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
Some noncitizens lose Social Security after six full months outside the United States
Social Security retirement, survivor and disability payments can stop for some noncitizens after a sixth full calendar month outside the United States, even though the...
Disabled adult children may collect on a parent’s record when disability began before 22
An adult whose qualifying disability began before age 22 may receive Social Security on a parent’s earnings record, even when that adult never worked enough...
$1,890 in 2026 earnings buys one Social Security credit
Every $1,890 of covered earnings in 2026 earns one Social Security credit, up to four credits for the year. The system measures annual earnings rather...
$2,830 is the monthly blind-work threshold before Social Security calls it substantial
Social Security uses $2,830 a month as the 2026 earnings level that generally indicates substantial gainful activity for a person who meets the agency’s blindness...
$2,410 in monthly earnings can stay outside SSI for students under 22
A working student under age 22 can earn as much as $2,410 in a month without those wages entering the Supplemental Security Income calculation, but...
Hospice drugs can cost $5 per prescription under Medicare, while respite care can cost 5%
Medicare hospice is often described as a no-cost benefit, yet two targeted charges remain inside it. A patient can owe up to $5 for each...
Medicare-covered ambulance rides leave patients paying 20% after the Part B deductible
An ambulance can be medically necessary, covered by Medicare, and still leave a substantial bill. Under Original Medicare, Part B generally pays 80% of the...
Medicare screening mammograms cost $0, while diagnostic tests usually cost 20% after the deductible
The same mammography machine can produce two very different Medicare bills. A routine screening can carry no patient cost when the provider accepts assignment, while...
Covered Medicare home health visits cost $0, but medical equipment usually costs 20%
Medicare’s home health benefit draws a bright cost line inside a service that often feels like one package. Covered nursing, therapy, and home health visits...
$217 a day hits Medicare skilled-nursing patients from day 21 through day 100
A covered rehabilitation stay can change from no daily coinsurance to a $217 charge overnight when an Original Medicare patient reaches day 21 in a...
Old 529 money can roll into a Roth IRA up to a $35,000 lifetime limit
A long-open 529 account no longer has to end with a taxable withdrawal simply because the beneficiary finished school with money left over. Federal law...
Career courses can unlock a lifetime learning credit up to $2,000 per return
The Lifetime Learning Credit reaches beyond traditional degree programs to eligible courses that acquire or improve job skills, including some graduate and part-time study. It...
College costs can trigger a $2,500 tax credit, with up to $1,000 refundable
The American Opportunity Tax Credit can turn eligible college spending into as much as $2,500 per student, including a refundable portion of up to $1,000....
The earned-income tax credit reaches $8,231 for some families in 2026
The earned-income tax credit tops out at $8,231 in 2026 for qualifying workers with three or more children, but the maximum occupies only a narrow...
Families can claim an adoption credit up to $17,670, including $5,120 refundable
The federal adoption credit reaches $17,670 per eligible child for 2026, and as much as $5,120 of the allowed credit can be refundable. The new...
Dependent-care FSAs now shield up to $7,500 from federal income and payroll taxes
The dependent-care FSA ceiling rose to $7,500 for 2026, increasing the amount of pay that can avoid federal income and payroll taxes when it funds...
$3,400 can go into a health FSA in 2026, with $680 carried forward
Workers may direct as much as $3,400 of salary into a health flexible spending arrangement for a plan year beginning in 2026, while a plan...
Bronze and catastrophic marketplace plans now qualify for HSA contributions
A bronze or catastrophic health plan can now open the HSA door even when its deductible or out-of-pocket design would have failed the traditional federal...
$8,750 can go into a family HSA in 2026
The 2026 family health savings account limit is $8,750, but that figure belongs to the coverage and the calendar, not separately to every person in...
One $1,000 emergency retirement withdrawal can escape the 10% early-distribution tax each year
A federal exception can spare one small emergency retirement withdrawal from the 10% additional tax, but it does not turn a 401(k) or IRA into...