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
Required IRA withdrawals can come from just one account, not each plan
Retirees holding several traditional IRAs face a straightforward but often misunderstood federal rule: they must calculate a required minimum distribution for each account, yet they...
Many Medicare Advantage plans load a quarterly card for groceries and drugstore items, and unused dollars often vanish at year’s end
Medicare Advantage enrollees who receive quarterly debit cards for groceries and drugstore purchases face a quiet deadline: unspent dollars on those cards typically expire at...
Each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock before you can touch it penalty-free
Taxpayers who spread traditional IRA conversions across multiple tax years face a tracking burden that catches many off guard: each conversion starts its own separate...
Pay a medical bill out of pocket today, keep the receipt, and you can reimburse yourself tax-free from an HSA years later
Millions of Americans enrolled in high-deductible health plans face a quiet choice every time they visit a doctor or fill a prescription: pay the bill...
A forced early home sale still shields part of the gain from tax
Homeowners who lose a residence to a wildfire, hurricane, or government condemnation before meeting the standard two-year ownership and use tests still qualify for significant...
Some states let you switch Medigap plans each year around your birthday
Medicare beneficiaries in a handful of states can shop for a new Medigap policy every year around their birthday without answering a single health question....
The standard deduction climbs to $32,200 for couples and $16,100 for singles on the returns you’ll file in 2027
Tens of millions of tax filers will subtract a bigger chunk from their income before calculating what they owe the federal government for 2026. The...
Most disability recipients wait two years before Medicare coverage even begins
Americans approved for Social Security Disability Insurance face a gap of at least 24 months before Medicare coverage kicks in, a period that can stretch...
Born before January 2, 1954? You can claim just a spousal Social Security check and let your own grow 8% a year until 70
Americans born before January 2, 1954, still hold a Social Security option that Congress eliminated for everyone younger. At full retirement age, they can file...
Paying cash with a discount card can beat your Medicare drug copay, but that purchase won’t count toward your $2,000 out-of-pocket cap
Medicare beneficiaries who use discount cards like TrumpRx to buy prescription drugs at a lower price than their plan copay face a hidden cost: those...
A worker’s minor child can receive a 75% Social Security survivor check
When a working parent dies, each eligible minor child can collect a Social Security survivor benefit equal to 75 percent of the deceased worker’s Primary...
A doctor who won’t take Medicare’s rate can legally bill you 15% more
Medicare beneficiaries who see a doctor outside the program’s standard payment agreement can be billed up to 15 percent more than the approved rate for...
Pay 110% of last year’s tax in quarterly installments and the IRS can’t hit you with an underpayment penalty, even if you end up owing more
Taxpayers who saw their income jump this year face a real risk of IRS underpayment penalties, but a straightforward safe harbor written into federal law...
Social Security money withheld for working before full retirement age isn’t lost — your check is recalculated upward once you reach it
Workers who collect Social Security before full retirement age and keep earning above the annual limit often watch their monthly checks shrink, dollar by dollar....
Seniors on Medicare and Medicaid can join a Dual Special Needs Plan for free
Millions of Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid can enroll in a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan, known as a D-SNP, with zero...
Social Security now requires a second security step to log in online, and users who don’t set it up can be locked out of the account that guards their benefits
The Social Security Administration cut off its own username-and-password login system, and anyone who has not set up a second verification step through a third-party...
Bunching several years of donations into a donor-advised fund can push you over the standard deduction in one year
Millions of taxpayers who give a few thousand dollars to charity each year lost their ability to claim a federal deduction after the standard deduction...
VA disability pay is completely tax-free, on both federal and state returns
Veterans who receive VA disability compensation do not owe federal or state income tax on those payments. Two separate federal statutes shield the money, and...
Reinvested fund dividends raise your cost basis, cutting the tax when you sell
Investors who reinvest mutual fund and stock dividends instead of taking cash are quietly building a higher cost basis with every distribution, and that higher...
Medicare covers a screening colonoscopy free, but removing a polyp can trigger a bill
Medicare beneficiaries who schedule a screening colonoscopy expect to pay nothing out of pocket. That expectation is correct, but only up to a point. When...