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 Social Security overpayment can be wiped out entirely when the mistake wasn’t yours and repaying would leave you short
A letter from Social Security demanding thousands of dollars back can land without warning, often for an error the beneficiary never made and never noticed....
A survivor’s Social Security check is capped when the late spouse claimed early, a limit many widows never see coming
Most people assume a surviving spouse simply steps into the larger of the couple’s two Social Security checks. In practice, one quiet provision can hold...
Medicare’s Part D drug deductible jumps to $700 for 2027, up from $615, and most plans will cost more
Medicare’s standard Part D drug deductible will climb to $700 in 2027, up from $615 this year, the most a beneficiary can be asked to...
Trump is allowing 300,000 tons of cheaper imported ground beef as prices push toward $7 a pound
President Trump has cleared the way for up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to enter the United States without the usual out-of-quota tariff,...
A continuing-care retirement community bundles independent living with future nursing care for one fee
For many older adults, the hardest question in retirement is not how to spend the early years but what happens when health declines and living...
A transfer-on-death title lets a car pass to an heir without probate in many states
A car is often one of the more valuable possessions a person leaves behind, and without planning it can be dragged into probate — the...
The Labor Department’s new Lost and Found helps workers track down old 401(k) money
Billions of dollars in retirement savings sit stranded in accounts their owners have forgotten — 401(k) balances left behind when a worker changed jobs, and...
A pension’s survivor option lowers your monthly check but protects a spouse for life
At retirement, a worker with a traditional pension usually faces one irreversible decision that shapes a spouse’s finances for decades: take the largest possible monthly...
A Roth IRA never forces withdrawals during the owner’s lifetime
Every year, millions of retirees are forced to pull money out of their traditional IRAs and 401(k)s whether they need it or not, because the...
Medicare covers a continuous glucose monitor and diabetes supplies for many enrollees
Medicare covers a continuous glucose monitor and the supplies that go with diabetes care for many enrollees, a benefit that can replace the daily cost...
Medicaid’s home-care waivers can pay for help at home instead of a nursing facility
The cost gap between a nursing home and staying put is enormous — institutional long-term care can run several thousand dollars a month, and for...
Missed signing up for Medicare? A general window runs January through March
Anyone who missed signing up for Medicare when first eligible gets a second chance each year in a window that runs January 1 through March...
Medicare’s Part B premium comes straight out of your Social Security check
For most people on Medicare, the Part B premium is never paid by check or card. It is pulled directly from the monthly Social Security...
A surviving spouse inherits the larger of two Social Security checks, not both
When one spouse dies, a couple that had been receiving two Social Security checks does not keep both. The survivor moves to the larger of...
A survivor benefit can begin at 60, or 50 for a disabled widow or widower
A surviving spouse does not have to wait until full retirement age to draw a Social Security survivor benefit. It can begin as early as...
Social Security is paid the month after it’s due, and your birthday sets the deposit date
New retirees are often thrown by their first Social Security deposit twice over. It arrives a month later than expected, and it lands on a...
Social Security’s disability rules count fewer work credits for people who become disabled young
Many workers assume that Social Security disability, like retirement, demands 40 work credits earned over roughly a decade. That assumption shuts younger people out of...
Retirees who owe at filing can have taxes withheld from Social Security or pay quarterly
A retiree who ends up owing the IRS at tax time usually has two ways to head off the same surprise the following year: have...
Medicare covers yearly depression screening and outpatient mental-health care
Medicare pays for one depression screening every year at no cost, and covers ongoing therapy and counseling that many older adults assume they must pay...
A financial power of attorney lets someone manage your money if you can’t
A financial power of attorney is the document that decides who pays the bills when illness or injury leaves a person unable to manage money...