Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Who can get their entire $202.90 Medicare Part B premium paid for them? Limited-income seniors who apply for a Medicare Savings Program
Seniors living on tight budgets face a $202.90 monthly bill for Medicare Part B in 2026, a cost that adds up to more than $2,400...
Social Security survivor benefits can start as early as age 60
Surviving spouses who lose a partner face an immediate financial gap, and federal law allows them to begin collecting Social Security survivor benefits years before...
$750 a month is the most the government must leave you, no matter how much of a Social Security check it garnishes for old student loans
Retirees with defaulted federal student loans can lose a share of their Social Security benefits every month, but the government must leave them with at...
About 452,000 retirees could lose up to 15% of each Social Security check as defaulted student-loan collections restart this summer
Roughly 452,000 Americans age 62 and older who hold defaulted federal student loans and collect Social Security benefits face the prospect of losing up to...
$255 is Social Security’s one-time death benefit, a figure frozen since 1954
When a worker dies after paying into Social Security for years, the federal government sends eligible survivors a single check for $255. Congress set that...
Anyone in Extra Help pays no more than $12.65 per covered prescription in 2026
Low-income Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for Extra Help will pay no more than $12.65 for each covered brand-name prescription in 2026, a cost cap that...
$202.90 is Medicare’s standard Part B premium in 2026, with surcharges starting at $109,000
Medicare beneficiaries across the country face a standard Part B monthly premium of $202.90 in 2026, and higher-income enrollees will pay additional surcharges once their...
Creating a free my Social Security account online blocks scammers from rerouting your direct deposit, and it takes about two minutes
Identity thieves who steal personal information can use it to open a fraudulent my Social Security account and reroute a beneficiary’s monthly direct deposit to...
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...
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...
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...
$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,...
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...
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...