose in 19 states this year, with a handful more raising it later
Minimum wage increased in 19 states at the start of 2026, lifting the pay floor for millions of workers on the first paycheck of the...
Medicare’s Part B late penalty is permanent, adding 10% for each year you delayed
Most Medicare cost mistakes can be corrected the next year. The Part B late-enrollment penalty is the exception: it is a surcharge that attaches to...