Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Ascension Texas patients could lose UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage network access January 1 unless the sides reach a deal
Ascension Texas hospitals and employed doctors will be out of network for UnitedHealthcare members on January 1, 2027, unless the two sides sign a new...
Social Security plans one form for treatments and medications when disability claimants ask for a hearing
Social Security wants disability claimants to fill out one form, not two, when they ask for a hearing and need to update their medical record....
SSI students under 22 can earn up to $2,500 a month in 2027, up to $10,080 for the year, without reducing their check
Starting in January 2027, a student on Supplemental Security Income can earn more from a job before it touches the check. Social Security’s operating manual...
SSI recipients get January’s higher payment on December 31, leaving no regular SSI deposit in January
The 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase for 2027 reaches Supplemental Security Income recipients before the new year begins. Social Security says about 7.3 million people on...
Social Security can still recover $344 million in improper SSI payments but is barred from $664 million unless fraud or fault is established
About $344 million in improper Supplemental Security Income payments is still collectible, while about $664 million is out of reach unless fraud or similar fault...
CMS projects the drug portion of the average Medicare Advantage premium falls to about $7 in 2027, while stand-alone Part D averages about $36
The drug-coverage part of the average Medicare Advantage premium is projected to fall to about $7 a month in 2027 from $11.32, while the average...
Social Security raises the 2027 disability work limit to $1,770 a month, or $2,950 for blind beneficiaries, up from $1,690 and $2,830
Social Security has raised the monthly earnings line that decides whether a disability beneficiary is working at a level that puts the check at risk....
Social Security could not document why an estimated 3,659 disabled beneficiaries never filed for a higher retirement benefit
An October 6 audit estimates that 3,659 disabled beneficiaries were told they could file for a higher retirement benefit, yet Social Security did not properly...
Michigan’s Medicare Advantage lineup drops to 181 plans for 2027 and the average premium rises to $16.21 a month
Medicare Advantage plans on offer in Michigan fall from 192 to 181 for 2027, and the average monthly premium rises from $14.88 to $16.21, according...
Providence Health Plan is ending Medicare Advantage and every Medigap policy for 2027, and its Medigap members keep coverage only through March 31
Providence Health Plan is leaving Medicare. Its Medicare Advantage policies end January 1, 2027, and every Medigap supplement it sells is being discontinued, with Medigap...
Social Security never tried to withhold benefits from 48 of the 175 people sampled who owed childhood overpayments totaling $216,373, its watchdog found
Social Security never tried to withhold benefits from 48 of the 175 people its own inspector general sampled, even though they owed overpayments from benefits...
About 392,000 Minnesotans lose their Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 and must pick a new one by December 7, which also opens a guaranteed right to buy Medigap
The Minnesota Board on Aging says about 392,000 of the state’s 1.2 million Medicare enrollees will lose their current Medicare Advantage plan for 2027. Open...
Social Security may still owe about $41 million to an estimated 4,785 disabled beneficiaries who filed for a retirement benefit and were paid the wrong amount
The Social Security inspector general estimates the agency may still be able to pay about $41 million to an estimated 4,785 disabled beneficiaries who filed...
Social Security says the average retired worker’s monthly check will be about $2,170 in January, roughly $75 more after the 3.6% raise
Social Security says the average retired worker’s monthly check will be about $2,170 in January 2027, up from $2,095 before the 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment....
Eligible Original Medicare Part B enrollees without direct deposit get Trump’s rebate as a Treasury check mailed later this month, and Social Security opened a payment-status line on October 15
The $90 Medicare rebate is reaching one group by mail instead of by bank deposit: eligible people in Original Medicare Part B who have no...
Twelve insurers are leaving Medicare Advantage for 2027, Becker’s counts from CMS data, among them Aspirus in Wisconsin and iCircle in New York
Twelve insurers are leaving the Medicare Advantage market for 2027, according to a tally by Becker’s Payer Issues drawn from CMS data. They range from...
Unspent SSI and Social Security back payments stay outside the $2,000 resource limit for nine months, and an earned income tax credit refund for 12
Supplemental Security Income recipients who receive a back payment of SSI or Social Security benefits can keep the unspent part outside the program’s savings limit...
Medigap birthday rules now let policyholders in Virginia and West Virginia switch without health questions, with New Mexico joining January 1
Medigap policyholders in Virginia and West Virginia can now switch to a new supplement policy without answering health questions, and New Mexico adds the same...
Rhode Island drops the full-retirement-age test from its Social Security tax break in 2027, leaving only the income limits, $107,000 and $133,750 in 2025
Rhode Island will stop requiring retirees to reach full retirement age before they can keep Social Security out of state taxable income. The change starts...
Social Security does not let a met school-plan goal stand on its own as proof a young adult can work, under a ruling applied October 1
A school plan can say a student met a goal and still leave open whether that student could hold a job. Social Security’s new ruling...