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
Delaying a Social Security check past age 70 adds nothing to the benefit
The standard advice to wait on Social Security is right up to a point, and then it becomes a costly mistake. Benefits grow for every...
A spousal IRA lets a non-working spouse keep saving for retirement on the earner’s income
The tax code normally requires earned income to fund an individual retirement account, which would seem to lock out any spouse who does not draw...
Social Security’s family maximum caps what one worker’s record can pay at roughly 150% to 180%
Social Security can pay benefits to more than one person on a single worker’s earnings record. A retired or deceased worker’s spouse, minor children, and...
Seniors can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs above 7.5% of income, including long-term-care premiums
Seniors carrying heavy medical costs can turn part of that burden into a tax deduction, but only for the dollars that climb above 7.5% of...
Higher 2026 income limits let more seniors qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help
A larger group of older Americans can qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help in 2026, after the income limits that govern the program rose again alongside...
Medicare Advantage members get a January 1 to March 31 window each year to switch plans or return to Original Medicare
A Medicare Advantage plan that looked right in the fall can turn out to be a poor fit once a new year begins and the...
A lump-sum pension buyout swaps a lifetime monthly check for one cash payout
A lump-sum pension buyout puts a single decision in front of a retiree: trade a monthly check that lasts a lifetime for one large cash...
Up to 85% of a Social Security check can be taxed once combined income passes $34,000, a line set in 1993 and never raised
Once a retiree’s combined income tops $34,000, up to 85% of each Social Security benefit becomes subject to federal income tax — and that $34,000...
Retirees who return to work can drop Medicare Part B and its premium under an employer plan
A retiree who goes back to work and picks up health coverage through the new job is not required to keep paying for Medicare Part...
About $2.1 trillion sits in 31.9 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free federal Lost and Found can reunite you with yours
An estimated $2.1 trillion is sitting in roughly 31.9 million forgotten 401(k) accounts left behind at former employers, according to 2025 research from the retirement-account...
Remarrying after age 60 does not cost a widow her Social Security survivor benefit
A widespread belief keeps some older widows and widowers from remarrying: the fear that a second marriage will cancel the Social Security survivor benefit earned...
Medicare now covers the shingles vaccine and other Part D shots at no cost
The shingles vaccine used to carry a sticker price that stopped a lot of older Americans at the pharmacy counter, often around $150 to $200...
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, more with IRMAA
The number that sets a retiree’s Medicare budget for 2026 is $202.90. That is the standard monthly Part B premium, up from $185.00 in 2025,...
Medicare’s Part B late penalty is permanent, adding 10% for each year you delayed
Most Medicare cost mistakes can be corrected the next year. The Part B late-enrollment penalty is the exception: it is a surcharge that attaches to...
Original Medicare has no yearly out-of-pocket limit, unlike Medicare Advantage plans
Original Medicare covers hospital stays, doctor visits, and outpatient care, but it does something no Medicare Advantage plan is allowed to do: it lets the...
Filers 65 and older get an extra $2,050 standard deduction in 2026, on top of the new $6,000 senior break
Filers who are 65 or older will subtract more from their income before the IRS calculates what they owe for 2026. The additional standard deduction...
Amazon is cutting about 16,000 corporate jobs in 2026, and a severance check can roll into an IRA to defer taxes
Amazon told employees in early 2026 that it would eliminate about 16,000 corporate jobs, part of a restructuring that has cut close to 30,000 white-collar...
Disaster-area filers in this year’s wildfire counties have until August 20 to file and pay federal taxes
A federal tax deadline that most of the country met back in the spring is still open for one group of taxpayers, and it closes...
Working before full retirement age, Social Security withholds $1 of every $2 over $24,480, then repays it later
Plenty of people claim Social Security early and keep working, then watch part of the check disappear and assume the money is simply gone. It...
This year’s Medicare fall enrollment, October 15 to December 7, is the main window to replace a plan leaving in 2027
With major insurers dropping and reshaping Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, the calendar has quietly become the most important tool a beneficiary has. Medicare’s annual...