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
The IRS lets most households file federal taxes free, yet millions still pay for software they don’t need
Millions of Americans hand over money to commercial tax software companies every filing season to prepare returns they could file for free. The IRS provides...
Workers aged 60 to 63 can add $11,250 to a 401(k) this year
Americans turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 this calendar year can now stash $11,250 in catch-up contributions to their 401(k) plans, a figure that exceeds...
Workers earning over $150,000 must now make 401(k) catch-up contributions in a Roth, with after-tax dollars
Workers age 50 and older who earned more than $150,000 in the prior year can no longer shelter their 401(k) catch-up contributions from income tax...
A non-working spouse can still fund a $7,500 IRA
Married couples filing jointly can double their retirement savings even when one spouse earns nothing. Under a longstanding but widely overlooked provision of the tax...
Lower- and middle-income savers can claim up to $1,000 back, double for couples, just for funding a retirement account
Workers earning lower and middle incomes can collect up to $1,000 from the federal government, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly, simply by putting...
The federal pension agency is holding unclaimed money for tens of thousands who never collected a pension they earned
Tens of thousands of Americans have earned pension benefits they have never collected, and the federal agency responsible for safeguarding those benefits is sitting on...
Medicare’s yearly cap on out-of-pocket drug costs holds near $2,100 in 2026, and the old “donut hole” stays gone
Medicare beneficiaries filling expensive prescriptions in 2026 will hit a hard ceiling on what they owe out of pocket: $2,100 for the full year, up...
Taxpayers 65 and older can claim an extra $6,000 deduction through 2028, but it phases out above $75,000 in income
Millions of Americans age 65 and older gained access to a new $6,000 federal tax deduction when the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act became law...
Social Security is ending paper checks this year — about 280,000 people still getting one must switch to direct deposit or a prepaid card
About 280,000 Social Security recipients who still receive paper checks face an abrupt deadline: the federal government plans to stop mailing those payments this year,...
Heirs who inherit an IRA usually have just 10 years to empty the account
Millions of Americans who stand to inherit a traditional or Roth IRA from a parent, sibling, or other non-spouse relative face a hard deadline that...
A tax-filing extension buys you more time to file, but not more time to pay what you owe
Millions of taxpayers who requested extra time to submit their federal returns still owe the IRS money, and the clock on interest charges has been...
You have three years to file a past tax return and still claim a refund before the money is gone
More than 1.3 million people who earned income in 2022 never filed a federal tax return, and according to the IRS, roughly $1.2 billion in...
Medicare’s Extra Help program can sharply cut prescription drug costs for people with limited income
Medicare beneficiaries with limited income stand to pay as little as zero dollars for prescription drug premiums, deductibles, and most copays in 2026 through the...
Lower-income retirees can get their Medicare Part B premium paid through a state Medicare Savings Program
Retirees living on fixed incomes and enrolled in Medicare can have their Part B premium paid entirely by their state through a Medicare Savings Program,...
Money pulled from a traditional IRA after age 59½ avoids the 10% early-withdrawal penalty
Americans turning 59½ gain a concrete financial advantage on their next traditional IRA withdrawal: the 10% early-distribution penalty no longer applies. The rule, codified in...
Social Security’s projected shortfall now lands in 2032, the year today’s 61-year-olds reach full retirement age
Americans born in 1965 who plan to claim Social Security at their full retirement age of 67 will reach that milestone in 2032, the same...
A homestead exemption can knock hundreds off your yearly property tax bill, but you usually have to apply
Homeowners in states from Florida to California can shave hundreds of dollars off their annual property tax bills through homestead or homeowner exemptions, yet most...
Medicare’s hospital trust fund is now projected to cover full benefits only into 2033, a year earlier than last year’s estimate
Roughly 67 million Americans who depend on Medicare Part A for hospital coverage now face a slightly shorter runway before the program can no longer...
You can pull the money you contributed to a Roth IRA at any time, with no taxes and no penalty
Anyone who has set money aside in a Roth IRA holds a built-in safety valve that most retirement savers overlook: the dollars they personally contributed...
A surviving spouse can collect up to 100% of a late husband’s or wife’s Social Security benefit
A surviving spouse who waits until full retirement age can collect the entire Social Security benefit their late husband or wife earned, a figure that...