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
Original Medicare sets no cap on your out-of-pocket costs; Advantage plans do
One of the largest gaps in Original Medicare is the one that gets the least attention until a serious illness arrives. Parts A and B...
Once you enroll in Medicare, you can no longer add money to a health savings account
Health savings accounts are one of the few retirement tools that hand out three separate tax breaks, yet the door closes the moment Medicare begins....
Medicare’s 2027 plan prices post in late September, before Open Enrollment opens October 15
Medicare beneficiaries get their first concrete look at 2027 coverage in September, weeks before they can act on it. Plan-specific premiums, deductibles, and drug lists...
Original Medicare pays nothing toward routine dental, vision or hearing care
Three of the most routine health expenses in later life fall almost entirely outside Original Medicare. Cleanings and dentures, eye exams for glasses, and hearing...
Required minimum withdrawals from an IRA now start at 73 and rise to 75 in 2033
The age at which retirement savers must begin pulling taxable money out of a traditional IRA has shifted again, and the change gives many people...
A surviving spouse who remarries after age 60 still keeps a late partner’s Social Security survivor benefit
A widow or widower who finds love again after 60 does not have to choose between a new marriage and a late spouse’s Social Security....
Claim Social Security too early? You can undo it within 12 months by paying the money back
Social Security offers a rarely used reset for retirees who claim their benefit and quickly regret it: a full withdrawal of the application within 12...
Extension filers have until October 15 to claim new breaks on tips, overtime and car-loan interest
Taxpayers who requested a six-month extension back in April have until October 15, 2026, to file their 2025 federal return, and this year that return...
Working before full retirement age costs $1 in Social Security for every $2 you earn over the limit
Claiming Social Security while still on the job, and before reaching full retirement age, comes with a catch that blindsides many early retirees: the agency...
Skip Medicare at 65 and the late penalty adds 10% to your Part B premium for life, for every year you waited
Delaying Medicare Part B past the initial sign-up window can attach a penalty that never goes away. For most people who miss their enrollment period...
Up to 85% of your Social Security check can be taxed, under income lines frozen since 1983
The income lines that decide whether Social Security benefits get taxed were drawn in 1983 and have not moved since. A single filer whose combined...
A Medicare drug subsidy ends in 2027, and nearly half of drug plans could raise premiums more than $10 a month
The federal subsidy that softened standalone Medicare Part D premiums for two straight years will not return for 2027, and the government’s own estimates point...
A defaulted student loan can take 15% of your Social Security check, but the first $750 a month is protected
Roughly 452,000 Social Security recipients are behind enough on federal student loans to face a collection tool many had forgotten existed. Through the Treasury Offset...
Medicare covers a shingles shot and other Part D vaccines at no cost
The shingles vaccine, which once cost Medicare beneficiaries well over a hundred dollars out of pocket, is now free under Part D, along with every...
A surviving spouse can still file a joint tax return for the year a partner dies, often at a lower rate
When a spouse dies, the survivor faces a stack of financial decisions at the worst possible moment, and one of the more valuable ones is...
Seniors can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs above 7.5% of income, including long-term-care premiums
The federal tax code lets a taxpayer deduct unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, but only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of adjusted gross income. For...
High earners over about $145,000 must make 401(k) catch-up contributions as Roth in 2027
A change written into federal retirement law will take away a choice that higher-paid savers have long had over their 401(k) catch-up contributions. Beginning in...
A lump-sum pension buyout trades a lifetime monthly check for one cash payout you must manage yourself
An offer that lands in the mail from a former employer can look like a windfall: take a large one-time cash payment now instead of...
Medicare’s fall Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, is the window to replace a plan leaving in 2027
Medicare’s fall Open Enrollment opens October 15 and closes December 7, and for members whose Advantage or drug plans will not return in 2027, it...
A bill would raise the SSI savings limit to $10,000 from a $2,000 cap frozen since 1989
A proposal moving through Congress takes aim at one of the oldest and most criticized numbers in the federal safety net: the $2,000 cap on...