Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
$2,400 will be the new yearly limit on what Medicare drug plans can make you pay out of pocket, starting in 2027.
Medicare beneficiaries who spend heavily on prescription drugs will see their annual out-of-pocket costs capped at $2,400 starting in plan year 2027. The Centers for...
You can appeal when a Medicare drug plan refuses to cover your medication.
Medicare Part D beneficiaries who are denied coverage for a prescribed medication now have 65 calendar days to file a formal appeal with their plan,...
Some Social Security and SSI recipients will get two payments in July because of how the holiday calendar falls.
Millions of people who rely on Supplemental Security Income will see two federal benefit deposits hit their accounts during July 2026, not because of a...
Even as it takes half of regular checks, Social Security still caps SSI overpayment recovery at 10% of the monthly payment.
The Social Security Administration now withholds half of a regular monthly benefit check to recoup overpayments from Title II recipients, yet SSI beneficiaries face a...
A surviving spouse can switch to the larger of two Social Security checks.
A widowed spouse who earned less than a deceased partner over a lifetime of work does not have to settle for the smaller Social Security...
Medicare’s Part D coverage gap — the old “donut hole” — is being eliminated for 2027. Drug spending will move straight to the new cap.
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who take expensive prescription drugs will no longer face a costly middle phase of coverage when buying their medications starting in...
Four senators from both parties are urging Congress to act, warning Social Security’s main trust fund falls short in 2032
Tens of millions of Americans who depend on Social Security face a benefit cut of roughly 22 percent in just six years unless Congress acts....
Medicare’s 2027 plan-change notices arrive by September 30, and ignoring yours can leave you stuck in a worse plan
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage or Part D prescription drug plans will start receiving Annual Notice of Change documents this September, spelling out every...
A six-month window after Medigap starts lets you buy any plan with no health questions
People turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B get exactly one protected window to buy a Medigap supplement plan without answering a single health...
Claimed Social Security too early? You can withdraw the application within 12 months and reset
Retirees who started collecting Social Security checks and quickly realized the decision cost them hundreds of dollars a month in future income have a narrow...
Senator Bill Cassidy is pushing a plan to shore up Social Security by investing part of its trust fund in stocks
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, wants Congress to create a $1.5 trillion investment fund...
Every Medicare Advantage plan has left Alaska, stranding 106,000 seniors on original Medicare
Alaska’s roughly 106,000 Medicare beneficiaries have no Medicare Advantage plan available to them, making the state the only one in the country where the private-insurance...
Waiting until 70 to claim Social Security can push the maximum monthly check above $5,100 this year
Workers who delay their Social Security claim to age 70 can now receive a maximum monthly benefit of $5,181 in 2026, up from $4,152 at...
Supplemental Security Income now pays up to $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple in 2026
Low-income seniors and people with disabilities who depend on Supplemental Security Income saw their federal payment rise to $994 a month for an individual and...
UnitedHealthcare is dropping some Medicare Advantage PPO plans next year, affecting about 600,000 members
Roughly 600,000 Medicare Advantage members enrolled in UnitedHealthcare preferred provider organization plans will need to find new coverage for 2026 after the insurer confirmed it...
Medicare pays 80% of walkers, oxygen and other home medical equipment a doctor orders
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on walkers, home oxygen systems, hospital beds, and other prescribed equipment face a cost-sharing formula that has not changed...
Medicare covers hospice almost entirely, leaving a terminally ill patient little to pay
Families facing a terminal diagnosis often brace for crushing medical bills, but Medicare’s hospice benefit absorbs nearly all costs once a physician certifies a life...
About 3 million seniors are in Medicare Advantage plans set to be terminated
As many as 2.9 million Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees face forced disenrollment in 2026, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public...
About 3.2 million teachers, police and firefighters now collect an average $360 more a month after a repealed Social Security penalty
Roughly 3.2 million retired teachers, police officers, and firefighters are now receiving higher Social Security checks after Congress repealed two long-standing benefit penalties. The Social...
Aetna is dropping roughly 90 Medicare Advantage plans across 34 states, sending those members to find new coverage
Aetna, the insurance arm of CVS Health, is discontinuing roughly 90 Medicare Advantage plans across 34 states for contract year 2026. The decision forces an...