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 new Social Security rule just boosted benefits for some widows and divorced spouses — many now qualify for hundreds more a month they don’t know to claim
A retired teacher in Texas who spent 30 years in a state pension system logged into her Social Security account last spring and saw something...
Full retirement age officially hit 67 this year — and anyone born in 1960 who claims at 62 will lose 30% of their Social Security check for life
If you were born in 1960, you are part of a group that holds a distinction no previous generation of American retirees can claim: your...
401(k) millionaires just hit a record 665,000 as the market climbs — yet half of American workers have less than $45,000 saved for retirement
Somewhere in America, 665,000 people have crossed the million-dollar mark in their 401(k) accounts. That is the highest number Fidelity Investments has ever recorded, based...
Waiting until 70 to claim Social Security now pays up to $5,181 a month — about $1,000 more than the $4,152 that same worker gets at full retirement age
The Social Security Administration’s 2026 benefit tables spell out a gap that is hard to ignore: a maximum-earning worker who files at 70 collects $5,181...
Starting in 2027, the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year straight into the retirement accounts of low- and middle-income savers — free money most don’t know is coming
Imagine putting $2,000 into your Roth IRA this year and finding an extra $1,000 from the federal government sitting in the same account a few...
401(k) catch-up contributions jump to $11,250 for workers aged 60 to 63 this year — a new “super catch-up” most eligible savers don’t even know exists
Turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 at any point this year and the IRS lets you contribute up to $11,250 in catch-up money to your...
The standard deduction climbed to $32,200 for married couples this year — but the new senior bonus deduction is the break most retirees are leaving on the table
Married couples filing jointly for tax year 2026 will claim a record standard deduction of $32,200, thanks to the latest round of inflation adjustments the...
Social Security’s 2027 raise is now projected at 3.9% — about $81 more a month for the average retiree, the biggest cost-of-living bump since 2023
For millions of retirees who have watched their Social Security raises shrink for three straight years, the first inflation reading of the 2027 adjustment cycle...
53 million Americans claimed Trump’s new no-tax-on-tips and overtime breaks this spring — pushing the average refund up $340 to $3,462
When the IRS began processing returns for the spring 2026 filing season, something unusual showed up in the numbers almost immediately: refunds were running significantly...
Medicare starts covering Wegovy and Zepbound for $50 a month on July 1 — the same drugs that cost up to $699 at the pharmacy today
A month’s supply of Wegovy costs roughly $1,350 at list price. A month’s supply of Zepbound runs about $1,060. Even with insurance negotiations and manufacturer...
The IRS’s new crypto tax form leaves out one number — and it could make the agency think you owe thousands more than you actually do
Say you bought $14,000 worth of Bitcoin, sold it for $15,000, and owed tax on the $1,000 profit. Simple enough. Now imagine the IRS received...
The IRS will phase out paper refund checks for tax year 2026 — anyone filing without direct deposit on file will wait six extra weeks for their money
The average federal tax refund last filing season topped $3,100. Starting with tax year 2026 returns, filed during the 2027 season, anyone who doesn’t have...
The average 401(k) balance hit a record $168,000 last year — and a record 6% of workers also pulled hardship cash from their accounts, mostly to stop foreclosure
The average 401(k) balance climbed to an all-time high of $168,000 in 2024, according to Fidelity Investments’ quarterly retirement analysis. In the same year, a...
If you sold crypto in 2025, your broker will send a Form 1099-DA in January — the IRS gets a copy, and 125 AI models match every entry automatically
Sometime in February, a tax form you had never seen before likely showed up in your Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini account. Form 1099-DA, the IRS’s...
The 2027 Social Security COLA forecast jumped a full point in 30 days — at this pace, retirees could see their biggest raise since 1981 next October
A retired postal clerk in Tampa collecting $1,927 a month from Social Security could open her January 2027 check and find an extra $150 or...
Medicare Part B premiums are set to rise again in 2027 — and the same hike pattern that ate $17.90 from 2026’s COLA is locked in for another year
A retired worker collecting the average Social Security benefit will see roughly $55 more per month on paper in 2026. In practice, $17.90 of that...
401(k) plans can now hold private equity for the first time — Trump’s executive order opens $9 trillion in retirement money to assets that don’t trade on public markets
A 35-year-old software engineer in Austin who has never picked a single fund in her 401(k) could soon own a slice of a private equity...
Hardship withdrawals from 401(k) accounts just hit a record — up 252% since COVID, because everyday bills are eating retirement savings
The money was supposed to be for retirement. Instead, it is going to back rent, emergency room copays, and grocery bills that keep climbing. Across...
The 2027 Social Security COLA is now projected at 3.2% to 4.5% — today’s 3.8% inflation and $4.52 gas guarantee it lands at the high end
A retired postal worker in Tampa pulling $1,800 a month from Social Security stands to gain roughly $81 per check starting in January 2027. A...
Social Security’s 2.8% COLA added $56 a month — but with inflation at 3.8% and the 30-year Treasury at 5%, retirees’ fixed-income investments are losing ground too
The $56 raise was supposed to help. When the Social Security Administration announced a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment last October, the bump looked like a...