Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
The 30-year mortgage is stuck near 6.7%, squeezing retirees who want to downsize
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage sat at 6.67 percent in mid-August, barely changed from the week before and still higher than it...
Home insurance is rising about 4% this year, a fifth straight annual increase
The bill that arrives with a mortgage statement or a renewal notice is climbing again. Home insurance premiums are on track to rise roughly 4...
The FDIC insures $250,000 per depositor, and beneficiaries can raise that ceiling
The $250,000 figure attached to federal deposit insurance is one of the most repeated numbers in personal finance, and one of the most misread. Many...
Truist account holders in Georgia can claim up to $1,000 from a $240 million overdraft settlement with no proof before September 14
Georgia bank customers who were charged overdraft fees by SunTrust, the bank now known as Truist, can claim a share of a $240 million settlement,...
Doxim data-breach victims can take a no-proof $100 payment, or up to $5,000 for documented losses, before October 13
People whose personal information was exposed in the 2023 Doxim data breach have until October 13 to claim a piece of a $5.5 million settlement,...
A fugitive behind a $650 million real-estate Ponzi that took 2,000 investors was just added to the FBI’s most-wanted fraud list
The FBI has placed a former New Jersey real-estate executive on its newly created Most Wanted Fraudsters list, offering a reward of up to $150,000...
Retirees can have tax withheld from Social Security with Form W-4V
Most retirees think of Social Security as money coming in, not money the government can tax, yet for millions of beneficiaries a share of each...
Molina is dropping its standalone Medicare Advantage drug plan for 2027, forcing members to find new coverage during fall enrollment
Molina Healthcare will pull its Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans from the market for the 2027 plan year, retreating to the dual-eligible business that has...
Social Security disability checks convert automatically to retirement checks at full retirement age, with no drop in the amount
People who rely on Social Security disability payments often approach retirement age bracing for a cut, assuming their benefit will shrink the way an early...
Turning 65 and enrolling in Part B opens a one-time six-month window to buy any Medigap policy with no health questions
Turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B starts a clock that most new enrollees never hear about until it has run out. For...
Medicare’s QMB program bars doctors from billing enrolled seniors, yet many still get charged
Federal law is unusually blunt about the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program: a provider may not bill an enrollee for Medicare deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments, at...
A widow or widower can claim a survivor benefit as early as 60, though the check is permanently reduced
When a spouse dies, Social Security offers the survivor an early lifeline that many do not realize exists: a benefit built on the deceased partner’s...
Skip Medicare Part D or other creditable drug coverage for 63 days and you can owe a late penalty for life
Skipping Medicare’s drug coverage can feel harmless for a healthy retiree who takes no prescriptions, but the decision carries a penalty that never goes away....
Hospital observation status, not admission, can cost thousands and block Medicare’s nursing-home coverage
A hospital stay can last three nights, involve a bed, medication, and a battery of tests, and still not count as an admission. Under a...
Medicare’s Extra Help erases the Part D deductible and caps brand copays at $12.65
Prescription drugs are among the least predictable costs in retirement, swinging with each new diagnosis and formulary change. A federal subsidy called Extra Help removes...
Scammers can reroute your Social Security deposit online, and locking your my Social Security account stops them in about two minutes
A retiree’s Social Security payment can be redirected to a stranger’s bank account without a single forged signature, using nothing more than the agency’s own...