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
$127,750 a year is the average private nursing-home room, and Medicaid helps only after your savings run down
Families facing a private nursing-home bill that averages $127,750 a year confront a stark financial reality: most of that cost comes out of pocket, and...
82% of retirees facing Social Security garnishment could stop it by claiming hardship
Roughly four out of five retirees whose Social Security checks are being reduced to cover defaulted student loans qualify for relief they have never claimed....
SSI recipients get two Social Security payments in July 2026, not a bonus
Millions of Supplemental Security Income recipients will see two SSI deposits hit their bank accounts during July 2026, but the second payment is not extra...
Social Security ends paper checks this year, but a hardship waiver lets some keep receiving one by mail
Americans who still receive Social Security payments by mail face a hard deadline: the federal government will stop issuing paper checks after September 30, 2025....
Maine raised its Medicaid asset limit to $10,000 for single seniors
Single seniors in Maine who hold modest savings now face a higher bar before the state can deny them Medicaid coverage. The state set its...
Homeowners 62 and older now hold a record $14.66 trillion in home equity they can tap in retirement
Americans aged 62 and older now sit on $14.66 trillion in housing wealth, the largest equity pool ever recorded for this age group. The figure,...
The Social Security Fairness Act erased the WEP penalty, raising checks for millions of teachers, firefighters and police
More than 1,127,723 retired public workers have received retroactive Social Security payments totaling over $7.5 billion after the Social Security Fairness Act wiped out a...
Medicare’s QMB program bars providers from billing enrolled seniors, yet many are charged anyway
Low-income seniors enrolled in Medicare’s Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program are shielded by federal law from paying deductibles, coinsurance, or copays for covered services. Yet providers...
Your heirs inherit your home and investments at their value the day you die, erasing tax on decades of gains
Families who inherit a home bought decades ago or a stock portfolio held for a lifetime often owe zero capital-gains tax on the appreciation that...
Social Security now gives you five years to repay an overpayment, up from three
People who owe money to the Social Security Administration after receiving too much in benefits now have up to five years to pay it back...
The beneficiary on your 401(k) or IRA overrides your will, so an outdated form can pay an ex
A divorced worker who never updated a retirement account beneficiary form can accidentally leave hundreds of thousands of dollars to an ex-spouse, even when a...
Medicare’s projected 2027 Part B premium climbs to $209.50, quietly trimming next year’s Social Security raise
Retirees counting on next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment to stretch their budgets will see a bigger slice of that raise consumed by Medicare before...
Medicare’s negotiated price drops the IBS drug Linzess from $539 to $136 a month in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Linzess for irritable bowel syndrome will see their monthly cost drop from $539 to $136 starting January 1, 2027. The...
Social Security averages your highest 35 years, so one more working year can replace a zero and lift your check
Retirees who spent a few years out of the workforce, whether raising children, changing careers, or dealing with illness, may be collecting a smaller Social...
Medicare’s next round of price cuts covers 15 drugs and should save $12 billion a year starting in 2027
About 5.3 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries who rely on 15 high-cost drugs for cancer and chronic disease are set to pay less starting in...
The typical worker’s 401(k) holds just $44,115, far below the $351,242 average that headlines tout
Millions of American workers saving for retirement through employer-sponsored 401(k) plans hold a median balance of just $44,115, a figure that sits far below the...
About $30 billion in benefits for older Americans, from Medicare savings to SSI, goes unclaimed every year
Millions of Americans aged 65 and older qualify for federal benefits they never receive. The National Council on Aging estimates that eligible older adults leave...
Original Medicare sets no annual limit on out-of-pocket costs, one reason many buy Medigap
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face a financial exposure that no other major federal health program allows: there is no annual ceiling on...
Medicare’s fall enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and 2027 plans must match Original Medicare on mental-health costs
Medicare beneficiaries who want to change their health coverage for 2027 will face a familiar deadline and a new wrinkle: the annual Open Enrollment Period...
The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks, so filers should set up direct deposit to avoid delays
Millions of individual taxpayers who still receive paper refund checks from the IRS face a hard deadline. Beginning September 30, 2025, the agency will stop...