Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
New Senate bill could reshape Medicare Advantage for millions
A physician orders an MRI for a Medicare Advantage enrollee with worsening back pain. Before the scan happens, the insurer has to approve it. That...
Social Security cuts loom, and Trump policy may speed the timeline
A retired teacher in Texas who spent 30 years in the classroom and just started collecting Social Security might soon face a choice she never...
Medigap premiums are jumping 12% to 26% this year — and unlike Part B, there’s no COLA to help absorb it
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 per month got about $55 more in 2026 thanks to the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment....
The new $6,000 senior tax deduction could eliminate federal taxes on Social Security for millions — but most retirees don’t know about it yet
A retired postal worker in Ohio earning $32,000 a year from Social Security used to owe roughly $800 in federal taxes on those benefits. This...
Medicare Part B premium hike swallows nearly half of Social Security’s 2.8% COLA — retirees net just $38/month more
The Social Security Administration announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 last October, promising the average retired worker roughly $50 more per month starting in...
2027 Social Security COLA projections are split — will the “Trump Bump” from war inflation boost your check?
If you collect Social Security, the difference between a quiet year for inflation and a turbulent one could mean an extra $30 or an extra...
2027 COLA projected at 2.8% again: senior group warns it’s not enough
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 a month saw about $55 added from the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). If the...
What happens to your Social Security check if the trust fund is depleted — the actual math
A retiree collecting $2,000 a month from Social Security right now would lose $460 of it overnight if Congress lets the program’s trust fund run...
Medicare Part B premium crosses $200 for the first time, hitting $202.90 in 2026
Linda Garza, a 72-year-old retired teacher in San Antonio, checked her bank deposit in January 2026 and did a double take. Her Social Security payment...
More than a quarter of your Social Security COLA raise will be eaten by the new Medicare hike
Margaret Diaz, a 74-year-old retired school aide in Tucson, opened her January 2026 bank statement expecting a modest bump from Social Security. The cost-of-living raise...
SSA warns of surge in fake Social Security benefit-statement emails targeting seniors
The email looks like it came straight from the Social Security Administration: the agency logo sits at the top, the formatting is clean, and the...
New “Six Figure Limit” proposal would cap Social Security benefits at $50,000 per person
A retired couple in which both spouses earned top salaries for 35-plus years and waited until age 70 to file could collect roughly $122,000 a...
Medicare Part B deductible climbs to $283: another hit on top of the premium
The 2026 Medicare Part B deductible is now $283, a $26 increase from the $257 that beneficiaries paid in 2025. Paired with a standard monthly...
Suze Orman: “The 2026 Social Security–Medicare trap is here” — Part B premium hike eats a third of the cost-of-living adjustment
A retiree collecting the average Social Security check will see about $56 more per month starting in January 2026. Before that money covers a single...
Medicare Part B premium rises 9.7% to $202.90 a month in 2026
The standard Medicare Part B premium will jump to $202.90 per month in 2026, an increase of $17.90 from the $185.00 that enrollees paid in...
Social Security trust fund may run dry by 2032, CBO projection shows
A worker turning 60 this year could be 66 when Social Security’s reserves hit zero, too young even to reach the program’s full retirement age...
What happens to Social Security checks if the trust fund is depleted
Every month, roughly 70 million Americans deposit a Social Security check. For many retirees, that payment covers rent, groceries, and prescriptions with little left over....
The maximum Social Security check in 2026 is $4,152 a month. Here’s what it actually takes to get it
Fewer than one in a hundred American retirees will ever see $4,152 land in their bank account from Social Security. That is the maximum monthly...
Why so many retirees are paying federal tax on Social Security they thought was tax-free
Pull $22,000 a year from Social Security, collect a $19,000 state pension, and withdraw another $15,000 from a traditional IRA to cover property taxes and...
Medicare Part B premiums rose to $203 per month in 2026: what changed and who pays more?
Millions of retirees saw a familiar expense climb again this year when Medicare Part B premiums rose to $202.90 per month for 2026. The change...