Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
Medicare’s standard Part B premium climbed $17.90 to $202.90 this year, swallowing nearly a third of the average retiree’s raise
The standard Medicare Part B premium rose $17.90 to $202.90 a month for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, arriving the...
Supplemental Security Income pays an individual $994 a month in 2026, and $2,000 in the bank can end the check entirely
Supplemental Security Income’s federal payment standard climbed to $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple on January 1, 2026, after the...
A bipartisan bill from Tom Kean and Young Kim would erase a Medicare surcharge that costs some seniors $241 a month
A bill introduced in the House on July 15 would rewrite the Social Security Act formula that decides which Medicare enrollees pay an income-based surcharge,...
Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act would lift benefits about $2,400 a year by taxing wages above $250,000
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act, reintroduced in February 2025 as S. 770 with ten Senate Democratic co-sponsors, would raise the average beneficiary’s...
Social Security’s retirement fund runs dry in late 2032, and the automatic cut would average about $500 a month for a retiree
The fourth quarter of 2032 is the date stamped on Social Security’s own accounting books: the point at which the retirement program’s trust fund runs...
Four Social Security bills are waiting when Congress returns September 14, and two of them would raise the payroll tax cap to keep checks whole
Two deadlines fall on the same date this year, and only one of them was planned that way. September 14 is when the Senate returns...
Several no-proof data-breach settlements are paying eligible people $50 to $100, with deadlines landing in September and October
A cluster of court-approved data-breach settlements is offering a flat cash payment to eligible consumers who file before deadlines that fall in September and October...
A homeowner can pocket up to $250,000 of home-sale profit tax-free, and a married couple up to $500,000
Selling a longtime family home can produce a six-figure profit, and the tax code lets most owners keep a large share of it without owing...
Homeowners can deduct the points paid to lower a mortgage rate, often all in the first year on a purchase
Points paid at a mortgage closing are a form of prepaid interest, and each point a borrower buys shaves the interest rate on the monthly...
A reverse mortgage can turn home equity into monthly cash for a homeowner 62 or older, but it shrinks what heirs inherit
A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lets a homeowner who is at least 62 turn part of the equity in a house into cash without sending...
Mortgage rates are stuck near 6.7%, but buyers now have room to negotiate in most big U.S. markets as inventory rises
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.66% in Freddie Mac’s survey released Aug. 27, 2026, barely moved from 6.65% the week before and up only slightly...
Scammers posing as Social Security demand instant payment over a fake suspension
A recorded voice or a live caller claims to be from Social Security with alarming news: the recipient’s Social Security number has been suspended over...
A jury-duty scam threatens arrest unless a victim pays a “fine” on a gift card or payment app
The call opens with a badge and a threat: a supposed U.S. marshal or local officer says a jury summons was missed, a warrant has...
A grandparent scam uses a panicked fake call from a “grandchild” to push seniors into wiring bail money
The call arrives sounding like a genuine emergency: a grandchild, voice shaking, says an accident or an arrest has landed them in jail and they...
Federal Regulation E gives customers a short window to report an unauthorized electronic charge and force a refund
An unauthorized charge on a checking account is not the account holder’s loss to absorb alone — federal law caps how much a customer can...
A retiree hit with a high Medicare premium after a one-time income spike can appeal it with Form SSA-44
Medicare’s high-income surcharge, formally the income-related monthly adjustment amount, is calculated from a tax return that is two years old — so a single spike...
