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
Retirees under the income limit can sell investments at a 0% federal capital-gains rate
Retirees with modest taxable income can sell long-term investments and pay zero federal capital gains tax, a benefit written directly into the Internal Revenue Code....
Seniors 65 and older can stack deductions up to $24,150 for 2026 with the new $6,000 bonus
Older Americans filing their 2026 tax returns stand to cut their taxable income by as much as $24,150 if they are single and 65 or...
$2.1 trillion sits in 32 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free federal database can reunite you with yours
Roughly one in four dollars held in 401(k) plans across the United States belongs to someone who may not know it is there. An estimated...
ECU Health hospitals leave UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage network this week, risking big bills
Thousands of Medicare Advantage enrollees in eastern North Carolina face the prospect of sharply higher out-of-pocket costs as ECU Health hospitals exit UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage...
Low- and middle-income savers can claim a tax credit worth up to $1,000 for retirement contributions
Workers earning low or moderate incomes can cut their federal tax bill by up to $1,000 simply by contributing to a retirement account, yet many...
Waiting until April for your first required withdrawal can force two taxable RMDs in one year
Retirees who turn 73 and skip their first required minimum distribution before year-end face a tax trap: two full RMDs stacked into a single calendar...
Social Security’s retirement fund is now projected to pay just 78% of benefits after late 2032
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement checks face a sharper deadline than previously estimated. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund...
Medicare’s negotiated price cuts semaglutide to about $274 a month starting in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on semaglutide for diabetes or weight management are set to pay sharply less starting January 1, 2027, when negotiated maximum fair...
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year locks in today’s tax rate
Taxpayers who experience a sharp drop in earnings this year face a time-sensitive decision: whether to move pretax retirement savings into a Roth IRA while...
Medicare’s insulin stays capped at $35 a month per covered product in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who depend on insulin will keep paying no more than $35 for a one-month supply of each covered insulin product in 2027, under...
Up to $35,000 in leftover 529 college savings can roll into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA instead of being taxed
Families who saved for college through a 529 plan but ended up with leftover funds now have a tax-free exit that did not exist before...
Medicare covers a yearly wellness visit at no cost, but it isn’t a full physical
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries schedule what they believe is an annual physical, only to discover that the visit covered at no cost is something far...
Federal law shields two months of Social Security deposits from most creditors
Millions of Americans who depend on Social Security checks to cover rent, groceries, and medical bills have a federal shield that stops most private creditors...
Higher-income retirees pay a Medicare surcharge set by a tax return from two years back, and it can more than triple the premium
Retirees who earned above certain income thresholds in 2024 will pay a Medicare surcharge in 2026 that can push their monthly Part B bill to...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision or hearing care
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face the full cost of dental cleanings, eyeglasses, and hearing aids out of their own pockets. Federal law...
Most states, 41 of them, don’t tax your Social Security benefits at all
Retirees collecting Social Security in most of the country keep every dollar of their state tax bill untouched by those benefits. Forty-one states impose no...
$25,000 in combined income for singles, $32,000 for couples, is when Social Security benefits start getting federally taxed, limits frozen since 1984
Retirees collecting Social Security in 2024 can owe federal income tax on their benefits once their combined income hits $25,000 for single filers or $32,000...
Medicare Advantage members get a January-to-March window to change or drop their plan
Medicare Advantage enrollees across the country entered a three-month decision window on January 1 that lets them switch plans or leave Medicare Advantage entirely and...
A lower-earning spouse can claim up to half of the higher earner’s Social Security
Millions of married couples approaching retirement face a decision that can shift their combined Social Security income by tens of thousands of dollars over a...
Johns Hopkins Medicine is now out of network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients after the two ended their contract
Patients in Maryland enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans lost in-network access to every Johns Hopkins Medicine provider and facility starting in August 2025. The...