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 can give $19,000 to any number of people this year with no gift-tax form
Taxpayers can hand $19,000 to every person on their gift list in 2026 without triggering a single gift-tax filing, a per-recipient design that lets families...
The American Opportunity Credit cuts up to $2,500 in taxes for each of a student’s first four years
Families sending a student to college or vocational school can reduce their federal tax bill by up to $2,500 per eligible student each year, for...
Company stock inside a 401(k) can leave at the lower capital-gains rate, a break called net unrealized appreciation
Workers who retire with a large block of employer shares locked inside a 401(k) face a tax decision that can shift tens of thousands of...
Social Security disability checks convert to retirement checks at full retirement age
Millions of Americans receiving Social Security Disability Insurance will see their monthly payments end and restart as retirement benefits once they hit full retirement age,...
Centene is cutting roughly 40,000 seniors from its Medicare Advantage plans
Centene Corp. is pulling the plug on Medicare Advantage plans that cover roughly 40,000 seniors heading into 2026. The move forces affected beneficiaries, most of...
$700 is Medicare’s new Part D drug deductible for 2027, up from $615
Medicare enrollees choosing Part D drug coverage for 2027 will face a standard deductible of $700, an $85 jump from the $615 maximum in effect...
Delay Medicare Part B and your premium rises 10% for each year you waited, for life
Americans who skip Medicare Part B enrollment when they first qualify face a permanent financial penalty: a 10% premium surcharge for every full year they...
The $1,000 federal tax credit for a home EV charger ended June 30
Homeowners who installed a home EV charger after June 30, 2026, can no longer claim the federal tax credit that covered up to $1,000 of...
A rising Part B premium cannot push most retirees’ Social Security below last year’s, under a hold-harmless rule
Most of the roughly 70 million Americans who receive Social Security will see their monthly checks rise in January 2026, even though Medicare’s standard Part...
$2,000 is still the savings cap for SSI, a limit unchanged since 1989
Millions of Americans who rely on Supplemental Security Income face a savings ceiling that has not moved in nearly three decades. The individual resource limit...
Pay 100% of last year’s tax, or 110% if you earn more, and skip the IRS underpayment penalty
Self-employed workers, freelancers, and anyone whose income fluctuates year to year face a quiet but costly trap when estimated tax payments fall short. The IRS...
Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing, a gap that surprises many the year they retire
Americans turning 65 each year face an abrupt loss of dental, vision, and hearing benefits the moment they leave employer-sponsored insurance and enroll in Original...
The government is raising Medicare Advantage payments 2.48% for 2027, yet insurers keep cutting plans
Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans are facing a paradox heading into 2027: the federal government will pay insurers more per beneficiary, yet the number...
Medicare’s $1,676 hospital deductible can hit you more than once in a single year
Medicare beneficiaries who need more than one hospital stay in a single year can face the full $1,676 inpatient deductible each time, a billing structure...
Social Security mishandled 75% of the fraud-penalty cases a watchdog reviewed, a new audit finds
Three out of every four fraud-penalty cases reviewed by a federal watchdog contained errors, a finding that points to nearly $50 million in improper payments...
Who pays just $5.10 for a generic prescription on Medicare? Seniors who qualify for Extra Help
Seniors with limited income who fill a generic prescription through Medicare Part D can pay as little as $5.10 per drug in 2026 if they...
$209.50 a month is Medicare’s projected Part B premium for 2027
Medicare beneficiaries planning their 2027 budgets now have a concrete number to work with. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, released June 9, 2026, projects the...
Original Medicare pays 80% of your doctor bills with no yearly cap, the gap a Medigap plan fills
Millions of Americans on Original Medicare face a cost-sharing split that leaves them responsible for 20 percent of every approved doctor bill, with no annual...
After 65 you can spend HSA money on anything with no penalty, taxed like an IRA withdrawal
Americans with health savings accounts who reach age 65 gain a little-known tax advantage: they can withdraw HSA funds for any purpose, not just medical...
A surviving spouse can claim Social Security as early as 60, or 50 if disabled
Hundreds of thousands of Americans lose a spouse each year, and for many the financial shock arrives long before retirement age. Federal rules allow a...