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
Fairview Health will drop UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1
Fairview Health will stop scheduling UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1, 2027, a contract split that pushes affected members out of network at one...
Social Security averages your highest 35 years, so one more working year can replace a zero and lift your check
Social Security builds a retirement benefit from the 35 highest-earning years of a person’s career, not from the final salary or the last few years...
Claim Social Security after full retirement age and you can request up to six months of benefits as a lump sum
Social Security lets people who wait past full retirement age to file collect a single retroactive payment worth up to six months of benefits, a...
Social Security’s 2027 raise could near 3.8%, adding about $74 a month
Social Security’s annual raise for 2027 could land near 3.8%, adding roughly $74 to the average monthly retirement check, based on the latest estimate from...
Social Security now gives five years to repay an overpayment, but tougher 2026 recovery rules can still claw back checks
Social Security has given people who owe the agency money more room to breathe, extending the time to repay an overpayment to five years, up...
Social Security now scans every SSI applicant’s bank accounts, running up to 10 geographic searches to catch hidden money
Social Security’s needs-based disability program leans on an automated bank check that reaches well beyond what an applicant writes on a form. Under the process,...
Divorced spouses married at least 10 years can claim up to half an ex’s Social Security, and it never lowers the ex’s check
A divorced spouse whose marriage lasted at least a decade can collect a Social Security benefit worth up to half of a former partner’s full...
A surviving spouse can collect 100% of a late husband or wife’s Social Security by waiting until survivor full retirement age
A widow or widower is entitled to a Social Security survivor benefit equal to 100 percent of what a late spouse was receiving, but that...
Who can get their entire $202.90 Medicare Part B premium paid? Limited-income seniors who join a Medicare Savings Program
The standard Medicare Part B premium climbed to $202.90 a month in 2026, a 9.7 percent jump from the $185 charged the year before, and...
Full retirement age has reached 67, and claiming at 62 now locks in a check about 30% smaller for life
The age at which Social Security pays a full, unreduced retirement benefit has finished its decades-long climb to 67 for everyone born in 1960 or...
25 health systems dropped Medicare Advantage, forcing 2.9 million seniors to switch in 2026
The strain on Medicare Advantage is now running in both directions. As insurers prune unprofitable markets, hospitals are cutting the other end of the contract,...
The Social Security 2100 Act would lift the minimum benefit to 125% of poverty, but it must clear the Senate first
The latest version of the Social Security 2100 Act, introduced in the House on June 29, would set a new floor under the program by...
Humana will drop Medicare Advantage plans for about 600,000 members in 2027, and open enrollment closes December 7
Humana told investors on August 2 that it will pull its Medicare Advantage plans out of enough counties to affect roughly 600,000 members for the...
A $5,120 slice of the 2026 adoption credit can be refundable
Up to $5,120 of the federal adoption credit may be refundable for 2026, allowing that portion to produce a payment even when a family has...
First-time homebuyers can tap $10,000 from an IRA without the extra 10% tax
A first-time homebuyer can use as much as $10,000 from an individual retirement account without the additional 10% tax that usually applies to an early...
Retirement contributions can trigger a $1,000 Saver’s Credit
A qualifying retirement contribution can generate a federal Saver’s Credit of as much as $1,000 for an individual, adding an immediate tax benefit to money...
College costs can produce a $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit
The American Opportunity Tax Credit can turn $4,000 of qualified college spending into a federal credit of as much as $2,500 for an eligible student....
The 2026 adoption credit reaches $17,670 per eligible child
The federal adoption tax credit can reach $17,670 per eligible child for 2026, pairing a larger overall ceiling with a newly refundable portion of up...
Families can qualify for an $8,231 earned-income tax credit in 2026
The maximum federal earned-income tax credit reaches $8,231 for tax year 2026, but only for eligible households with at least three qualifying children and earnings...
IRA savers get a $7,500 contribution limit for 2026
The individual retirement account contribution limit rose to $7,500 for 2026, giving savers $500 more room than in 2025 before any age-based catch-up. The increase...