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
Giving your house to the kids can trigger a five-year Medicaid penalty
Families who deed a home to their children to protect it from nursing-home costs can lose Medicaid long-term care coverage for up to five years....
You get one six-month window at 65 to buy any Medigap policy with no health questions
Americans turning 65 face a deadline that can shape the cost and availability of their health coverage for the rest of their lives. Federal law...
Delaying your first IRA withdrawal to April 1 can double up and spike your taxes
Retirees who turned 73 and chose to push their first required minimum distribution to the April 1 deadline now face two taxable withdrawals landing in...
After 70 and a half, you can route IRA money to charity tax-free and satisfy your required withdrawal
Retirees who have passed age 70 and a half hold a tool that can simultaneously satisfy their required IRA withdrawal and eliminate the tax bill...
Medicare’s fall open enrollment opens October 15, and more seniors than ever will find their Advantage plan dropped or overhauled for 2027
Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans face a turbulent fall. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized new payment rules and risk-adjustment policies...
A missed required IRA withdrawal brings a 25% penalty, or 10% if fixed fast
Retirees who missed a required minimum distribution from an IRA or qualified retirement plan face a 25% excise tax on the shortfall amount. That penalty...
Waiting until 70 locks in Social Security’s biggest check, about $5,108 a month in 2026
High earners who delay Social Security retirement benefits to age 70 will collect the program’s largest possible monthly payment in 2026: $5,181, according to the...
Millions of retired teachers, firefighters and police officers still haven’t gotten their full Social Security back pay, and senators are pressing the agency to fix it
Retired public-sector workers across the country, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, are caught between a law that promised them higher Social Security checks and...
Medicare’s trustees peg the 2027 Part B premium at $209.50, but forecasters warn it could top $216 and eat into next year’s Social Security raise
Millions of retirees counting on a bigger Social Security check next year face a quieter threat from the other side of the ledger. The Boards...
A surviving spouse can roll an inherited IRA into their own and delay withdrawals, an option other heirs no longer get
Surviving spouses who inherit an IRA can roll it into their own account and follow their personal required minimum distribution schedule, a privilege that most...
Over-the-counter hearing aids now run $200 to $600 a pair versus $4,000 to $6,000 for prescription ones, and Original Medicare covers neither
Millions of older Americans with mild-to-moderate hearing loss now face a stark choice between over-the-counter hearing aids priced at $200 to $600 a pair and...
Taxpayers 65 and older can earn more before they must file a federal return
Retirees living on fixed incomes often file federal tax returns they are not legally required to submit. The reason: federal law grants taxpayers 65 and...
Social Security disability pays nothing for the first five months after you qualify
Workers who qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance face a mandatory five-month blackout before they receive a single dollar, a gap that strips income from...
Medicare covers blood-sugar screening and a diabetes-prevention program at no cost
Medicare beneficiaries with prediabetes can get blood-sugar screening tests and enroll in a year-long lifestyle-change program without paying a dime out of pocket. The Department...
Form W-4P pulls federal tax from a pension check to avoid an April surprise
Retirees collecting pension or annuity checks without adjusting their federal tax withholding face a familiar problem each spring: an unexpected balance due on their tax...
Nearly 3 million Medicare Advantage members, about one in ten, were forced to switch plans this year as insurers pulled out of their counties
As many as 2.9 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans have been forced to find new coverage for 2026 after their insurers stopped offering...
Enroll in Medicare and you must stop putting money in a health savings account, or the IRS adds a tax penalty on what you contribute
Americans who continue depositing money into a health savings account after enrolling in Medicare face a 6% excise tax on every dollar contributed while ineligible,...
Homeowners 62 and older are sitting on a record $14.92 trillion in home equity, and a reverse mortgage or credit line can tap it without a monthly payment
Americans aged 62 and older hold an estimated $14.92 trillion in housing wealth, a record sum built on years of rising home values and declining...
A one-time income spike from a Roth conversion or a home sale can raise your Medicare premium two years later through the IRMAA surcharge
Retirees who converted a traditional IRA to a Roth account or sold a home at a large gain in 2024 are now facing higher Medicare...
Medicare covers a free Welcome to Medicare checkup in your first 12 months
Every person who enrolls in Medicare Part B gets exactly one chance to receive a free preventive checkup, and the window to claim it closes...