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
DOGE built a Medicare portal to help seniors — then left providers’ Social Security numbers in a public database for weeks
For weeks this spring, the Social Security numbers of healthcare providers who treat Medicare Advantage patients were sitting in a publicly accessible government database, exposed...
Workers cut 401(k) contributions for the first time in 3 years — except Gen Z, who raised theirs to 6.2%
After three years of steady increases, American workers are pulling back on 401(k) contributions. The average deferral rate across all age groups slipped to approximately...
The IRS is running 125 AI models to flag tax returns in 2026 — up from 54 in 2024 — and high-earner audit rates are climbing back toward pre-2010 levels
If you reported more than $10 million in income on your most recent tax return, the IRS is screening it with tools that barely existed...
Social Security’s 2.8% COLA added $56 a month — but the Medicare Part B premium hike swallowed nearly half of it, leaving retirees with just $38 more
The Social Security raise for 2026 was supposed to put $56 more per month into the average retiree’s pocket. Instead, most beneficiaries are seeing about...
The IRS is running 125+ AI models to flag returns in 2026 — up from 54 two years ago — while Congress wants to cut the agency’s budget by another $1 billion
Somewhere inside the IRS, a machine-learning model is comparing the income you reported on your 2025 tax return against every W-2, 1099, and third-party record...
2027 Social Security COLA forecast ranges from 2.8% to 4% — and the Iran war could push it higher
A Social Security recipient collecting the average monthly benefit of roughly $1,976 could see anywhere from $55 to $79 more per check starting in January...
Social Security payments up to $5,181 land next week — here’s the full May 2026 schedule
If you’re one of the millions of retirees who budget around the third of the month, May 2026 is throwing a small curveball. Because May...
New bill would raise Social Security benefits for millions
When a Social Security recipient dies, the federal government sends surviving family members a one-time payment of $255. That amount was set in 1954, when...
Retirement net worth benchmarks show how your savings stack up
A 55-year-old couple with $400,000 saved for retirement might feel they are doing fine, or falling behind, depending on which benchmark they use. The Federal...
Retirement costs shift after 70 as health care and housing loom larger
The mortgage is gone. The retirement party is a distant memory. And yet for millions of Americans past 70, the most expensive years may still...
New Senate bill could reshape Medicare Advantage for millions
A physician orders an MRI for a Medicare Advantage enrollee with worsening back pain. Before the scan happens, the insurer has to approve it. That...
Mega backdoor Roth lets high earners move up to $47,500 via after-tax 401(k)
A software engineer in Seattle earning $260,000 maxes out her 401(k) at $24,500 and still watches her paycheck clear every two weeks with no additional...
Social Security cuts loom, and Trump policy may speed the timeline
A retired teacher in Texas who spent 30 years in the classroom and just started collecting Social Security might soon face a choice she never...
Microsoft offers 1st-ever U.S. retirement buyouts to thousands
For the first time in its 51-year history, Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement packages to thousands of U.S. employees, asking roughly 8,750 workers to decide...
An attorney went viral on TikTok for refusing to pay her $8,800 tax bill as a political protest — millions watched, and the IRS hasn’t responded
Rachel Cohen filed her 2025 federal tax return. She calculated what she owed. Then she decided not to pay it. The Chicago attorney posted a...
House Republicans want to cut IRS funding by $1 billion next year — right after the IRS processed a record $202 billion in refunds
The IRS just finished delivering more than $202 billion in tax refunds through March 20, capping what the agency called one of its smoothest filing...
Medigap premiums are jumping 12% to 26% this year — and unlike Part B, there’s no COLA to help absorb it
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 per month got about $55 more in 2026 thanks to the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment....
The new $6,000 senior tax deduction could eliminate federal taxes on Social Security for millions — but most retirees don’t know about it yet
A retired postal worker in Ohio earning $32,000 a year from Social Security used to owe roughly $800 in federal taxes on those benefits. This...
Average tax refund hits $3,400 this season — up 11% — but the real increase is $350, not the $1,000+ the White House projected
Millions of Americans were told to expect a tax refund roughly $1,000 fatter than last year’s. The checks have landed, and the actual increase is...
No, updating your W-4 isn’t free money — here’s how a withholding mistake today becomes a tax bill in April 2027
Imagine opening your paycheck in June 2026 and finding an extra $200. You didn’t get a raise. You just filed a new W-4 with your...