Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
Give appreciated stock to charity and skip the capital-gains tax entirely
Investors sitting on years of stock gains face a straightforward choice every tax season: sell the shares and hand a slice to the IRS, or...
$255 is Social Security’s one-time death benefit, frozen since 1954
When a worker who paid into Social Security dies, their surviving spouse or qualifying children can file for a one-time death benefit of $255. That...
In many states Medicaid will pay a family member to care for a parent
Families caring for aging parents at home can, in many states, receive Medicaid payments for that work through self-directed personal assistance programs. The federal legal...
A surviving spouse often lands in a higher tax bracket the year after a partner dies, a squeeze called the widow’s penalty
Surviving spouses across the United States face an abrupt tax increase the year after a partner dies, not because their income changes but because the...
A Special Enrollment Period lets you change Medicare plans after a move or losing job coverage, outside the fall window
Medicare beneficiaries who move or lose job-based coverage do not have to wait for the fall open enrollment window to change coverage. Federal rules create...
Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year, before benefits and required withdrawals begin, can cut a lifetime tax bill
Retirees and near-retirees who experience a year of unusually low earnings before claiming Social Security and before required minimum distributions kick in have a narrow...
About 180,000 seniors will lose their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan in 2027 as the insurer exits 109 counties
Roughly 180,000 seniors enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans face the loss of their coverage as the insurer pulls out of 109 counties ahead of...
Medicaid must leave a nursing-home resident’s healthy spouse at least $2,644 monthly in 2026
Couples facing a nursing-home admission in 2026 now have a firm federal floor for how much income the healthy spouse can keep each month: $2,644....
Social Security caps what one family can draw on a single worker’s record, usually between 150% and 188% of the benefit
Families with multiple members collecting Social Security on a single worker’s earnings record face a hard ceiling on their combined monthly payments, one that Congress...
$50 flat, or up to $4,000 with proof, is available to people hit by the McKenzie Memorial Hospital breach until August 24
People affected by the McKenzie Memorial Hospital data breach face a narrow window to file claims, with the option of a flat $50 payment or...
Heirs who inherit an IRA now generally must empty it within 10 years, many with a taxable withdrawal each year
Millions of Americans who stand to inherit a traditional IRA face a hard deadline that did not exist a few years ago: the entire account...
$9,250 caps a Medicare Advantage plan’s 2026 in-network costs, a limit Original Medicare lacks
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will face a maximum out-of-pocket spending limit of $9,250 for in-network services in 2026, a federally mandated ceiling...
Older Americans reported a record $7.7 billion in scam losses last year across more than 201,000 complaints, up 37% in one year
Americans over age 60 lost more than $7.7 billion to scams last year, filing more than 201,000 complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center....
Households that lowball their income for an ACA plan could owe thousands back at tax time in 2027, now that repayment caps are gone
Families who underestimated their income when enrolling in an Affordable Care Act Marketplace plan will face a sharper financial reckoning starting with tax year 2026...
A typical existing home sold for a record $440,600 in June, even as slower sales pointed to a cooling market
American homebuyers paid more for a typical existing home in June than at any prior point on record, even as transaction volumes slowed and affordability...
$994 is SSI’s 2026 monthly max for one person, $1,491 for a couple
Millions of Americans who depend on Supplemental Security Income will collect no more than $994 a month as a single recipient in 2026, up from...