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 a yearly depression screening and flu shots at no cost
Medicare Part B pays for a yearly depression screening and a seasonal flu shot with zero copayment, coinsurance, or deductible for beneficiaries whose providers accept...
Retirees whose 2025 income topped about $112,000 are projected to owe a Medicare surcharge in 2027, and the top tier pushes Part B past $743 a month
Retirees who earned more than roughly $112,000 in modified adjusted gross income during 2025 are on track to pay a Medicare Part B surcharge in...
The IRS lets you spread a big tax bill over months with an installment agreement, heading off a lien
Taxpayers facing a large IRS balance they cannot pay in full now have a clear, statute-backed path to break that bill into monthly chunks, and...
A spouse caring for your young or disabled child can draw a Social Security check without shrinking your own
Families with a stay-at-home parent caring for a young or disabled child can tap into a Social Security benefit that pays the caregiving spouse on...
Give appreciated stock to charity and skip the capital-gains tax entirely
Investors sitting on years of stock gains face a straightforward choice every tax season: sell the shares and hand a slice to the IRS, or...
Remarry and you usually lose any claim to an ex-spouse’s Social Security
Widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses who remarry before turning 60 generally forfeit their right to collect Social Security survivor benefits tied to a former...
$255 is Social Security’s one-time death benefit, frozen since 1954
When a worker who paid into Social Security dies, their surviving spouse or qualifying children can file for a one-time death benefit of $255. That...
The three months of inflation data that set Social Security’s 2027 raise just began, with the running estimate near 3.8%
About 67 million Social Security recipients are now watching a three-month inflation window that will determine their 2027 cost-of-living adjustment. The July 2026 Consumer Price...
Moffitt Cancer Center leaves Humana’s Medicare Advantage network this month, forcing its patients to switch plans or pay out of network
Cancer patients enrolled in Humana Medicare Advantage plans who receive treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa face a forced choice this month: switch to...
A surviving spouse often lands in a higher tax bracket the year after a partner dies, a squeeze called the widow’s penalty
Surviving spouses across the United States face an abrupt tax increase the year after a partner dies, not because their income changes but because the...
A Special Enrollment Period lets you change Medicare plans after a move or losing job coverage, outside the fall window
Medicare beneficiaries who move or lose job-based coverage do not have to wait for the fall open enrollment window to change coverage. Federal rules create...
A Medicare Advantage plan’s doctor network can change every January, so last year’s physician may be out this year
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees face a recurring disruption each January: the doctor they saw all year may no longer be in their plan’s provider...
Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year, before benefits and required withdrawals begin, can cut a lifetime tax bill
Retirees and near-retirees who experience a year of unusually low earnings before claiming Social Security and before required minimum distributions kick in have a narrow...
Employers can now steer your 401(k) match into a Roth, where it grows tax-free but counts as income the year you get it
Workers whose employers match their 401(k) contributions now face a new tax decision they did not have to think about before. Under Section 604 of...
About 180,000 seniors will lose their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan in 2027 as the insurer exits 109 counties
Roughly 180,000 seniors enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans face the loss of their coverage as the insurer pulls out of 109 counties ahead of...
Medicaid must leave a nursing-home resident’s healthy spouse at least $2,644 monthly in 2026
Couples facing a nursing-home admission in 2026 now have a firm federal floor for how much income the healthy spouse can keep each month: $2,644....
$19,000 is the most you can gift one person in 2026, tax-free
Anyone planning to write a large check to a child, grandchild, or friend in 2026 now has a firm number to work with: $19,000. That...
Social Security caps what one family can draw on a single worker’s record, usually between 150% and 188% of the benefit
Families with multiple members collecting Social Security on a single worker’s earnings record face a hard ceiling on their combined monthly payments, one that Congress...
A disabled widow or widower can begin collecting Social Security survivor benefits as early as 50, years before the usual 60
A surviving spouse living with a disability can start collecting Social Security survivor benefits at age 50, a full decade before the standard eligibility age...
Heirs who inherit an IRA now generally must empty it within 10 years, many with a taxable withdrawal each year
Millions of Americans who stand to inherit a traditional IRA face a hard deadline that did not exist a few years ago: the entire account...