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 have three years to file a past tax return and still claim a refund before the money is gone
More than 1.3 million people who earned income in 2022 never filed a federal tax return, and according to the IRS, roughly $1.2 billion in...
Medicare’s Extra Help program can sharply cut prescription drug costs for people with limited income
Medicare beneficiaries with limited income stand to pay as little as zero dollars for prescription drug premiums, deductibles, and most copays in 2026 through the...
Lower-income retirees can get their Medicare Part B premium paid through a state Medicare Savings Program
Retirees living on fixed incomes and enrolled in Medicare can have their Part B premium paid entirely by their state through a Medicare Savings Program,...
Money pulled from a traditional IRA after age 59½ avoids the 10% early-withdrawal penalty
Americans turning 59½ gain a concrete financial advantage on their next traditional IRA withdrawal: the 10% early-distribution penalty no longer applies. The rule, codified in...
Social Security’s projected shortfall now lands in 2032, the year today’s 61-year-olds reach full retirement age
Americans born in 1965 who plan to claim Social Security at their full retirement age of 67 will reach that milestone in 2032, the same...
A homestead exemption can knock hundreds off your yearly property tax bill, but you usually have to apply
Homeowners in states from Florida to California can shave hundreds of dollars off their annual property tax bills through homestead or homeowner exemptions, yet most...
Medicare’s hospital trust fund is now projected to cover full benefits only into 2033, a year earlier than last year’s estimate
Roughly 67 million Americans who depend on Medicare Part A for hospital coverage now face a slightly shorter runway before the program can no longer...
You can pull the money you contributed to a Roth IRA at any time, with no taxes and no penalty
Anyone who has set money aside in a Roth IRA holds a built-in safety valve that most retirement savers overlook: the dollars they personally contributed...
A surviving spouse can collect up to 100% of a late husband’s or wife’s Social Security benefit
A surviving spouse who waits until full retirement age can collect the entire Social Security benefit their late husband or wife earned, a figure that...
Social Security’s trustees now expect the retirement fund to run short in late 2032, which would trigger an automatic 22% cut to every check
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement and survivor benefits face a sharper deadline than they did a year ago. The Social...
If you claim Social Security and regret it, you have 12 months to cancel, repay, and reset your start date
Anyone who started collecting Social Security retirement benefits and then realized the timing was wrong has a narrow escape hatch: a one-time withdrawal that erases...
More retirees owe tax on their Social Security every year because the income limits haven’t moved since 1984
A growing number of Social Security recipients are losing a portion of their benefits to federal income tax each year, not because Congress raised rates,...
You can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest without itemizing
Millions of borrowers who made payments on student loans during the 2025 tax year can reduce their taxable income by as much as $2,500, even...
Leaving a job with health coverage at 65 opens an 8-month window to take Medicare Part B penalty-free
Workers who turn 65 while covered by an employer group health plan and then leave that job face a strict, time-limited window to enroll in...
A missing year in your earnings record can shrink your Social Security for life
Workers who earned steady paychecks for decades can still end up with a smaller monthly Social Security check if even one year of wages never...
If your income fell after retiring, you can ask Medicare to lower the surcharge on your premiums
Retirees whose earnings dropped sharply after leaving the workforce can ask the Social Security Administration to recalculate the surcharge that inflates their Medicare Part B...
Insurers can’t deny you a Medigap plan or charge more for poor health during your first six months on Part B at 65
People turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B get exactly six months to buy a Medigap supplemental policy without any health screening. During...
Most home sellers can pocket up to $250,000 of profit — $500,000 for couples — with no capital gains tax
Homeowners who sell their primary residence and walk away with a profit of $250,000 or less owe zero federal capital gains tax on that money....
Americans have left $2.1 trillion sitting in 31.9 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free government database now finds yours
Roughly 31.9 million 401(k) accounts holding about $2.1 trillion in assets have been left behind by American workers who switched jobs, retired, or simply lost...
At full retirement age you can pause your benefit and add about 8% a year until 70
Workers who have already started collecting Social Security checks can stop them, let the payments grow by roughly 8 percent a year, and restart at...