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’s taxable wage base is projected to rise to $190,200 in 2027, so high earners would pay the tax on $5,700 more
Social Security’s taxable wage base, the ceiling on earnings subject to the program’s payroll tax, is projected to climb to $190,200 in 2027, up from...
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living raise is now tracking near 3.8%, up from this year’s 2.8%
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 is currently tracking near 3.8 percent, according to the latest estimate from a leading retiree advocacy group, up...
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income savers’ retirement accounts
Beginning in 2027, the federal government will start depositing money directly into the retirement accounts of lower- and middle-income savers, matching up to $1,000 a...
Who qualifies for the biggest Social Security check of $5,251 a month in 2026?
The largest Social Security check anyone collects in 2026 tops out at $5,251 a month, a number that sounds attainable until the requirements come into...
Ozempic’s price under Medicare drops to $274 a month from $959 on January 1
The negotiated Medicare price for Ozempic will fall to $274 a month on January 1, down from a list price of $959, one of the...
About 3.2 million teachers, police and public workers are getting bigger Social Security checks and back pay
About 3.2 million retired teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees are seeing larger Social Security payments and, in most cases, a one-time lump...
Humana is dropping Medicare Advantage plans that cover about 600,000 seniors for 2027
Humana told investors on July 29 that it will pull out of a set of Medicare Advantage markets for the 2027 plan year, a retreat...
Georgia permanently cut its state income-tax rate to 4.99% for 2026, trimming what retirees owe.
Georgia’s flat state income-tax rate falls to 4.99% for 2026, down from 5.19% the year before, under a law that took effect retroactively to January...
Social Security can now take 50% of a check to claw back an overpayment, but a waiver or a $10-a-month plan can stop it.
The Social Security Administration can now withhold as much as 50% of a monthly retirement, survivor, or disability payment to recover an overpayment it says...
Medicare Advantage’s 2027 pay raise was set at 2.48%, and insurers are expected to trim extra perks in response.
Medicare Advantage insurers will collect roughly $13 billion more from the federal government in 2027 than in 2026, the product of a 2.48% payment increase...
Filed a federal extension? Your 2025 tax return is due October 15 before penalties and interest build.
October 15 is the hard stop for anyone who requested an extension on a 2025 federal return, and it carries a costly misunderstanding. The extension...
Nursing-home Medicaid lets a stay-at-home spouse keep up to $162,660 in assets in 2026 without disqualifying their partner.
When one spouse enters a nursing home and turns to Medicaid to pay for it, the couple’s savings do not have to be spent down...
California reinstated its Medi-Cal asset limit in 2026, capping a single nursing-home applicant at $130,000.
For two years, California allowed residents to qualify for many Medi-Cal programs without any accounting of how much they had saved. That window closed on...
Medicare’s yearly wellness visit is free, but it is not a full physical.
Once a year, Medicare will pay the full cost of a wellness visit, with no deductible and nothing owed at the desk. The catch is...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision or hearing.
Millions of people reach 65 assuming Medicare will handle their teeth, eyes, and ears the way an employer plan once did. It does not. Original...
About 2 million seniors skip $11.4 billion in Medicare Extra Help savings.
Roughly $11.4 billion in prescription-drug savings goes unclaimed every year because about 2 million people who qualify for Medicare’s Extra Help program never sign up...
Medicare’s fall open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, the once-a-year window to change or drop a plan.
For most people on Medicare, the coverage decisions that stick for a full year get made inside a single seven-week stretch each fall. That stretch,...
Two nights “under observation” can cost thousands and block nursing-home coverage.
A hospital patient can spend two or three nights in a bed, receive tests, drugs and monitoring, and still never be formally admitted. The reason...
SSI recipients get their August payment early, on July 31.
August 1, 2026 falls on a Saturday, and that single calendar fact reshapes the month for millions of low-income beneficiaries. Because the Social Security Administration...
SSI’s $2,000 savings cap has not moved since 1989.
The Supplemental Security Income program still cuts off eligibility the moment a recipient’s countable assets cross $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple,...