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
Social Security’s trustees now expect the retirement fund to run short in late 2032, which would trigger an automatic 22% cut to every check
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement and survivor benefits face a sharper deadline than they did a year ago. The Social...
If you claim Social Security and regret it, you have 12 months to cancel, repay, and reset your start date
Anyone who started collecting Social Security retirement benefits and then realized the timing was wrong has a narrow escape hatch: a one-time withdrawal that erases...
More retirees owe tax on their Social Security every year because the income limits haven’t moved since 1984
A growing number of Social Security recipients are losing a portion of their benefits to federal income tax each year, not because Congress raised rates,...
You can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest without itemizing
Millions of borrowers who made payments on student loans during the 2025 tax year can reduce their taxable income by as much as $2,500, even...
Leaving a job with health coverage at 65 opens an 8-month window to take Medicare Part B penalty-free
Workers who turn 65 while covered by an employer group health plan and then leave that job face a strict, time-limited window to enroll in...
A missing year in your earnings record can shrink your Social Security for life
Workers who earned steady paychecks for decades can still end up with a smaller monthly Social Security check if even one year of wages never...
If your income fell after retiring, you can ask Medicare to lower the surcharge on your premiums
Retirees whose earnings dropped sharply after leaving the workforce can ask the Social Security Administration to recalculate the surcharge that inflates their Medicare Part B...
Insurers can’t deny you a Medigap plan or charge more for poor health during your first six months on Part B at 65
People turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B get exactly six months to buy a Medigap supplemental policy without any health screening. During...
Most home sellers can pocket up to $250,000 of profit — $500,000 for couples — with no capital gains tax
Homeowners who sell their primary residence and walk away with a profit of $250,000 or less owe zero federal capital gains tax on that money....
Americans have left $2.1 trillion sitting in 31.9 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free government database now finds yours
Roughly 31.9 million 401(k) accounts holding about $2.1 trillion in assets have been left behind by American workers who switched jobs, retired, or simply lost...
At full retirement age you can pause your benefit and add about 8% a year until 70
Workers who have already started collecting Social Security checks can stop them, let the payments grow by roughly 8 percent a year, and restart at...
A lower-earning spouse can claim up to half of the other’s Social Security
Married couples with unequal earnings histories face a concrete financial decision every year they approach retirement age: when each spouse files for Social Security can...
If you can’t pay your tax bill, the IRS will set up a monthly payment plan online in minutes
Taxpayers who owe the IRS more than they can pay in one lump sum now face a straightforward choice: set up a monthly installment plan...
You can hand each person $19,000 in 2026 — double for a married couple — with no gift tax and no IRS form
Every person in the United States can give up to $19,000 to any number of recipients in 2026 without owing a cent in gift tax...
You have until next April’s filing deadline — not December 31 — to fund an IRA for this year
Many savers still rush to move money into their individual retirement accounts before December 31, worried that the chance to cut their tax bill disappears...
Original Medicare puts no cap on what you pay out of pocket each year
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face a structural gap that no other major health insurance program in the country shares: there is no...
Many households will see tax refunds $300 to $1,000 larger next spring under the new law
Millions of American households stand to collect federal tax refunds next spring that are $300 to $1,000 larger than what they received a year earlier,...
Lower-income workers can claim up to $1,000 back for funding a retirement account
Millions of lower-income Americans who save for retirement are leaving free money on the table. A federal tax credit worth up to $1,000 per individual,...
Teachers, firefighters, and other public workers are getting full Social Security checks again after Congress repealed two old penalties
Retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees across the United States are now receiving larger Social Security checks after Congress eliminated two decades-old...
Medicare picked 15 more drugs for price cuts, including its first under Part B
Roughly 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries who depend on 15 high-cost prescription drugs could see lower prices starting January 1, 2028, after the Centers for Medicare...