Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
At what income does Medicare add a surcharge in 2027? It starts at $111,000 for singles, $222,000 for couples
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries will pay more than the standard Part B and Part D premiums in 2027 if their modified adjusted gross income crosses...
You get an 8-month window to sign up for Medicare after leaving a job’s health plan
Workers who stay on an employer health plan past age 65 face a hard deadline once that coverage ends: eight months to enroll in Medicare...
Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits become taxable once your other income climbs past set limits
Retirees collecting Social Security face a tax hit that grows steeper each year, not because Congress raised rates but because the income thresholds that trigger...
A hospital “observation” stay can leave a Medicare patient paying the full bill for nursing care afterward
A Medicare beneficiary can spend multiple nights in a hospital bed, receive round-the-clock care, and still be classified as an outpatient under observation status. That...
States can recover Medicaid nursing-home costs from your estate after you die
Families who rely on Medicaid to cover a parent’s or grandparent’s nursing-home stay face a financial reckoning that often arrives only after a loved one...
Original Medicare covers no routine dental, vision, or hearing care
Millions of Americans who rely on Original Medicare for their health coverage face a gap that catches many off guard: the program does not pay...
A husband or wife who never worked can still claim up to half of their spouse’s Social Security
A spouse who spent decades outside the paid workforce can still collect a Social Security check worth up to 50% of their partner’s full retirement...
Social Security checks stop growing at age 70, so there is no reason to wait any longer to claim
Americans who delay claiming Social Security past their full retirement age earn a bigger monthly check for every year they wait, but that growth has...
Medicare does not pay for most long-term nursing-home care, which now runs well over $100,000 a year
Families across the United States face a stark financial gap when a loved one needs long-term nursing-home care. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for...
A surviving spouse can step up to the larger of the two Social Security checks a couple was receiving
A surviving spouse does not keep both Social Security checks that a married couple was receiving. Instead, the survivor steps up to the larger of...
The 2027 Social Security raise estimate slipped to 3.8%, about $77 more a month for the average retiree
About 72 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks are on track for a smaller bump in 2027 than many had expected just weeks...
Another bill in Congress would scrap the earnings limit that docks checks for retirees who keep working
Millions of Americans between 62 and full retirement age who collect Social Security while still earning a paycheck face automatic benefit reductions each year. Rep....
A new bill in Congress would raise Social Security checks, but it still has to get through the Senate
Millions of Social Security and veterans benefits recipients could see an extra $200 added to their monthly checks under a bill now working its way...
A House bill would pay for bigger Social Security checks by taxing wages above today’s cap
Workers earning above $250,000 a year would face a new layer of Social Security payroll tax under a bill filed in the House this Congress,...
Medicare is mailing real new cards this year, and scammers are blasting fake “new card” texts to cash in
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who recently requested replacement cards or changed their coverage are receiving legitimate new cards in the mail this year. At the...
A genuine message from Medicare will never offer a new card or ask you to click a link
Beneficiaries who receive an unexpected call, text, or email promising a new Medicare card or directing them to click a link are almost certainly dealing...
One Senate bill would raise Social Security benefits the most for the lowest-earning retirees
Retirees who spent decades working low-wage jobs stand to gain the most from a Senate bill that would restructure Social Security’s minimum benefit around years...
Medicare’s new cards trace back to a Medicare.gov breach that exposed accounts from 2023 to 2025
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries started receiving unexpected letters about Medicare.gov accounts they never created, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to investigate what...
A retiree divorced more than two years can claim on an ex’s record even if the ex hasn’t filed yet
Divorced Americans who split from a spouse more than two years ago can file for Social Security benefits on that former spouse’s earnings record, even...
Medicare’s hospital trust fund is now set to run out in 2033, a year that would force an 11% cut to what it pays your hospital
Tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicare Part A for hospital coverage face a hard deadline. The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is...