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 Senate bill would raise Social Security checks, but Congress still must act
Millions of Social Security beneficiaries learned on October 24 that their 2026 cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.8 percent, translating to roughly $56 more per month...
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income retirement accounts
Millions of lower- and middle-income workers who save for retirement will soon receive direct federal deposits into their accounts, replacing a tax credit that most...
A record 6% of workers raided their 401(k) for emergency cash last year
A record share of American workers pulled emergency cash from their 401(k) accounts last year, exposing a widening gap between the rules designed to protect...
Fewer seniors are choosing Medicare Advantage for the first time since 2010
For the first time since 2010, fewer new Medicare beneficiaries are selecting Medicare Advantage plans when they first become eligible. Data from the Centers for...
Medicare’s Part B premium is projected to reach $209.50 a month in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries will pay $209.50 per month for Part B coverage in 2027 if federal projections hold, a $6.60 jump from the $202.90 premium locked...
Medicare’s 2027 plan-change notices arrive by September 30, and ignoring yours can lock you into a worse plan
Millions of Medicare Advantage and Part D enrollees face a hard deadline this fall: their plans must send a written notice of every cost and...
VA disability pay rose 2.8% this year, adding about $107 a month at a 100% rating
Veterans rated at 100 percent disability will see their monthly compensation climb by about $107 starting December 1, 2025, when a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment...
Buyers of new American-made cars can deduct up to $10,000 a year in loan interest, even without itemizing
Households financing a new vehicle assembled in the United States can now subtract up to $10,000 in annual loan interest from their federal taxable income,...
A free six-digit IRS PIN locks scammers out of filing a tax return under your Social Security number
Criminals who steal Social Security numbers to file bogus federal tax returns and collect fraudulent refunds now face a simple but effective barrier: a free...
Nineteen major hospital systems, including Mayo Clinic, have left Medicare Advantage this year
Nineteen major hospital systems across the United States, including Mayo Clinic, have walked away from Medicare Advantage contracts this year, forcing millions of seniors to...
Social Security’s retirement trust fund is now projected to run short in late 2032 and then pay just 78% of benefits
Roughly 73 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement checks face an automatic benefit cut of about one-fifth unless Congress acts within the next...
Go 63 days without drug coverage after 65 and Medicare adds a lifelong Part D penalty
Anyone turning 65 who lets prescription drug coverage lapse for 63 consecutive days or longer faces a permanent surcharge on Medicare Part D premiums. The...
Medicare’s negotiated price for Ozempic and Wegovy falls to $274 a month in 2027, down from about $959
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Ozempic or Wegovy will pay sharply less starting in 2027, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services locked in...
Earn above $23,400 before full retirement age and Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 over
Americans who claim Social Security before full retirement age and keep working face a hard dollar threshold in 2025: every dollar of earnings above $23,400...
A new bill would change how Social Security’s yearly raise is set to better track seniors’ costs
Millions of Social Security recipients received a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers argues that annual raise still shortchanges...
Save medical receipts and reimburse yourself from a health savings account years later, tax-free
Taxpayers who pay for dental work, prescriptions, or surgery out of pocket can pull that money back from a health savings account years after the...
Only a handful of states still tax Social Security benefits, and the list keeps shrinking
Retirees in a shrinking number of states still owe state income tax on their Social Security benefits, but a wave of legislative action in 2024...
After 65 you can pay Medicare premiums from a health savings account tax-free
Americans turning 65 gain access to a tax break that can offset thousands of dollars in annual Medicare costs: the ability to withdraw money from...
A working teen can open a custodial Roth IRA and start decades of tax-free growth
A teenager with a summer job or part-time paycheck can open a custodial Roth IRA and begin building tax-free wealth decades before most adults think...
Remarry after age 60 and you can still collect a late spouse’s survivor benefit
Widows and widowers who find love again after 60 face a common fear: that walking down the aisle will cost them their Social Security survivor...