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The Money Overview

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Tyler Foster

Latest Articles by Tyler Foster

Mortgages & Rates

Eligible veterans can buy a home with no down payment or mortgage insurance

Veterans and active-duty service members can purchase a home through the VA-backed loan program without putting any money down and without paying monthly mortgage insurance,...

Social Security & Medicare

A health savings account can pay Medicare premiums and long-term-care costs in retirement, and those withdrawals stay tax-free

Retirees who hold health savings accounts can use those funds to cover Medicare Part B, Part D, and Medicare Advantage premiums, plus qualified long-term-care insurance...

Tax Changes & Deadlines

A recent widow or widower can keep filing taxes at married rates for up to two years if a dependent child lives at home

A surviving spouse raising a dependent child can continue using married-filing-jointly tax rates for up to two taxable years after the year of death, a...

Fraud & Scams

Seniors filed more than 200,000 fraud complaints with the FBI last year, a record, and thousands lost over $100,000 each

More than 201,000 Americans age 60 and older filed fraud complaints with the FBI last year, a record that produced average individual losses exceeding $38,000....

Cost of Living

Tariffs are on track to cost the average U.S. household about $1,600 this year, a bite that lands hardest on retirees living on fixed incomes

American households are absorbing higher prices on imported goods this year as tariff rates sit well above historical norms, and the cost falls disproportionately on...

Retirement Planning

Still working at 73 can let you delay required withdrawals from your current employer’s 401(k) until you actually retire

Americans who keep working past 73 can, under federal tax law, postpone required minimum distributions from a current employer’s 401(k) until they actually stop working....

Social Security & Medicare

About 2 million seniors who qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help skip roughly $11.4 billion in prescription savings every year

Every year, roughly 2 million seniors who meet the eligibility requirements for Medicare’s Extra Help program never claim the benefit, forgoing an estimated $11.4 billion...

Social Security & Medicare

Paper Social Security checks end September 30 for the last mail recipients

Social Security recipients who still receive paper checks in the mail face a hard cutoff. After September 30, the federal government will stop mailing those...

Retirement Planning

The Saver’s Credit hands lower-income workers up to $1,000 for retirement contributions

Lower-income workers who contribute to a 401(k) or IRA can reduce their federal tax bill by as much as $1,000 through the Saver’s Credit, a...

Fraud & Scams

Naming a trusted contact on your bank and brokerage accounts lets the firm flag suspected fraud before your money is gone

Older Americans lose billions of dollars each year to financial exploitation, and in many cases the money is gone before anyone at the bank or...

Fraud & Scams

Patients hit by the Lakeview Health data breach can claim up to $7,080, with an August 24 deadline to file

Patients affected by a data breach at Lakeview Health Systems, LLC face an August 24 deadline to file claims worth up to $7,080, according to...

Social Security & Medicare

Some SSI recipients will get two payments in the same month this year, a quirk of the calendar rather than a bonus

Millions of people who rely on Supplemental Security Income will see two SSI deposits land in the same calendar month at certain points this year,...

Social Security & Medicare

A shared nursing-home room now runs about $9,581 a month, and Medicaid steps in only after a senior’s savings fall below $2,000

Families across the United States face a brutal arithmetic when a parent or spouse needs round-the-clock care. A shared nursing-home room now runs about $9,581...

Insurance & Protection

Medicaid looks back five years at a senior’s gifts and transfers before approving nursing-home coverage, and violations bring a penalty period

A senior who gave money to a grandchild or transferred a home to a family member within the past five years faces a direct penalty...

Tax Changes & Deadlines

October 15 is the final deadline to file a 2025 tax return on extension

Millions of taxpayers who requested extra time to complete their 2025 federal income tax returns face a hard stop on October 15, 2026. That date...

Social Security & Medicare

After a senior dies, Medicaid can bill the estate for nursing-home care it paid, though the family home is sometimes shielded

Families who inherit a parent’s home after years of Medicaid-funded nursing care can face a bill from the state that rivals the property’s value. Federal...

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