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 cut 13% of its staff, and some seniors are claiming early
The federal agency that sends benefits to tens of millions of retirees has shed roughly 13 percent of its workforce, and the strain is starting...
Social Security’s tax thresholds haven’t moved since 1984, so more retirees owe every year
When Congress first made Social Security benefits taxable, it drew the income lines in 1984 dollars and then left them there. A single retiree still...
October 15 opens the one yearly window to leave a Medicare Advantage plan that dropped you
Every autumn, Medicare opens a single stretch of the calendar when coverage decisions made months earlier can finally be undone. From October 15 through December...
Fifteen negotiated Medicare drug prices, including Ozempic, begin in January and should save seniors $685 million
Medicare’s second round of drug price negotiations is now settled, and the outcome lands squarely on the wallets of older Americans who fill prescriptions every...
About 25 health systems have quit Medicare Advantage this year, and a mid-year exit can open a rare window to switch
About 25 health systems have stopped accepting at least some Medicare Advantage plans during 2026, a run of network exits that can strand enrollees far...
Presbyterian is dropping most of its Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, pushing about 30,000 members to switch
About 30,000 Medicare Advantage members in New Mexico will have to find new coverage for 2027 after Presbyterian Health Plan said it is dropping most...
Next year’s Social Security raise is now estimated as low as 3.4% as inflation cools
The projected 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment slipped again this week, with one closely watched estimate now as low as 3.4% after fresh inflation data....
Trump is ending a subsidy that kept Medicare drug premiums down, and about 25 million seniors could pay more in 2027
The federal government is winding down a multibillion-dollar program that has quietly held down Medicare Part D drug premiums, a shift that could push monthly...
Fifteen Medicare drugs, including Ozempic, get price cuts of 38% to 85% in 2027
On November 25, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced negotiated prices for a second round of high-cost prescription drugs, and the reductions...
Original Medicare pays nothing toward long-term custodial care, which averages more than $9,500 a month
A room in a nursing home now runs well past $9,500 a month, and for the single largest expense many older Americans will ever face,...
Two nights in the hospital under observation instead of admitted can cost thousands and block nursing coverage
Two patients can occupy identical hospital beds, receive the same tests, and stay the same number of nights, yet walk out with very different bills...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing, a gap that surprises new retirees
Millions of Americans reach 65 assuming Medicare will cover the basics of staying healthy, only to learn that three everyday needs fall outside it entirely....
Social Security’s retirement fund is projected to pay only 78% of benefits after 2032 without a fix
Each year the trustees who oversee Social Security publish a projection that lands like a warning shot, and the latest is no different: on the...
Up to 15% of a Social Security check can be garnished for defaulted student loans, though $750 is protected
Federal law lets the government reach into a Social Security check to collect on a defaulted student loan, withholding up to 15 percent of the...
A payable-on-death beneficiary lets a bank account skip probate and reach heirs directly
Naming a payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account is one of the simplest estate-planning moves available, and one of the most misunderstood. With a short...
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income retirement accounts
Beginning in 2027, the federal government will start depositing money directly into the retirement accounts of lower- and middle-income savers, matching what they set aside...
Each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock before you can withdraw it penalty-free
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth can trim a future tax bill and hand a saver decades of tax-free growth, but it quietly starts...
Social Security now scans applicants’ bank accounts, running geographic searches to catch hidden money
Supplemental Security Income runs on one of the strictest asset tests in the federal government, and the Social Security Administration increasingly enforces it with automation...
Enrolling in Part B at 65 opens a one-time window to buy any Medigap policy without health questions
Signing up for Medicare Part B at 65 does more than start doctor-visit coverage; it opens a one-time, six-month window to buy any Medigap supplement...
A program called PACE combines Medicare and Medicaid to keep frail seniors out of nursing homes
Most seniors who grow frail enough to qualify for a nursing home would rather stay in their own homes, and a little-known program is built...