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
Social Security’s earnings limit rises to $24,480 in 2026 for those who claim before full retirement age
Workers who collect Social Security before full retirement age and keep earning a paycheck will be able to take home slightly more in 2026 before...
Taxpayers 65 and older can claim an extra $6,000 deduction through 2028, phasing out above $75,000
Millions of Americans age 65 and older gained access to a new federal tax break worth up to $6,000 per person after the One, Big,...
Homeowners 65 and older can knock hundreds off property-tax bills through a state circuit-breaker rebate
Seniors on fixed incomes across at least six states can reclaim a portion of their property-tax payments through circuit-breaker rebate programs, yet many eligible homeowners...
The $200-a-month emergency Social Security boost ended July 1 with no renewal
Millions of Social Security recipients lost $200 a month in emergency payments when the benefit boost expired on July 1, and Congress has not renewed...
Low- and middle-income savers can claim up to $2,000 back through the Saver’s Credit
Married couples filing jointly who contribute to a 401(k) or IRA can claim as much as $2,000 back on their federal tax return through the...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) or IRA overrides your will, and an outdated one can send savings to an ex
A divorced saver who updated a will but forgot to change a 401(k) beneficiary form can unintentionally leave hundreds of thousands of dollars to an...
Social Security now blocks 70,000 fraudulent direct-deposit changes a year with new ID checks
The Social Security Administration has started requiring identity verification before approving any change to a beneficiary’s direct-deposit account, a policy shift driven by an inspector...
Who still pays federal income tax on Social Security? Retirees whose combined income tops limits frozen since 1984
Millions of retirees still owe federal income tax on their Social Security benefits because the dollar thresholds that trigger that tax have not changed since...
High earners can pay up to $649 a month for Medicare Part B, more than triple the standard premium
Retirees with higher incomes will pay as much as $649.20 per month for Medicare Part B in 2026, more than triple the standard monthly premium...
NextEra retirement-plan members will get automatic payments from an $8 million settlement drawn from plan records
Current and former participants in the NextEra Energy, Inc. Employee Retirement Savings Plan stand to receive automatic payments from an $8 million settlement, with individual...
Workers 50 and up earning over $150,000 must now make 401(k) catch-up contributions in a Roth
Americans aged 50 and older who earned more than $150,000 in the prior year will soon lose the option to make pre-tax catch-up contributions to...
A Senate bill would raise Social Security checks, but Congress still must act
Millions of Social Security beneficiaries learned on October 24 that their 2026 cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.8 percent, translating to roughly $56 more per month...
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income retirement accounts
Millions of lower- and middle-income workers who save for retirement will soon receive direct federal deposits into their accounts, replacing a tax credit that most...
A record 6% of workers raided their 401(k) for emergency cash last year
A record share of American workers pulled emergency cash from their 401(k) accounts last year, exposing a widening gap between the rules designed to protect...
Fewer seniors are choosing Medicare Advantage for the first time since 2010
For the first time since 2010, fewer new Medicare beneficiaries are selecting Medicare Advantage plans when they first become eligible. Data from the Centers for...
Medicare’s Part B premium is projected to reach $209.50 a month in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries will pay $209.50 per month for Part B coverage in 2027 if federal projections hold, a $6.60 jump from the $202.90 premium locked...
Medicare’s 2027 plan-change notices arrive by September 30, and ignoring yours can lock you into a worse plan
Millions of Medicare Advantage and Part D enrollees face a hard deadline this fall: their plans must send a written notice of every cost and...
VA disability pay rose 2.8% this year, adding about $107 a month at a 100% rating
Veterans rated at 100 percent disability will see their monthly compensation climb by about $107 starting December 1, 2025, when a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment...
Buyers of new American-made cars can deduct up to $10,000 a year in loan interest, even without itemizing
Households financing a new vehicle assembled in the United States can now subtract up to $10,000 in annual loan interest from their federal taxable income,...
A free six-digit IRS PIN locks scammers out of filing a tax return under your Social Security number
Criminals who steal Social Security numbers to file bogus federal tax returns and collect fraudulent refunds now face a simple but effective barrier: a free...