Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Only a handful of states still tax Social Security benefits, and the list keeps shrinking
Retirees in a shrinking number of states still owe state income tax on their Social Security benefits, but a wave of legislative action in 2024...
After 65 you can pay Medicare premiums from a health savings account tax-free
Americans turning 65 gain access to a tax break that can offset thousands of dollars in annual Medicare costs: the ability to withdraw money from...
Remarry after age 60 and you can still collect a late spouse’s survivor benefit
Widows and widowers who find love again after 60 face a common fear: that walking down the aisle will cost them their Social Security survivor...
Keep working in your 60s and Social Security may recalculate your check to a higher amount
Workers in their 60s who keep earning a paycheck after they start collecting Social Security stand to receive a larger monthly benefit, thanks to an...
Who gets their Medicare drug deductible and premiums erased? Seniors under $23,940 in income who claim Extra Help
Seniors living on less than $23,940 a year can eliminate their Medicare Part D drug deductible and monthly premium entirely through a federal program called...
Medicare Part A is free once you or a spouse paid Medicare taxes for ten years
Americans turning 65 face a sharp financial divide at the Medicare enrollment window: those who accumulated 40 quarters of coverage through FICA payroll taxes, whether...
Move out of your Medicare Advantage plan’s area and get a window to switch
Medicare Advantage enrollees who relocate outside their plan’s service area face a tight deadline to find replacement coverage or risk gaps in benefits. Federal rules...
Combined, Social Security’s funds run dry in 2034, when checks would fall to 83% without a fix
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks each month now have one fewer year before the program can no longer pay full...
You need 40 work credits, about ten years, to qualify for Social Security retirement
Millions of Americans working part-time, freelance, or gig jobs risk reaching their sixties without enough Social Security credits to collect retirement benefits. The threshold is...
Medicare is reworking how it scores Advantage plans for 2027, sending insurers billions more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is rewriting the formula it uses to grade Medicare Advantage plans, and the result will funnel billions of...
For six months after you enroll in Part B at 65, insurers must sell you any Medigap plan
New Medicare beneficiaries who turn 65 and sign up for Part B get exactly one shot at buying supplemental coverage on their own terms. For...
Some lawfully present immigrants lose Medicaid coverage on October 1 under the new federal law
Refugees, asylees, and other lawfully present immigrants who have not yet obtained lawful permanent resident status will lose federal Medicaid funding on October 1, 2026,...
Withdraw 4% from a $700,000 401(k) and up to 85% of your Social Security becomes taxable
Retirees who follow the widely cited 4 percent withdrawal rule on a $700,000 traditional 401(k) pull out $28,000 a year. That single distribution can push...
Social Security disability checks convert to retirement checks at full retirement age
Millions of Americans receiving Social Security Disability Insurance will see their monthly payments end and restart as retirement benefits once they hit full retirement age,...
Centene is cutting roughly 40,000 seniors from its Medicare Advantage plans
Centene Corp. is pulling the plug on Medicare Advantage plans that cover roughly 40,000 seniors heading into 2026. The move forces affected beneficiaries, most of...
$700 is Medicare’s new Part D drug deductible for 2027, up from $615
Medicare enrollees choosing Part D drug coverage for 2027 will face a standard deductible of $700, an $85 jump from the $615 maximum in effect...
Delay Medicare Part B and your premium rises 10% for each year you waited, for life
Americans who skip Medicare Part B enrollment when they first qualify face a permanent financial penalty: a 10% premium surcharge for every full year they...
A rising Part B premium cannot push most retirees’ Social Security below last year’s, under a hold-harmless rule
Most of the roughly 70 million Americans who receive Social Security will see their monthly checks rise in January 2026, even though Medicare’s standard Part...
$2,000 is still the savings cap for SSI, a limit unchanged since 1989
Millions of Americans who rely on Supplemental Security Income face a savings ceiling that has not moved in nearly three decades. The individual resource limit...
Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing, a gap that surprises many the year they retire
Americans turning 65 each year face an abrupt loss of dental, vision, and hearing benefits the moment they leave employer-sponsored insurance and enroll in Original...