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 will alone does not avoid probate, but a living trust can keep your estate out of court
Families who assume a signed will keeps their property out of probate court face a costly surprise when a loved one dies. A will names...
Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits become taxable once your other income climbs past set limits
Retirees collecting Social Security face a tax hit that grows steeper each year, not because Congress raised rates but because the income thresholds that trigger...
An employer’s 401(k) match is free money, yet many workers contribute too little to collect all of it
Millions of American workers are passing up free retirement dollars each year by contributing too little to their 401(k) plans to collect the full employer...
Many middle-income investors pay 0% federal tax on long-term capital gains
Investors with moderate incomes who sell stocks, mutual funds, or other assets held longer than a year can owe zero federal tax on the resulting...
Higher earners 50 and up must now put their 401(k) catch-up contributions into a Roth
Workers over 50 who earned above a statutory wage threshold in the prior year can no longer treat their 401(k) catch-up contributions as pre-tax deferrals....
A hospital “observation” stay can leave a Medicare patient paying the full bill for nursing care afterward
A Medicare beneficiary can spend multiple nights in a hospital bed, receive round-the-clock care, and still be classified as an outpatient under observation status. That...
States can recover Medicaid nursing-home costs from your estate after you die
Families who rely on Medicaid to cover a parent’s or grandparent’s nursing-home stay face a financial reckoning that often arrives only after a loved one...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing care
Millions of Americans who rely on Original Medicare for their health coverage face a gap that catches many off guard: the program does not pay...
A husband or wife who never worked can still claim up to half of their spouse’s Social Security
A spouse who spent decades outside the paid workforce can still collect a Social Security check worth up to 50% of their partner’s full retirement...
Social Security checks stop growing at age 70, so there is no reason to wait any longer to claim
Americans who delay claiming Social Security past their full retirement age earn a bigger monthly check for every year they wait, but that growth has...
Medicare does not pay for most long-term nursing-home care, which now runs well over $100,000 a year
Families across the United States face a stark financial gap when a loved one needs long-term nursing-home care. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for...
A surviving spouse can step up to the larger of the two Social Security checks a couple was receiving
A surviving spouse does not keep both Social Security checks that a married couple was receiving. Instead, the survivor steps up to the larger of...
After age 70½ you can send money straight from an IRA to charity, tax-free
Retirees who want to give to charity while keeping their tax bill low have a direct route available once they turn 70½: transferring money from...
The 2027 Social Security raise estimate slipped to 3.8%, about $77 more a month for the average retiree
About 72 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks are on track for a smaller bump in 2027 than many had expected just weeks...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) or IRA overrides whatever your will says
On the same day the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, the Court confirmed...
The IRS will charge 7% interest on unpaid taxes starting July 1, up from 6%
Taxpayers who owe the IRS money after June 30 will face a steeper cost for waiting. The agency set the interest rate on unpaid taxes...
The child and dependent care credit covers up to $3,000 in care costs for one child, $6,000 for two
Families paying for child care so they can work face a hard ceiling on the federal tax break meant to help them. The Child and...
Selling your home can be completely tax-free on up to $250,000 of profit, or $500,000 for a married couple
Homeowners who sell their primary residence and pocket a profit of $250,000 or less owe zero federal tax on that gain, and married couples filing...
You can deduct up to $2,500 of student-loan interest even if you don’t itemize
Millions of borrowers paying down student loans can trim their federal tax bill by up to $2,500 each year, and they do not need to...
Money inside a 401(k) or IRA is shielded from most creditors, even in bankruptcy
Millions of Americans carry both retirement savings and consumer debt, and many face the question of what happens to a 401(k) or IRA if they...