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
Medicare’s $1,676 hospital deductible can hit you more than once in a single year
Medicare beneficiaries who need more than one hospital stay in a single year can face the full $1,676 inpatient deductible each time, a billing structure...
Social Security mishandled 75% of the fraud-penalty cases a watchdog reviewed, a new audit finds
Three out of every four fraud-penalty cases reviewed by a federal watchdog contained errors, a finding that points to nearly $50 million in improper payments...
Who pays just $5.10 for a generic prescription on Medicare? Seniors who qualify for Extra Help
Seniors with limited income who fill a generic prescription through Medicare Part D can pay as little as $5.10 per drug in 2026 if they...
$209.50 a month is Medicare’s projected Part B premium for 2027
Medicare beneficiaries planning their 2027 budgets now have a concrete number to work with. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, released June 9, 2026, projects the...
Original Medicare pays 80% of your doctor bills with no yearly cap, the gap a Medigap plan fills
Millions of Americans on Original Medicare face a cost-sharing split that leaves them responsible for 20 percent of every approved doctor bill, with no annual...
After 65 you can spend HSA money on anything with no penalty, taxed like an IRA withdrawal
Americans with health savings accounts who reach age 65 gain a little-known tax advantage: they can withdraw HSA funds for any purpose, not just medical...
A surviving spouse can claim Social Security as early as 60, or 50 if disabled
Hundreds of thousands of Americans lose a spouse each year, and for many the financial shock arrives long before retirement age. Federal rules allow a...
Many states let seniors defer property taxes until the home is sold
Seniors on fixed incomes across the country can legally stop writing annual property tax checks and let the bill accumulate against their home equity instead,...
The 2026 standard deduction rises to $32,200 for couples before a single write-off
Married couples filing jointly will see their standard deduction climb to $32,200 for tax year 2026, a figure shaped not only by annual inflation adjustments...
Americans hold more in IRAs than 401(k)s, yet most never add a dollar after rolling over
Millions of workers who leave a job each year face a quiet but consequential choice: what to do with the retirement savings they built through...
Social Security’s 2027 raise estimate just slipped to 3.8%, about $77 more a month
Retirees counting on a bigger bump in their Social Security checks next year just lost ground. The estimated 2027 cost-of-living adjustment has slipped to roughly...
$35,000 stuck in a child’s 529 college account can now roll into their Roth IRA tax-free
Families sitting on leftover 529 college savings now have a direct path to convert up to $35,000 of that money into a child’s Roth IRA...
A widow can keep filing taxes jointly for two years, easing the hit of losing a spouse
A surviving spouse with a dependent child can keep filing at joint tax rates for two full years after the year of death, a status...
$11,250 in extra ‘super catch-up’ 401(k) savings is open to workers ages 60 to 63
Workers between the ages of 60 and 63 now have access to $11,250 in additional 401(k) catch-up contributions for 2026, a figure confirmed by the...
Washington just restored an estate tax up to 20% on people who die after July 1
Families with large estates in Washington state face a direct hit starting this month. For anyone who dies on or after July 1, 2026, the...
Aetna is closing about 90 Medicare Advantage plans across 34 states for 2027
Seniors enrolled in certain Aetna Medicare Advantage plans across 34 states face the loss of their coverage for 2027, as the insurer moves to discontinue...
Workers over 50 earning above $150,000 must now make 401(k) catch-up contributions in a Roth
Higher-income workers over 50 face a direct change to how their 401(k) catch-up contributions are taxed. The Treasury Department and IRS finalized regulations requiring that...
$941 billion will roll out of 401(k)s into IRAs this year, and much of it sits uninvested
Millions of Americans changing jobs or retiring this year will move retirement savings out of employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and into individual retirement accounts. The scale...
Retirees can have tax withheld straight from a Social Security check to avoid an April surprise
Millions of retirees collect Social Security benefits each month without a single dollar withheld for federal income tax. Because benefits arrive untouched, many face a...
A retiree’s minor kids can collect Social Security too, up to half the benefit
Older Americans who still have school-age children at home can claim Social Security benefits for those kids, with each child entitled to as much as...