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
A Medicare give-back plan can return part of your Part B premium to your monthly check
A subset of Medicare Advantage plans uses a federal payment formula to shrink or erase the Part B premium most Medicare enrollees pay every month,...
Earning too much before full retirement age temporarily docks a Social Security check
A Social Security recipient who claims benefits before full retirement age and keeps earning a paycheck can watch part of that monthly check disappear, withheld...
The new tax law lets workers deduct tip and overtime pay, though the break shrinks at higher incomes
The tax law that took effect for 2025 does not erase federal income tax on tips and overtime pay, despite the “no tax on tips”...
Who qualifies for the new $6,000 senior deduction, and why it disappears once income tops $175,000
A new federal deduction worth up to $6,000 is now open to anyone 65 or older, but qualifying for the full amount depends on rules...
Ohio State and Valley Health leave Medicare Advantage networks on October 1, and members lose in-network hospital care
Two Medicare Advantage networks fracture on the same date next week, and neither involves a plan folding or leaving the market. Ohio State University’s Wexner...
The “no tax on Social Security” promise turned out to be only a temporary $6,000 senior deduction that fades above $75,000
The federal law that took effect in 2025 did not eliminate income taxes on Social Security benefits, despite a campaign pledge that promised exactly that....
The Treasury is phasing out paper federal benefit checks, moving the last recipients to direct deposit or a debit card
The federal government has stopped issuing new paper checks for Social Security and most other federal benefit payments, and Treasury is now working to move...
A federal appeals court upheld Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices, keeping January’s lower prices on 15 drugs on track
A federal appeals court has again rejected the pharmaceutical industry’s legal challenge to Medicare’s drug-price negotiation program, keeping the government on track to roll out...
Social Security is streamlining SSI so applications and reviews move faster with fewer errors
The Social Security Administration transmitted its 2026 Annual Report on the Supplemental Security Income program to the President and Congress on July 24, highlighting a...
Adding an adult child as joint owner of your home can trigger a gift tax and expose it to their creditors
Parents who add a grown child to their home’s deed to simplify estate planning often trigger consequences they never intended: a taxable gift under IRS...
Converting some IRA money to a Roth before age 73 can shrink future required withdrawals and their tax
Required minimum distributions are not a suggestion — once a retiree turns 73, the IRS forces a taxable withdrawal from traditional IRA and retirement plan...
Contributing to a Roth IRA in retirement is allowed as long as you or a spouse still have earned income
Retirement does not automatically close the door on building tax-free savings. Federal law once barred anyone 70½ or older from contributing to a traditional IRA,...
An HSA can pay Medicare premiums tax-free, but never a Medigap policy
A retiree who assumes every Medicare-related premium can be paid tax-free out of a Health Savings Account is only half right, and the half that’s...
The IRS will keep charging 7% interest on unpaid taxes starting in October, raising the cost of falling behind
Taxpayers who owe the IRS money and have not paid in full will keep facing a 7% annual interest rate for the fourth quarter of...
Kettering and Lehigh Valley are dropping Medicare Advantage, pushing patients out of network
Kettering Health in Ohio and Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania have already ended their Medicare Advantage contracts with major insurers, and Becker’s Hospital Review’s...
UnitedHealthcare may exit 34 counties in 12 states for 2027 Medicare Advantage
UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurer, has floated a preliminary list of 34 counties across 12 states it may drop from its 2027 Medicare...
Providence Health Plan is shutting down entirely for 2027, and more than 64,000 Medicare Advantage members must find new coverage
Providence Health Plan will close its entire book of business rather than simply drop a market, a decision that leaves more than 64,000 Medicare Advantage...
Wellcare is dropping 133 Medicare Advantage plans, forcing 340,000 members to switch
Centene’s Wellcare brand is eliminating 133 Medicare Advantage plans across Oklahoma, Tennessee and Hawaii for the 2027 plan year, a retreat the company disclosed alongside...
When a Medicare Advantage plan drops you for 2027, you gain a guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy
A Medicare Advantage plan that will not return for 2027 does more than send a member back into the market for new coverage. Under federal...
A Medicare Advantage plan must cover emergencies anywhere, even out of network
A Medicare Advantage enrollee who has a heart attack while traveling out of state does not need to find an in-network hospital first. Federal regulation...