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
About $30 billion in benefits for older Americans, from Medicare savings to SSI, goes unclaimed every year
Millions of Americans aged 65 and older qualify for federal benefits they never receive. The National Council on Aging estimates that eligible older adults leave...
Original Medicare sets no annual limit on out-of-pocket costs, one reason many buy Medigap
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face a financial exposure that no other major federal health program allows: there is no annual ceiling on...
Medicare’s fall enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and 2027 plans must match Original Medicare on mental-health costs
Medicare beneficiaries who want to change their health coverage for 2027 will face a familiar deadline and a new wrinkle: the annual Open Enrollment Period...
The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks, so filers should set up direct deposit to avoid delays
Millions of individual taxpayers who still receive paper refund checks from the IRS face a hard deadline. Beginning September 30, 2025, the agency will stop...
Retirees can have tax withheld from Social Security using Form W-4V
Retirees who owe federal income tax on their Social Security benefits can now authorize withholding by phone, after the Social Security Administration began accepting verbal...
Giving away money within five years of applying for Medicaid nursing-home coverage can trigger a penalty
Families who help an aging parent with a large cash gift or transfer a home to a relative could face months of blocked Medicaid nursing-home...
Medicare Part A charges no premium once you have 40 quarters of work
Americans approaching retirement age who have accumulated 40 quarters of work covered by Medicare taxes pay nothing each month for Part A hospital insurance. Those...
41 hospital systems have now dropped Medicare Advantage across 25 states, forcing patients to pay or switch
Patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans tied to at least two major hospital systems lost in-network access after those providers severed contracts with private insurers,...
Social Security disability checks convert to retirement checks at full retirement age, with no drop in the amount
Millions of Americans receiving Social Security disability payments face a quiet but significant shift when they hit full retirement age: their disability checks stop, and...
A Roth IRA never forces withdrawals in the owner’s lifetime, unlike a traditional IRA
Retirees with traditional IRAs face a mandatory withdrawal schedule starting at age 73, a rule that chips away at tax-deferred growth whether the account holder...
Leaving a job after 65 opens an eight-month Medicare enrollment window
Workers who stay on the job past 65 and then retire face a hard deadline that many do not see coming: an eight-month window to...
Six senators from both parties want to force a Social Security fix before the fund falls short in 2032
Eight senators from both parties introduced the PROMISE Act to force Congress to vote on a Social Security fix before the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance...
Social Security pays survivors a one-time $255 death benefit, frozen since 1954
When a worker dies after paying into Social Security for years or even decades, the federal government sends eligible survivors a single check for $255....
Medicare covers a free annual wellness visit that many seniors skip, missing no-cost screenings
Four in ten Medicare beneficiaries skipped a free preventive visit in 2022 that could have connected them to no-cost screenings for conditions like diabetes, depression,...
You get a one-time six-month window to buy any Medigap plan when you first enroll in Medicare
Anyone turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B gets exactly six months to purchase a Medigap supplement plan with no health screening, no...
Medicare now covers Wegovy and Zepbound for a flat $50 a month under a new bridge program
Starting today, millions of Medicare enrollees can fill prescriptions for popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs at a flat $50 per month, a fraction of what these...
Filing a homestead exemption can shave hundreds off your yearly property-tax bill
Homeowners across the country can cut their annual property-tax bills by hundreds of dollars simply by filing for a homestead exemption on their primary residence....
Medicare’s Part D deductible jumps to $700 for 2027, the amount you pay before coverage kicks in
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D prescription drug plans will face a standard deductible of $700 in 2027, up from the current cap. The increase...
The final deadline to file a 2025 tax return on extension is October 15
Millions of taxpayers who requested extra time for their 2025 federal income tax returns face a single, firm cutoff: October 15, 2026. That date is...
California reinstates a $130,000 Medi-Cal asset cap that could cost seniors long-term-care coverage
Seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medi-Cal for nursing-home care now face a financial test that California had suspended just a few years...