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
Medicare covers blood-sugar screening and a diabetes-prevention program at no cost
Medicare beneficiaries with prediabetes can get blood-sugar screening tests and enroll in a year-long lifestyle-change program without paying a dime out of pocket. The Department...
Form W-4P pulls federal tax from a pension check to avoid an April surprise
Retirees collecting pension or annuity checks without adjusting their federal tax withholding face a familiar problem each spring: an unexpected balance due on their tax...
Nearly 3 million Medicare Advantage members, about one in ten, were forced to switch plans this year as insurers pulled out of their counties
As many as 2.9 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans have been forced to find new coverage for 2026 after their insurers stopped offering...
Enroll in Medicare and you must stop putting money in a health savings account, or the IRS adds a tax penalty on what you contribute
Americans who continue depositing money into a health savings account after enrolling in Medicare face a 6% excise tax on every dollar contributed while ineligible,...
Homeowners 62 and older are sitting on a record $14.92 trillion in home equity, and a reverse mortgage or credit line can tap it without a monthly payment
Americans aged 62 and older hold an estimated $14.92 trillion in housing wealth, a record sum built on years of rising home values and declining...
A one-time income spike from a Roth conversion or a home sale can raise your Medicare premium two years later through the IRMAA surcharge
Retirees who converted a traditional IRA to a Roth account or sold a home at a large gain in 2024 are now facing higher Medicare...
Medicare covers a free Welcome to Medicare checkup in your first 12 months
Every person who enrolls in Medicare Part B gets exactly one chance to receive a free preventive checkup, and the window to claim it closes...
Required IRA withdrawals can come from just one account, not each plan
Retirees holding several traditional IRAs face a straightforward but often misunderstood federal rule: they must calculate a required minimum distribution for each account, yet they...
Many Medicare Advantage plans load a quarterly card for groceries and drugstore items, and unused dollars often vanish at year’s end
Medicare Advantage enrollees who receive quarterly debit cards for groceries and drugstore purchases face a quiet deadline: unspent dollars on those cards typically expire at...
Each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock before you can touch it penalty-free
Taxpayers who spread traditional IRA conversions across multiple tax years face a tracking burden that catches many off guard: each conversion starts its own separate...
Pay a medical bill out of pocket today, keep the receipt, and you can reimburse yourself tax-free from an HSA years later
Millions of Americans enrolled in high-deductible health plans face a quiet choice every time they visit a doctor or fill a prescription: pay the bill...
A forced early home sale still shields part of the gain from tax
Homeowners who lose a residence to a wildfire, hurricane, or government condemnation before meeting the standard two-year ownership and use tests still qualify for significant...
Some states let you switch Medigap plans each year around your birthday
Medicare beneficiaries in a handful of states can shop for a new Medigap policy every year around their birthday without answering a single health question....
The standard deduction climbs to $32,200 for couples and $16,100 for singles on the returns you’ll file in 2027
Tens of millions of tax filers will subtract a bigger chunk from their income before calculating what they owe the federal government for 2026. The...
Most disability recipients wait two years before Medicare coverage even begins
Americans approved for Social Security Disability Insurance face a gap of at least 24 months before Medicare coverage kicks in, a period that can stretch...
Born before January 2, 1954? You can claim just a spousal Social Security check and let your own grow 8% a year until 70
Americans born before January 2, 1954, still hold a Social Security option that Congress eliminated for everyone younger. At full retirement age, they can file...
Paying cash with a discount card can beat your Medicare drug copay, but that purchase won’t count toward your $2,000 out-of-pocket cap
Medicare beneficiaries who use discount cards like TrumpRx to buy prescription drugs at a lower price than their plan copay face a hidden cost: those...
A worker’s minor child can receive a 75% Social Security survivor check
When a working parent dies, each eligible minor child can collect a Social Security survivor benefit equal to 75 percent of the deceased worker’s Primary...
A doctor who won’t take Medicare’s rate can legally bill you 15% more
Medicare beneficiaries who see a doctor outside the program’s standard payment agreement can be billed up to 15 percent more than the approved rate for...
Pay 110% of last year’s tax in quarterly installments and the IRS can’t hit you with an underpayment penalty, even if you end up owing more
Taxpayers who saw their income jump this year face a real risk of IRS underpayment penalties, but a straightforward safe harbor written into federal law...