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
Every state offers free one-on-one Medicare counseling through the SHIP program
Medicare beneficiaries across the United States have access to a free, one-on-one counseling service that can help them sort through coverage decisions, billing disputes, and...
Workers are socking away a record share of their pay in 401(k)s even as balances dip
American workers pushed their 401(k) contribution rates to record levels as a share of compensation, even as account balances slipped under pressure from volatile equity...
Retirees can have tax withheld from IRA withdrawals to avoid an April surprise
Retirees who take money from a traditional IRA without arranging federal tax withholding can face a jarring bill when they file the following April, along...
Long-term-care insurance premiums are tax-deductible, and larger write-offs come with age
Older Americans paying out of pocket for long-term-care insurance stand to claim larger tax deductions than younger policyholders, but most never take advantage of the...
Some Medicare Advantage plans refund part of your Part B premium through a giveback benefit
Certain Medicare Advantage plans are putting money back into enrollees’ pockets by covering part of the monthly Part B premium, a feature formally known as...
Errors in your Social Security earnings record can shrink your check, and you can fix them free online
A single missing year of wages on a Social Security earnings record can quietly reduce a worker’s monthly retirement or disability check for life. The...
Medicare Advantage insurers won a $13 billion raise for 2027, even as some plans trim extra benefits
The roughly 33 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans just learned their insurers will collect a 2.48 percent average payment increase for 2027, translating...
A proposed Medicare rule would cut what seniors pay out of pocket for X-rays, CT and MRI scans starting in 2027
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who get X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs at hospital-owned outpatient facilities could see their out-of-pocket costs drop starting January 1, 2027....
Social Security began clawing back overpayments from 2015 to 2022 this month, and a hardship waiver can stop it from taking half your check
Hundreds of thousands of Social Security beneficiaries are now losing half their monthly checks after the agency began enforcing a sharply higher default withholding rate...
The IRS kept $1.2 billion in refunds after 1.3 million people missed the deadline to file 2022 returns
More than 1.3 million Americans left money on the table when they failed to file 2022 federal tax returns, and the IRS has now absorbed...
Original Medicare rarely covers care when you travel outside the United States
Americans on Original Medicare who need medical care while traveling abroad will almost certainly pay the full bill themselves. Federal regulations bar Medicare from covering...
Still working at 65 with job-based coverage? You can delay Medicare without the late penalty
Americans who stay on the job past 65 and keep their employer health plan face a decision that can permanently raise their Medicare costs or...
A ladder of Treasury bills can pay retirees over 4% with interest exempt from state taxes
Retirees hunting for safe, short-term income above 4 percent are turning to a strategy that stacks Treasury bills across staggered maturities, creating a rolling stream...
More employers now offer 401(k) annuities that turn retirement savings into a monthly paycheck for life
Workers saving for retirement through 401(k) plans are getting a new tool to answer a basic question: how much monthly income will my balance actually...
Pennsylvania extended its property-tax rebate deadline to December 31, giving seniors months more to claim up to $1,000
Hundreds of thousands of older Pennsylvanians, widows, widowers, and people with disabilities now have until December 31, 2026, to file for property tax or rent...
Medicare pays for short-term skilled care but not long-term custodial nursing-home stays
Families across the country face a sharp financial cliff when a loved one’s short-term rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility ends and daily help with...
The IRS Direct File program lets many taxpayers file federal returns online for free
Taxpayers in 25 states can now file their federal returns online at no cost through the IRS Direct File program, which the Treasury Department and...
The federal estate-tax exemption rose to $15 million per person and is now permanent
Families with estates above roughly $13 million no longer face a looming deadline that threatened to cut their federal tax shelter in half. Public Law...
Social Security’s 2027 raise gets locked in this October from summer inflation figures
Tens of millions of Social Security beneficiaries will see their January 2027 payment amounts determined by just three months of consumer price data collected this...
A high-deductible Medigap Plan G lowers premiums for healthy retirees who rarely need care
Retirees on Original Medicare who stay relatively healthy and rarely visit a doctor face a straightforward trade-off when shopping for supplemental coverage: pay higher monthly...