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
When one spouse enters a nursing home on Medicaid, “spousal impoverishment” rules let the at-home spouse keep the house and a share of savings
Married couples face a brutal financial reality when one partner needs full-time nursing home care paid by Medicaid: the program’s strict asset limits can drain...
Original Medicare’s yearly wellness visit and preventive screenings cost you nothing
Tens of millions of people enrolled in Original Medicare can schedule a yearly wellness visit and pay zero out of pocket, yet a large share...
Filers 60 and older can get their taxes done free through AARP Tax-Aide
Americans who are 60 or older can have their federal tax returns prepared at no cost through AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program, a service backed by...
Medicare’s first-ever negotiated drug prices take effect this year, cutting out-of-pocket costs on 10 top medications by about half for nearly 9 million seniors
Nearly nine million seniors who depend on some of the most expensive prescription drugs in the Medicare Part D program will pay roughly half what...
Medicaid looks back five years at any money or property you gave away before it will help pay for a nursing home
Anyone who gave money to a grandchild, transferred a house to a family member, or made a large charitable gift in the past five years...
You can have federal tax withheld straight from your Social Security check with Form W-4V to avoid a surprise April bill
Social Security recipients who earn enough other income to owe federal tax on their benefits can sidestep a painful April surprise by having taxes withheld...
Interest from Treasury bills, notes and savings bonds is exempt from state and local income tax, unlike a bank CD
Savers who park cash in Treasury bills, notes, or savings bonds keep every dollar of that interest free from state and local income taxes. The...
Medicare’s fall open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7
Medicare beneficiaries face a fixed annual window to switch, join, or drop Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans, and that window runs from...
Most states don’t tax Social Security benefits, but a handful still do
Retirees in most of the country collect Social Security without owing a dime in state income tax on those benefits. But residents of a shrinking...
Medicare Advantage members can switch plans from January 1 to March 31
People enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans have a three-month window, running from January 1 through March 31, to switch to a different plan or drop...
“Bunching” two years of charitable gifts into one can push you over the standard deduction so the donations actually cut your taxes
Millions of households that once wrote off charitable gifts on their tax returns lost that benefit after the standard deduction nearly doubled. The shift forced...
$615 is Medicare’s new Part D drug deductible in 2026, yet the average plan premium drops to about $34.50
Medicare beneficiaries heading into 2026 face a split signal on drug costs: the maximum Part D deductible rises to $615, up from $590 this year,...
If your home’s assessed value looks too high, you can appeal your property-tax bill, and many who do win a reduction
Homeowners in some of the largest U.S. tax jurisdictions are winning reductions on their property assessments after filing formal appeals, and public records from Cook...
Medicare now lets you spread prescription costs into capped monthly payments instead of one big bill at the pharmacy
Medicare beneficiaries who once faced steep pharmacy bills for costly prescriptions can now elect to spread those charges into smaller, capped monthly payments billed directly...
If you regret claiming Social Security early, you can withdraw the application within 12 months and reset it once
Retirees who claimed Social Security at 62 and now wish they had waited face a narrow but real escape hatch. The Social Security Administration permits...
Self-employed people can deduct their health-insurance premiums from income even without itemizing
Self-employed workers filing federal tax returns for 2025 can subtract health-insurance premiums directly from their income without itemizing deductions, a benefit that now runs through...
Low- and moderate-income workers can claim a tax credit worth up to $1,000 just for paying into a retirement account
Workers earning low or moderate wages can cut their federal tax bill by up to $1,000 simply for putting money into a retirement account, yet...
You can give any one person up to $19,000 in 2026 without filing a gift-tax return or touching your lifetime exemption
Families who regularly write large checks to children, grandchildren, or anyone else just got more room to give without triggering federal paperwork. Starting in tax...
After age 65 you can pull money from a health savings account for anything, paying only income tax like a traditional IRA
Americans holding health savings accounts who reach age 65 gain a quiet but significant advantage: they can withdraw money for any purpose and owe only...
Fairview is dropping UnitedHealth Medicare Advantage, warning 35,000 Minnesota patients
Fairview Health Services is ending its contract with UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans, a decision that puts roughly 35,000 Minnesota patients on notice to find new...