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
California is bringing back Medicaid asset limits and a 30-month look-back for nursing-home care in 2026
Hundreds of thousands of older Californians and people with disabilities who rely on Medi-Cal for nursing-home or long-term care face a new financial test starting...
Private forecasters put the 2027 Medicare Part B premium near $219, above the official $209.50
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries budgeting for 2027 health costs face a potential gap between what the government projects they will pay and what independent analysts...
Bernie Sanders’ bill would permanently add $200 a month to Social Security checks, but Congress still must act
Roughly 70 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits would see their monthly checks rise by $200 under legislation filed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an...
Injectable Wegovy and Ozempic are set at $245 a month for people on Medicare under a new deal
Millions of Medicare Part D beneficiaries now have a path to injectable GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic at a fixed $50 monthly copay, after...
529 plans can now pay for trade school and roll up to $35,000 into a Roth IRA
Families with leftover 529 savings now have two ways to put that money to work beyond a traditional four-year college. The accounts can cover tuition...
401(k) contributions rise to $24,500 in 2026, with IRA limits up to $7,500
Workers saving for retirement through a 401(k) can set aside up to $24,500 starting in 2026, a $1,000 jump from the $23,500 cap that applied...
New Medicare cards are arriving this year, and Medicare will never call to sell you one
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began mailing new Medicare cards to tens of millions of beneficiaries starting in April 2018, replacing Social Security...
The PACT Act opens VA health care to a new group of toxic-exposed veterans on October 1
Veterans who served during the Gulf War era and its aftermath, discharged between August 2, 1990, and September 11, 2001, hit a statutory milestone on...
Medicare’s 2027 Part B premium could climb past $215 a month, forecasters warn
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries face a potential jump in their monthly Part B premium for 2027, with one official projection placing the standard rate at...
A Roth conversion can quietly erase your new $6,000 senior tax deduction
Seniors who convert traditional IRA funds to a Roth account during the 2025 tax year risk losing part or all of a brand-new $6,000 tax...
High earners pay up to $487 more a month for Medicare, and one dollar over the line can trigger it
Medicare beneficiaries with higher incomes will pay as much as $487 extra per month for Part B coverage in 2026, on top of the standard...
Social Security now checks every SSI applicant’s bank accounts automatically
Every person who applies for Supplemental Security Income now has their bank account data pulled and cross-checked electronically before a single dollar is approved. The...
Six states now freeze seniors’ property taxes, and New Jersey’s Stay NJ pays up to $6,500
Seniors in six states can now lock in their property-tax bills or receive direct payments that offset rising assessments, with New Jersey running the most...
Up to 5 million people could lose their Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 as insurers keep exiting
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees face the prospect of losing their current health plan before 2027 coverage begins. Insurer exits and service-area reductions are already...
Social Security warns senior impersonation-scam reports jumped 25% in a year
Older Americans lost more money to impersonation scams last year than at any point on record, and the volume of complaints is accelerating. The Federal...
Full retirement age is 67 for everyone retiring in 2026, and claiming at 62 locks in a 30% cut for life
Americans born in 1960 or later who turn 62 in 2026 face a full retirement age of 67, and anyone in that group who claims...
A House bill from Larson and Horsford would raise both Social Security and veterans’ checks
Millions of Americans who depend on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement, or Veterans Affairs disability and pension payments would receive a temporary $200...
SSI recipients get two payments in July and none in August
Supplemental Security Income recipients will see two deposits hit their accounts in July 2026 and then go the entire month of August without a payment....
Medicare Advantage benefit debit cards must link to real-time eligibility checks starting in 2027
Medicare Advantage enrollees who use plan-issued debit cards for supplemental benefits like over-the-counter products, groceries, or dental services will soon face a new layer of...
The average 401(k) balance slipped 4% to $141,000 even as workers saved at a record rate
Workers across the United States saved more of their paychecks into retirement accounts than at any point on record, yet the average 401(k) balance still...