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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 & Medicare

Genesis HealthCare, the only hospital system across six southeastern Ohio counties, is ending Medicare Advantage contracts with Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medical Mutual and CareSource after December 31

Genesis HealthCare System, the only hospital system in six southeastern Ohio counties, has told four insurers it will end its Medicare Advantage contracts after December...

Social Security & Medicare

California will leave its SSI state supplement frozen at $239.94 for an individual on January 1, so only the federal share rises

California’s state supplement to Supplemental Security Income stays frozen at $239.94 a month for an individual on January 1. The federal cost-of-living adjustment of 3.6...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security closed its Portland repayment lockbox, and overpayment checks reaching the old post office box after December 30 are returned to sender

Social Security has retired the Portland, Oregon, post office box that took repayment checks, and mail still sent there after December 30, 2026, will go...

Social Security & Medicare

A CMS proposal would stop Medicare Advantage members paying out-of-network prices when a wrong provider directory sends them to the wrong doctor

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would cap what a Medicare Advantage member pays at the plan’s in-network rate...

Social Security & Medicare

The average Medicare shopper has 28 drug-covering Advantage plans to pick from for 2027, and the share with more than 40 options drops to one in five

A person shopping for a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage for 2027 can pick from 28 of them on average, according to KFF, the...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security’s watchdog found a quarter of sampled SSI recipients owned a vehicle they never reported, and the agency does not independently verify ownership

Social Security’s inspector general found that 54 of 208 sampled Supplemental Security Income recipients, or 26 percent, owned a vehicle they had not reported. The...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security’s 3.6% raise lands in January, and beneficiaries who want the notice with their new amount online must enroll in paperless notices by November 18

Social Security benefits rise 3.6% in 2027, the agency announced on October 14, and the larger payments start arriving in January. The new amount shows...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security’s watchdog flags $9.1 million tied to beneficiaries living in restricted countries

Social Security’s inspector general has flagged $9.1 million in payments tied to beneficiaries who live in countries where the agency restricts how it pays. The...

Retirement Planning

Aged railroad widows and widowers eligible for the increase will average $2,218 a month in 2027, up $67

Aged railroad widows and widowers who are eligible for the cost-of-living increase will average $2,218 a month in 2027, up $67. The Railroad Retirement Board...

Social Security & Medicare

SSI couples in Maine who both get the state supplement are due two full individual state supplements instead of 1.5 times one, under a law in effect since July 29

Married couples in Maine who both receive the state’s SSI supplement are due the sum of two individual supplements, not 1.5 times one, under a...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security commissioner Frank Bisignano says the program will be around for another 90 years, while trustees project its main trust fund runs short in 2032

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, October 12, 2026, “It’s 90 years old, and it’ll be around for another...

Retirement Planning

Railroad retirees’ average employee annuity rises $106 to $3,761 a month in January 2027, the Railroad Retirement Board says

Railroad retirees are getting a raise in January, and the average regular employee annuity climbs by $106 to $3,761 a month. The Railroad Retirement Board,...

IRS & Enforcement

The IRS says disaster victims can get free tax return transcripts online and have copy fees waived by writing the disaster’s name across the top of Form 4506

People who lose tax records in a flood, fire or storm can get their past returns back without paying the IRS. Free return transcripts are...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security is reminding families of 18- and 19-year-old students to report school changes, after its watchdog questioned $160.8 million in student benefits

Social Security is reminding families that student benefits can end, and be clawed back, when school changes go unreported. The October 15, 2026 reminder follows...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security’s watchdog says an estimated 50,194 people on childhood disability benefits have wrong entitlement dates on file, tied to $164.5 million

Social Security’s inspector general estimates that 50,194 people receiving childhood disability benefits have the wrong entitlement date on file. The audit, issued September 25, 2026,...

Social Security & Medicare

North Carolina Medicaid applicants who apply by Dec. 31 can get up to three months of past bills covered, while many adults 19 to 64 get one month starting January

North Carolina Medicaid will go back up to three months to cover health care costs for anyone who applies by December 31, 2026. Starting January...

Tax Changes & Deadlines

Trump’s White House says about 1.8 million Georgia seniors benefit from the new senior deduction, with the average senior expected to pay no federal tax on Social Security

About 1.8 million Georgia seniors benefit from the new federal senior deduction, according to the White House, which also says the average senior is expected...

Social Security & Medicare

Social Security’s watchdog urges the agency to start withholding from SSI and Social Security checks to recover child-benefit overpayments tied to $242.4 million

Social Security’s inspector general is urging the agency to begin withholding money automatically from SSI payments and Social Security benefits to collect overpaid child benefits....

Tax Changes & Deadlines

Up to 23,376 Ohio veterans rated fully disabled by the VA can get back specialty military license plate fees paid since 2019 if they file by Dec. 2

Ohio veterans rated 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs have until Dec. 2 to file for refunds of the registration taxes and fees...

Social Security & Medicare

At least 42,349 Braven Health members in New Jersey lose their Medicare Advantage plans December 31, as all 10 of the insurer’s New Jersey plans end after 2026

Braven Health members in New Jersey have until December 7 to choose a new Medicare plan that starts January 1, because every Braven Medicare Advantage...

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