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
A Roth IRA has no required withdrawals, so the money can grow untouched for heirs
Every other tax-advantaged retirement account eventually forces the owner’s hand: traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar plans require withdrawals starting at age 73, whether or not...
The Rule of 55 lets someone who leaves a job at 55 or older tap that 401(k) penalty-free
Most people are told that retirement accounts are locked until age 59½, with a 10 percent penalty for anything withdrawn earlier. But a worker who...
The “widow’s penalty” can push a surviving spouse into a higher tax bracket the next year
A surviving spouse who files a joint return in the year their husband or wife dies can be caught off guard the following year, when...
The home-sale tax exclusion lets a married couple shield up to $500,000 of profit
A married couple who sells the home they have lived in for years can walk away with up to $500,000 of profit and owe the...
A new federal match will add up to $1,000 a year to a low earner’s retirement savings starting in 2027
Starting with the 2027 tax year, the federal government will deposit up to $1,000 directly into the retirement account of a low- or moderate-income saver...
A retiree past full retirement age can claim up to six months of Social Security in one back payment
A worker who waits past full retirement age to file for Social Security retirement benefits doesn’t have to choose between filing today or losing the...
Original Medicare has no cap on out-of-pocket costs, which is why many buy a Medigap policy
Original Medicare covers a large share of hospital and medical costs, but it was never built with a ceiling on what a beneficiary pays out...
Medicare covers a free yearly wellness visit, separate from the one-time Welcome to Medicare exam
Medicare covers two different preventive checkups that share almost the same paperwork and confuse enough beneficiaries that Medicare’s own program materials go out of their...
A six-month Medigap window opens at 65, when insurers cannot reject you or charge more for your health
Turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B starts a six-month clock that most new retirees never notice ticking. Under federal law, that Medigap Open...
Extra Help can erase most Part D drug costs for a low-income Medicare enrollee
A Medicare enrollee who qualifies for the full Extra Help subsidy in 2026 pays nothing for a Part D premium, nothing for a deductible, and...
A spousal Social Security benefit stops growing at full retirement age, so waiting past it adds nothing
Waiting past full retirement age pays off for almost every Social Security benefit a worker earns on their own record — except one. A spousal...
Social Security disability benefits convert automatically to retirement benefits at full retirement age, with no drop
A worker collecting Social Security Disability Insurance does not have to file anything, call anyone, or brace for a smaller check when they reach full...
Withdrawing a Social Security claim within 12 months lets a retiree repay and restart at a higher rate
A retiree who claimed Social Security too early and immediately regretted it has a genuine do-over, not just a pause. Social Security allows anyone to...
Suspending Social Security at full retirement age earns delayed credits worth about 8% a year until 70
A retiree who already started Social Security at full retirement age is not stuck with that decision for life. Social Security lets anyone who has...
A survivor can take a reduced Social Security benefit at 60, then switch to a larger retirement check at 70
A widow or widower can start collecting a Social Security survivor benefit at age 60, take a payment worth just 71.5 percent of what their...
A repealed offset now lets teachers, police and firefighters keep their full Social Security check
The Social Security Administration says it has finished sending more than $17 billion in retroactive payments to roughly 3.1 million people under the Social Security...
The IRS rolled back the $600 1099-K rule, so casual online sellers get a tax form only above $20,000 and 200 sales
The IRS has confirmed that the Form 1099-K reporting threshold reverts to $20,000 in payments and 200 transactions, undoing a 2021 law that would have...
Social Security now withholds up to 50% of a check to claw back an overpayment, but a $2,000-or-less no-fault debt can be waived by phone
Social Security’s rules for clawing back an overpayment shifted twice in less than two years, landing on a policy that lets the agency withhold half...
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is projected to climb to about $209.50 a month in 2027
The federal government’s own actuaries now project that Medicare’s standard Part B premium will rise to about $209.50 a month in 2027, a $6.60 increase...
UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Aetna are all pulling back Medicare Advantage for 2027, and nearly 3 million seniors could be forced to switch
Three of the largest names in Medicare Advantage are retreating from the market heading into 2027, and the scale is bigger than last year’s retreat....