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
Employers can now steer your 401(k) match into a Roth, where it grows tax-free but counts as income the year you get it
Workers whose employers match their 401(k) contributions now face a new tax decision they did not have to think about before. Under Section 604 of...
About 180,000 seniors will lose their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan in 2027 as the insurer exits 109 counties
Roughly 180,000 seniors enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans face the loss of their coverage as the insurer pulls out of 109 counties ahead of...
Medicaid must leave a nursing-home resident’s healthy spouse at least $2,644 monthly in 2026
Couples facing a nursing-home admission in 2026 now have a firm federal floor for how much income the healthy spouse can keep each month: $2,644....
$19,000 is the most you can gift one person in 2026, tax-free
Anyone planning to write a large check to a child, grandchild, or friend in 2026 now has a firm number to work with: $19,000. That...
Social Security caps what one family can draw on a single worker’s record, usually between 150% and 188% of the benefit
Families with multiple members collecting Social Security on a single worker’s earnings record face a hard ceiling on their combined monthly payments, one that Congress...
A disabled widow or widower can begin collecting Social Security survivor benefits as early as 50, years before the usual 60
A surviving spouse living with a disability can start collecting Social Security survivor benefits at age 50, a full decade before the standard eligibility age...
Heirs who inherit an IRA now generally must empty it within 10 years, many with a taxable withdrawal each year
Millions of Americans who stand to inherit a traditional IRA face a hard deadline that did not exist a few years ago: the entire account...
Social Security now blocks about 70,000 fraudulent attempts a year to reroute someone’s deposit, and it no longer takes bank changes by phone
The Social Security Administration now stops roughly 70,000 fraudulent attempts each year to reroute beneficiary payments to unauthorized bank accounts. The agency ended routine phone-based...
$9,250 caps a Medicare Advantage plan’s 2026 in-network costs, a limit Original Medicare lacks
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will face a maximum out-of-pocket spending limit of $9,250 for in-network services in 2026, a federally mandated ceiling...
$162,660 in savings and the family home stay with the healthy spouse when a partner goes on Medicaid for a nursing home
Married couples face a stark financial divide when one spouse needs nursing home care paid by Medicaid. Federal rules effective January 1, 2026, allow the...
Households that lowball their income for an ACA plan could owe thousands back at tax time in 2027, now that repayment caps are gone
Families who underestimated their income when enrolling in an Affordable Care Act Marketplace plan will face a sharper financial reckoning starting with tax year 2026...
Born in 1959? Your Social Security full retirement age is 66 and 10 months, so claiming at 66 in 2026 still trims your check
Americans born in 1959 who file for Social Security at age 66 this year will lock in a permanent benefit cut of roughly 4.2 percent....
Medicare pays 80% of your doctor bills and nothing caps the other 20%, which is why many retirees carry Medigap
Millions of retirees on Original Medicare face a cost-sharing structure that covers 80 percent of Part B doctor bills after the deductible but places no...
$994 is SSI’s 2026 monthly max for one person, $1,491 for a couple
Millions of Americans who depend on Supplemental Security Income will collect no more than $994 a month as a single recipient in 2026, up from...
Humana is cutting Medicare Advantage plans to 85% of U.S. counties for 2027
Humana is planning to pull its Medicare Advantage offerings from a significant share of U.S. counties ahead of the 2027 plan year, narrowing its footprint...
Medicare is negotiating lower prices on 15 more brand-name drugs for 2028
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on expensive brand-name medications could see lower out-of-pocket costs starting January 1, 2028, after the Centers for Medicare and...
Forty work credits, roughly 10 years, qualify you for Social Security
Americans who have paid Social Security taxes across roughly 10 years of work reach the 40-credit threshold that determines whether they qualify for retirement benefits....
Medicare now covers glucose monitors for many insulin users, replacing finger-stick strips
Medicare beneficiaries who use insulin now have a broader path to continuous glucose monitors, a shift that could make daily finger-stick test strips obsolete for...
Medicare covers hospice care in full, including drugs and nursing, for those given six months or less to live
People enrolled in Medicare Part A who receive a terminal diagnosis with a life expectancy of six months or less can access hospice services at...
A retired social worker who lost $300,000 to a gold-coin scam is now getting hit with a surprise Medicare surcharge on the savings she drained
A retired social worker who lost $300,000 to a gold-coin scam is now facing a second financial blow she never expected: a Medicare surcharge triggered...