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
Every state offers free SHIP counseling to help you choose Medicare coverage
Medicare beneficiaries across the country can access free, one-on-one counseling to sort through their coverage options, thanks to a federally funded network that operates in...
If you cover more than half of an aging parent’s support, you may be able to claim them as a dependent on your taxes
Adult children who pay for a parent’s housing, food, medical bills, and other basic needs now face a direct tax question: does the money they...
Who can get their entire $202.90 Medicare Part B premium paid for them? Limited-income seniors who apply for a Medicare Savings Program
Seniors living on tight budgets face a $202.90 monthly bill for Medicare Part B in 2026, a cost that adds up to more than $2,400...
Social Security survivor benefits can start as early as age 60
Surviving spouses who lose a partner face an immediate financial gap, and federal law allows them to begin collecting Social Security survivor benefits years before...
$750 a month is the most the government must leave you, no matter how much of a Social Security check it garnishes for old student loans
Retirees with defaulted federal student loans can lose a share of their Social Security benefits every month, but the government must leave them with at...
About 452,000 retirees could lose up to 15% of each Social Security check as defaulted student-loan collections restart this summer
Roughly 452,000 Americans age 62 and older who hold defaulted federal student loans and collect Social Security benefits face the prospect of losing up to...
A widow or widower raising a child can keep filing at the lower married-couple tax rates for two years after a spouse dies
Families who lose a spouse while still raising children face an immediate financial blow, but federal tax law offers a specific cushion: a surviving parent...
Donating appreciated stock skips the capital-gains tax and still earns a full deduction
Investors sitting on long-term stock gains face a choice every tax season: sell shares and hand a slice to the IRS, or donate those shares...
$255 is Social Security’s one-time death benefit, a figure frozen since 1954
When a worker dies after paying into Social Security for years, the federal government sends eligible survivors a single check for $255. Congress set that...
Anyone in Extra Help pays no more than $12.65 per covered prescription in 2026
Low-income Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for Extra Help will pay no more than $12.65 for each covered brand-name prescription in 2026, a cost cap that...
You can still put money into a traditional or Roth IRA for last year right up until the April tax deadline
Millions of taxpayers who missed the December 31 calendar flip still have months to fund a traditional or Roth IRA for the prior tax year....
Many states let homeowners 65 and older freeze their property taxes
Senior homeowners on fixed incomes across the United States face a growing squeeze as assessed property values climb, but programs in Tennessee, Oregon, Missouri, Pennsylvania,...
A homestead exemption can shave thousands off your property-tax bill, but in many states you have to file for it yourself
Millions of homeowners across the United States qualify for property-tax relief they never receive, simply because they do not file the right paperwork by the...
$202.90 is Medicare’s standard Part B premium in 2026, with surcharges starting at $109,000
Medicare beneficiaries across the country face a standard Part B monthly premium of $202.90 in 2026, and higher-income enrollees will pay additional surcharges once their...
$2,050 is the extra standard deduction taxpayers 65 and older get this year
Unmarried taxpayers who turn 65 before the end of 2026 can claim an extra $2,050 on top of the regular standard deduction, a figure the...
Creating a free my Social Security account online blocks scammers from rerouting your direct deposit, and it takes about two minutes
Identity thieves who steal personal information can use it to open a fraudulent my Social Security account and reroute a beneficiary’s monthly direct deposit to...
Money in a Roth IRA grows and comes out completely tax-free in retirement, and it never forces required withdrawals during your lifetime
Retirement savers who fund a Roth IRA gain two structural advantages that no traditional IRA can match: every dollar of qualified growth exits the account...
When one spouse enters a nursing home on Medicaid, “spousal impoverishment” rules let the at-home spouse keep the house and a share of savings
Married couples face a brutal financial reality when one partner needs full-time nursing home care paid by Medicaid: the program’s strict asset limits can drain...
Original Medicare’s yearly wellness visit and preventive screenings cost you nothing
Tens of millions of people enrolled in Original Medicare can schedule a yearly wellness visit and pay zero out of pocket, yet a large share...
Filers 60 and older can get their taxes done free through AARP Tax-Aide
Americans who are 60 or older can have their federal tax returns prepared at no cost through AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program, a service backed by...