Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Working while collecting Social Security before full retirement age withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 over the 2026 limit
A retiree who claims Social Security before full retirement age and keeps working is not simply handing money back to the government. Social Security withholds...
A noncitizen who worked and paid into Social Security for at least 10 years can still draw a benefit
Forty Social Security credits, the equivalent of roughly ten years of covered work, is the threshold that unlocks a retirement benefit, and citizenship has no...
Social Security cost-of-living raises count even if you wait years to claim
Waiting to claim Social Security does not put a person’s benefit in a holding pattern while everyone else’s check gets an inflation raise. Social Security...
Delaying a higher earner’s Social Security to 70 raises the survivor’s inherited check
A decision to delay Social Security does not stop mattering the day the higher earner in a household dies. Every extra month a worker waits...
A divorced spouse married at least 10 years can collect up to half an ex’s Social Security, and the ex is never told
Ten years is the number that decides whether a divorce closes the door on an ex’s Social Security record or leaves it open. Cross that...
A surviving spouse can collect 100% of a late partner’s Social Security by waiting to full retirement age
Social Security’s survivor benefit is not a fixed percentage. A widow or widower who claims at the earliest allowed age of 60 receives only 71.5%...
A Medicare bridge program offers eligible members Wegovy for $50 a month through 2027
A short-term Medicare program is offering eligible Part D beneficiaries a flat $50 monthly copay for Wegovy and two other weight-loss drugs, a fraction of...
Lawfully present immigrants who keep Medicaid now will also lose Medicare eligibility in January 2027 under the new law
On January 4, 2027, Medicare coverage ends for enrollees who are lawfully present immigrants but fall outside four categories preserved under the federal budget reconciliation...
Medicare’s Part D drug deductible jumps to $700 in 2027, up from $615
Medicare’s standard Part D deductible is rising to $700 in 2027, an $85 increase over the $615 amount most beneficiaries pay now. The Centers for...
Medicare’s cap on what you pay out of pocket for prescriptions rises to $2,400 in 2027, $300 higher than this year’s limit
Medicare’s annual limit on out-of-pocket prescription drug spending is rising to $2,400 in 2027, a $300 increase over this year’s $2,100 ceiling. The Centers for...
A hospital leaving your Medicare Advantage network mid-year can nearly double your out-of-pocket ceiling, from $5,421 to $9,825, and keeping your doctor isn’t automatic
A letter arrives at a Medicare Advantage member’s home in late summer: the regional hospital system that has handled her cardiology, oncology, and primary care...
Social Security disability recipients qualify for Medicare after two years, even under 65
Nearly two years after a worker’s Social Security Disability Insurance claim is approved, Medicare coverage begins automatically, whether the beneficiary is 32, 48, or 64....
A surviving divorced spouse can collect on a late ex after a 10-year marriage
A divorced spouse whose former husband or wife has died can still collect Social Security survivor benefits on that person’s earnings record, as long as...
Medicare covers skilled home health care at no cost for a homebound patient
Medicare will cover the full cost of skilled home health care for beneficiaries who meet a specific two-part eligibility test, and it will not charge...
A single low-income application can unlock both SSI and, in most states, automatic Medicaid
One federal application can decide two benefit programs at once. When the Social Security Administration approves a claim for Supplemental Security Income, roughly two-thirds of...
Medicaid home-care waivers pay for help at home instead of a nursing facility
More than 86 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries who need long-term care now receive it at home or in their community instead of inside a nursing...
Spouses raising a worker’s young child can draw Social Security at any age
A rule buried inside Social Security’s spousal-benefit program lets a husband or wife start collecting a monthly check decades before the usual retirement clock even...
Congress returns September 14 with four Social Security bills waiting, including plans to lift the payroll tax cap
Congress returns from its August recess on September 14 with four Social Security bills already sitting in committee, each proposing a different fix for a...
Naming a representative payee lets a trusted person manage Social Security checks for someone who no longer can
When an aging parent’s memory starts to fail, or an adult child’s disability makes it impossible to track a monthly budget, the Social Security Administration...
A high-deductible Medigap plan can slash the monthly premium for a healthy retiree
A retiree shopping for Medigap Plan G in 2026 faces a fork most comparison charts gloss over. The standard version pays nearly every Medicare-covered cost...