Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
A six-month Medigap window opens at 65, when insurers cannot reject you or charge more for your health
Turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B starts a six-month clock that most new retirees never notice ticking. Under federal law, that Medigap Open...
Extra Help can erase most Part D drug costs for a low-income Medicare enrollee
A Medicare enrollee who qualifies for the full Extra Help subsidy in 2026 pays nothing for a Part D premium, nothing for a deductible, and...
A spousal Social Security benefit stops growing at full retirement age, so waiting past it adds nothing
Waiting past full retirement age pays off for almost every Social Security benefit a worker earns on their own record — except one. A spousal...
Social Security disability benefits convert automatically to retirement benefits at full retirement age, with no drop
A worker collecting Social Security Disability Insurance does not have to file anything, call anyone, or brace for a smaller check when they reach full...
Withdrawing a Social Security claim within 12 months lets a retiree repay and restart at a higher rate
A retiree who claimed Social Security too early and immediately regretted it has a genuine do-over, not just a pause. Social Security allows anyone to...
Suspending Social Security at full retirement age earns delayed credits worth about 8% a year until 70
A retiree who already started Social Security at full retirement age is not stuck with that decision for life. Social Security lets anyone who has...
A survivor can take a reduced Social Security benefit at 60, then switch to a larger retirement check at 70
A widow or widower can start collecting a Social Security survivor benefit at age 60, take a payment worth just 71.5 percent of what their...
A repealed offset now lets teachers, police and firefighters keep their full Social Security check
The Social Security Administration says it has finished sending more than $17 billion in retroactive payments to roughly 3.1 million people under the Social Security...
Social Security now withholds up to 50% of a check to claw back an overpayment, but a $2,000-or-less no-fault debt can be waived by phone
Social Security’s rules for clawing back an overpayment shifted twice in less than two years, landing on a policy that lets the agency withhold half...
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is projected to climb to about $209.50 a month in 2027
The federal government’s own actuaries now project that Medicare’s standard Part B premium will rise to about $209.50 a month in 2027, a $6.60 increase...
UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Aetna are all pulling back Medicare Advantage for 2027, and nearly 3 million seniors could be forced to switch
Three of the largest names in Medicare Advantage are retreating from the market heading into 2027, and the scale is bigger than last year’s retreat....
Social Security’s 2027 raise is now estimated near 3.6%, up from this year’s 2.8%, with the official number due October 14
The most closely watched number in retirement planning has been sliding for weeks, and it landed at an estimated 3.6% for 2027, up from this...
A September 14 report could force the Senate into a rare session to vote on rescuing Social Security
A bipartisan group of eight senators wants to put Social Security’s funding shortfall on a fixed clock, using a bill that would force an independent...
A Medicare Advantage plan’s yearly out-of-pocket maximum caps what you pay for covered care
Original Medicare has no ceiling on what a beneficiary can pay out of pocket in a bad year — a long hospital stay or a...
Medicare covers diabetes self-management training to help control the disease
Medicare Part B pays for structured diabetes self-management training, a benefit built for beneficiaries living with the disease, covering hands-on instruction in blood-sugar monitoring, medication...
A grandparent raising a grandchild may be able to claim a benefit on a Social Security record
Grandparents who step in to raise a grandchild full time sometimes assume Social Security has nothing to offer them beyond their own retirement check. That...
Applying for SSI can also open the door to state supplements and automatic Medicaid
A single application for Supplemental Security Income does more than establish a monthly federal payment. In most states, that same application functions as a Medicaid...
SSI’s asset limit can end a low-income senior’s monthly federal check once savings top the cap
Supplemental Security Income exists for people with limited income and limited savings, and the Social Security Administration enforces the second half of that test just...
Medicaid’s estate recovery can be waived when repaying would cause an heir real hardship
Medicaid is not free once its recipient dies. States are required by federal law to try to recover what they paid for a deceased enrollee’s...
A community-spouse allowance lets the healthy spouse keep income and assets when the other needs a nursing home
When one spouse needs nursing-home-level care and applies for Medicaid to pay for it, federal law does not force the other spouse to spend down...