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
$12,500 in overtime pay is now deductible on the tax return you file next spring
Workers who logged extra hours in 2025 stand to keep more of that pay when they file federal tax returns next spring. The One Big...
Tipped workers can deduct up to $12,500 in tips on next spring’s tax return
Millions of workers who earn tips will be able to subtract up to $25,000 in qualified tip income from their 2025 federal taxes when they...
The former head of Social Security says raising the payroll cap is the only real fix
Workers earning above $176,100 a year pay no Social Security tax on income beyond that threshold, and a former head of the agency told Congress...
Medicare caps your out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,100 this year, and you can spread that bill across monthly payments
People enrolled in Medicare Part D will pay no more than $2,100 out of pocket for prescription drugs in 2026, up from the $2,000 cap...
Insurers warn Medicare Advantage plans could cut benefits or fold in 2027 after the government raised their pay just 0.9%
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees face the prospect of losing supplemental benefits or watching their plans exit certain markets after the Centers for Medicare and...
Next year’s Social Security raise is tracking near 3.8%, about $77 more a month for the average retiree
Roughly 73 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks could see about $77 more per month starting in January 2027 if current inflation trends...
You have 12 months to undo a Social Security claim — repay what you collected and reset for a bigger check later
Retirees who claimed Social Security benefits too early and now regret the decision have a narrow escape hatch: the agency allows a one-time withdrawal of...
Medicare covers a yearly wellness visit and most cancer screenings at $0
Millions of Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B can receive a yearly wellness visit and most cancer screenings without paying a copay or meeting a...
Divorced after a 10-year marriage? You can claim up to half your ex’s Social Security, and it never touches their check
Millions of Americans who ended long marriages walk away unaware that federal law entitles them to collect retirement benefits based on a former spouse’s earnings...
The IRS just released the form for the new $10,000 car-loan-interest deduction
Millions of Americans who financed a new vehicle this year now have an official path to claim up to $10,000 in car-loan interest as a...
Social Security can now withhold half your monthly check to claw back an overpayment — but a waiver with no deadline can erase it
Millions of Social Security recipients who owe money back to the federal government now face losing half their monthly benefit check to automatic withholding, a...
After 65, a health savings account works like an IRA — withdraw for anything and just pay regular income tax
Americans who spent decades funneling money into a health savings account face a quiet but significant shift once they turn 65: the penalty for spending...
Workers can now claim the no-tax-on-tips and overtime breaks the IRS just posted
Millions of tipped and hourly workers across the United States can now reduce their 2025 federal tax bills using a brand-new IRS form, but the...
Medicare Advantage plans must mail you a list of unused benefits between June 30 and July 31 — and most members toss it
More than 30 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans were set to receive a new piece of mail this summer: a personalized list of...
Claim Social Security at 62 and your check is about 30% smaller for life
Americans born in 1960 or later who start collecting Social Security at 62 lock in a monthly benefit that is 30 percent smaller than what...
Medicare Savings Programs can cover your entire monthly Part B premium if your income qualifies
Millions of Americans on Medicare lose hundreds of dollars each month to Part B premiums even though a federal program exists to eliminate that cost...
A donor-advised fund lets you bunch several years of charitable giving into one bigger deduction
Taxpayers who give to charity every year but never clear the standard deduction threshold face a familiar frustration: their donations produce zero tax benefit. A...
About 19.2% of 401(k) savers now carry a loan against their own account
Nearly one in five workers with a 401(k) plan now owe money against their own retirement savings, a ratio that signals growing financial pressure on...
The typical retiree’s 2026 raise shrank to about $35 a month — the Medicare premium ate the rest
Most of the 66 million Americans who collect Social Security will see their January 2026 checks grow by about $57 a month, the result of...
The average tax refund climbed to $3,462 this year, up $346 from last spring
Tens of millions of American taxpayers are collecting bigger refund checks this spring, with the average payout climbing to $3,462 through early April 2026, an...