Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
Medicare warns of a “new card” scam demanding your number before benefits switch
A caller says a new Medicare card is on the way, then explains that benefits cannot switch over until the recipient reads back the number...
Illinois raised its senior property-tax freeze income limit to $75,000 for 2026
Illinois has lifted the income ceiling for its senior property-tax freeze to $75,000 for the 2026 tax year, up from $65,000, opening the benefit to...
Who still pays federal tax on Social Security? Retirees whose combined income tops limits frozen since 1984
A retiree owes federal income tax on Social Security only when a specific measure of income climbs above $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000...
Texas homeowners 65 and older can freeze school taxes and shield an extra $10,000
Texas offers homeowners a rare combination once they turn 65: a school-property-tax bill that stops rising and an additional slice of home value shielded from...
Seniors 60 and older can deduct medical costs over $35 to raise food-stamp benefits
For older Americans on tight fixed incomes, a small line in the SNAP rulebook can meaningfully raise a monthly food benefit, yet it is one...
About 2 million seniors who qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help skip roughly $11.4 billion in drug savings each year
A federal program built to lower prescription-drug costs for the poorest Medicare beneficiaries is one of the most underused benefits in the entire system. About...
Two nights in the hospital under observation instead of admitted can cost thousands and block nursing-home coverage
A patient can spend two or three nights in a hospital bed, receive tests, medication, and monitoring, and still never be admitted as an inpatient....
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing, a gap that surprises many the year they retire
Enrolling in Medicare at 65 does not close the most predictable health expenses of later life. Original Medicare, the federal program made up of Part...
$274 will be Medicare’s 2027 price for Ozempic and Wegovy, down 71%
Medicare’s negotiated price for the blockbuster semaglutide drugs will fall to $274 for a 30-day supply in 2027, a 71 percent cut from a list...
A dropped Medicare Advantage plan triggers a guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy
When a Medicare Advantage plan terminates its contract or stops serving a member’s area, federal rules can open a guaranteed-issue window to buy a Medigap...
Fairview Health will drop UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1
Fairview Health will stop scheduling UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1, 2027, a contract split that pushes affected members out of network at one...
Social Security averages your highest 35 years, so one more working year can replace a zero and lift your check
Social Security builds a retirement benefit from the 35 highest-earning years of a person’s career, not from the final salary or the last few years...
Claim Social Security after full retirement age and you can request up to six months of benefits as a lump sum
Social Security lets people who wait past full retirement age to file collect a single retroactive payment worth up to six months of benefits, a...
Social Security’s 2027 raise could near 3.8%, adding about $74 a month
Social Security’s annual raise for 2027 could land near 3.8%, adding roughly $74 to the average monthly retirement check, based on the latest estimate from...
Social Security now gives five years to repay an overpayment, but tougher 2026 recovery rules can still claw back checks
Social Security has given people who owe the agency money more room to breathe, extending the time to repay an overpayment to five years, up...
Social Security now scans every SSI applicant’s bank accounts, running up to 10 geographic searches to catch hidden money
Social Security’s needs-based disability program leans on an automated bank check that reaches well beyond what an applicant writes on a form. Under the process,...