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 dependent parent can qualify for a Social Security benefit on a worker’s record
Social Security’s survivor benefits are widely understood to cover a worker’s spouse and minor children, but a third, far less publicized category exists: a dependent...
An IRS offer in compromise can settle a tax debt for less than the full amount
An IRS offer in compromise lets a taxpayer settle a federal tax debt for less than the full balance owed, but the number that gets...
Required withdrawals from a traditional IRA now begin at age 73
Required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA now begin at age 73, not the age 70½ threshold that governed the rule for decades, or the...
Skipping a full 401(k) employer match leaves free retirement money on the table
An employer that promises to match part of what a worker contributes to a 401(k) is not extending a bonus — it is offering compensation...
An IRS installment plan lets you pay a tax bill over time instead of all at once
A tax bill larger than expected does not have to be paid in a single lump sum. The IRS runs a formal payment plan program...
Medicare’s General Enrollment Period runs January through March for those who missed sign-up
Every January 1 through March 31, Medicare opens a narrow, once-a-year door for people who missed their chance to sign up for Part A or...
Medicare Part A is premium-free with 40 work credits; those short of that pay a monthly premium
Roughly ten years of qualifying work stands between a Medicare Part A premium of zero and a monthly bill that can run several hundred dollars...
IRS Free File offers free federal tax filing to most taxpayers under an income limit
Filing a federal tax return doesn’t have to cost anything for the large majority of taxpayers, yet the program that makes that true remains one...
A disabled adult child can collect on a parent’s Social Security record for life
Most Social Security dependent benefits for children have a hard stop: they end at 18, or 19 for a full-time high school student. One category...
A retiree’s minor child can draw a monthly Social Security benefit on the parent’s record
When a worker starts collecting Social Security retirement benefits, the payment isn’t necessarily limited to that one person. Under the program’s Family benefits rules, an...
Leftover money in a 529 college plan can now roll into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA
For nearly three decades, money left over in a 529 college savings plan after graduation had one honest use: more education, for the same beneficiary...
A Roth IRA has no required withdrawals, so the money can grow untouched for heirs
Every other tax-advantaged retirement account eventually forces the owner’s hand: traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar plans require withdrawals starting at age 73, whether or not...
The Rule of 55 lets someone who leaves a job at 55 or older tap that 401(k) penalty-free
Most people are told that retirement accounts are locked until age 59½, with a 10 percent penalty for anything withdrawn earlier. But a worker who...
The “widow’s penalty” can push a surviving spouse into a higher tax bracket the next year
A surviving spouse who files a joint return in the year their husband or wife dies can be caught off guard the following year, when...
The home-sale tax exclusion lets a married couple shield up to $500,000 of profit
A married couple who sells the home they have lived in for years can walk away with up to $500,000 of profit and owe the...
A new federal match will add up to $1,000 a year to a low earner’s retirement savings starting in 2027
Starting with the 2027 tax year, the federal government will deposit up to $1,000 directly into the retirement account of a low- or moderate-income saver...
A retiree past full retirement age can claim up to six months of Social Security in one back payment
A worker who waits past full retirement age to file for Social Security retirement benefits doesn’t have to choose between filing today or losing the...
Original Medicare has no cap on out-of-pocket costs, which is why many buy a Medigap policy
Original Medicare covers a large share of hospital and medical costs, but it was never built with a ceiling on what a beneficiary pays out...
Medicare covers a free yearly wellness visit, separate from the one-time Welcome to Medicare exam
Medicare covers two different preventive checkups that share almost the same paperwork and confuse enough beneficiaries that Medicare’s own program materials go out of their...
A six-month Medigap window opens at 65, when insurers cannot reject you or charge more for your health
Turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B starts a six-month clock that most new retirees never notice ticking. Under federal law, that Medigap Open...