Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
A “Medicare flex card” ad may promise grocery money, but the benefit is plan-specific and can carry eligibility limits
A card pictured beside groceries can make a Medicare advertisement look like a federal cash benefit. It is not. Spending cards are tools some private...
A pitch to take a reverse mortgage and pour the cash into an annuity is a red flag that can carry a hefty annuity fee
A reverse mortgage converts home equity into borrowed cash, while an annuity converts cash into an income contract. Combining the two can make the homeowner...
The IRS Identity Protection PIN blocks a thief from filing a return in your name and stealing your refund
A stolen Social Security number gives a criminal enough information to file a fake federal return before the legitimate taxpayer, but it is not enough...
Go 63 days without Part D or other creditable drug coverage and Medicare may add a late penalty for as long as you have Part D
Employer prescription coverage protects against Medicare’s Part D late penalty only when the plan is “creditable,” meaning it is expected to pay at least as...
A high-deductible Medigap Plan G may trade a lower premium for more upfront cost
High-deductible Medigap Plan G keeps the broad benefit design of standard Plan G but delays the insurer’s payments until the policyholder has absorbed a large...
Original Medicare pays nothing toward long-term custodial care, which has a national median cost above $9,500 a month
The largest health expense in later life can sit outside Original Medicare altogether. When a nursing-home stay is custodial—help with bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, or...
Medicaid can bill an estate after death, but a surviving spouse or disabled child can block recovery on the home
Medicaid can pay years of nursing-home or home-care bills and later seek repayment from a recipient’s estate, placing the family home at the center of...
When one spouse enters a nursing home on Medicaid, the at-home spouse can keep up to $4,066.50 in monthly income
A nursing-home admission does not automatically give Medicaid the at-home spouse’s entire household income. Federal spousal-impoverishment rules create an income allowance for the husband or...
Losing job coverage opens an 8-month window to enroll in Part B penalty-free
The end of employer health insurance starts a Medicare clock that is generous enough to prevent an immediate penalty but short enough to punish a...
Some Medicare Advantage plans refund part of your $202.90 Part B premium
The standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, but some Medicare Advantage plans return part of that cost through a Part...
The 2027 Social Security raise is tracking near 3.8%, and the September inflation report completes the final calculation in October
The next Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is still an estimate, but the latest widely followed forecast puts it near 3.8%. That number can move because...
For eligible beneficiaries, the hold-harmless rule stops a rising Medicare Part B premium from shrinking a Social Security check
Medicare Part B premiums and Social Security benefits rise on separate tracks, creating a risk that a large premium increase could consume an entire cost-of-living...
One worker’s record can pay the worker, spouse and children up to about 180% of the worker’s Social Security
A Social Security record can support more than the worker who earned it. A spouse and eligible children may receive family benefits, but the combined...
Social Security stops adding delayed-retirement credits at 70, so waiting past your 70th birthday raises your check by nothing
Delayed Social Security claiming has a firm finish line. Retirement benefits can grow for each month a worker waits after full retirement age, but the...
Suspend your Social Security at full retirement age and each month adds a delayed credit worth about 8% a year until 70
A worker who already claimed Social Security is not necessarily locked into that payment for life. After full retirement age and before 70, retirement benefits...
A midyear hospital exit can raise Medicare Advantage costs toward a PPO limit averaging $9,825 in 2026
A hospital’s midyear departure from a Medicare Advantage network can turn a familiar care route into a more expensive plan problem. In 2026, preferred provider...