Retirement & Taxes
Long-term financial planning, retirement accounts, government benefits, tax law, and IRS rules. Covers the intersection of policy and personal finance that affects how people save, invest, and plan ahead.
Latest in Retirement & Taxes
You generally get just three years to claim an old tax refund before the money reverts to the Treasury
Every year, taxpayers across the United States leave refunds on the table simply by not filing a return. Federal law sets a hard deadline: file...
Anyone who took a tax extension has until October 15 to file, but the bill itself was due back in April
Millions of taxpayers who filed Form 4868 earlier this year bought themselves six extra months to complete their federal returns, but the clock on what...
Nearly 70% of this year’s filed tax returns have come back as refunds
Roughly 99 million American tax filers have already received refund checks or direct deposits from the IRS this filing season, accounting for about 68.4 percent...
The IRS has paid out $296 billion in refunds to about 90 million filers this season
About 90 million taxpayers have already received money back from the federal government this filing season, splitting a combined $296 billion in refunds with an...
One Senate bill would raise Social Security benefits the most for the lowest-earning retirees
Retirees who spent decades working low-wage jobs stand to gain the most from a Senate bill that would restructure Social Security’s minimum benefit around years...
Medicare’s new cards trace back to a Medicare.gov breach that exposed accounts from 2023 to 2025
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries started receiving unexpected letters about Medicare.gov accounts they never created, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to investigate what...
The inherited-IRA penalty waiver that ran from 2021 to 2024 has now fully expired
Heirs who inherited retirement accounts and skipped annual withdrawals for the past four years without penalty now face a hard deadline. The IRS waived excise...
A retiree divorced more than two years can claim on an ex’s record even if the ex hasn’t filed yet
Divorced Americans who split from a spouse more than two years ago can file for Social Security benefits on that former spouse’s earnings record, even...
Medicare’s hospital trust fund is now set to run out in 2033, a year that would force an 11% cut to what it pays your hospital
Tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicare Part A for hospital coverage face a hard deadline. The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is...
Medicare’s fall enrollment, October 15 to December 7, is the only window most seniors get to leave a shrinking Advantage plan
Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans that have cut benefits, narrowed provider networks, or exited counties face a tight deadline to act. The Annual Election...
Social Security’s funding gap widened 16% in a single year
The roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks each month just got worse news about the program’s financial future. The 75-year actuarial...
For the first time since 2006, Medicare will cover obesity drugs
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries with obesity will gain access to GLP-1 medications through Part D for the first time in two decades when a new...
Part D enrollees are projected to save $685 million next year as 15 newly negotiated Medicare drug prices take effect
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who depend on expensive cancer and chronic disease medications are set to pay less at the pharmacy counter starting January 1,...
A new push would let 401(k) plans hold stakes in private companies like SpaceX
Millions of American workers saving for retirement through 401(k) plans could soon gain access to stakes in private companies like SpaceX, Stripe, and other firms...
The IRS says people who missed the filing deadline can still file free using IRS Free File
Millions of taxpayers who missed the April 15 filing deadline for their 2025 federal returns still have a free path to get their paperwork done,...
The trustees expect Social Security’s combined funds to pay full benefits only through 2034
Roughly 65 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks each month now face a shorter runway before those payments shrink automatically. The Social Security...
Rural seniors are nearly twice as likely to lose their Medicare Advantage plan
Roughly one in ten Medicare Advantage enrollees face forced disenrollment in 2026, and seniors living in rural counties bear a sharply disproportionate share of that...
A direct-deposit mismatch is hitting some taxpayers with a CP53E notice and a weeks-long wait for their refund
Some taxpayers expecting a quick direct-deposit refund this filing season are instead finding a CP53E notice in their mailbox and no money in their bank...
Social Security’s retirement trust fund will empty one quarter sooner than projected, triggering a 22% benefit cut in late 2032 unless Congress acts
Tens of millions of Americans collecting Social Security retirement checks face a 22 percent benefit cut as early as late 2032 unless Congress changes the...
Who qualifies for Medicare’s new $50 coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound starting July 1?
Starting July 1, 2026, millions of Medicare beneficiaries with obesity will gain access to Wegovy, Zepbound, and Foundayo for a $50 monthly copay through a...