Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
When a Medicare Advantage plan drops you for 2027, you gain a guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy.
Medicare Advantage enrollees who receive nonrenewal notices for contract year 2027 will gain a federally protected right to purchase any Medigap policy without medical underwriting....
Who owes Medicare’s high-income surcharge in 2027? Retirees whose 2025 income topped about $111,000.
Retirees who earned roughly $111,000 or more as single filers in 2025 will face higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums starting in January...
Medicare’s Part B premium is projected to climb to $209.50 a month in 2027, up from $202.90 now.
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries will pay more for outpatient coverage next year if federal projections hold. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, released on June 9,...
Your Medicare plan’s 2027 change notice arrives by September 30, and ignoring it can lock you into a costlier plan.
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Advantage or Part D plans will receive a document in September that spells out every cost and coverage change...
Full retirement age has finished its climb to 67, and claiming Social Security at 62 now locks in a check about 30% smaller for life.
Americans born in 1960 and later now face the steepest early-claiming penalty in Social Security’s history. The full retirement age has completed its decades-long climb...
A surviving spouse can collect 100% of a late husband or wife’s Social Security by waiting until survivor full retirement age.
Widows and widowers who claim Social Security survivor benefits before reaching their full retirement age permanently reduce their monthly payments to as little as 71.5%...
Social Security’s 2.8% raise added about $56 a month in 2026, but higher Medicare premiums claw part of it back.
Retired workers collecting Social Security started 2026 with a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment that adds roughly $57 a month to the average benefit. That gain,...
After a senior dies, Medicaid can bill the estate for nursing-home care it paid, though the family home is sometimes shielded.
Families who inherit a home after a parent or grandparent dies on Medicaid can face a bill from the state for every dollar spent on...
Social Security will no longer let you switch your direct deposit by phone, a fraud block you now clear online or in person.
The Social Security Administration cut off the simplest way millions of beneficiaries once changed where their monthly payments land. Before April 14, 2025, a phone...
Fairview Health will stop taking UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage on January 1, 2027, forcing patients to switch plans or go out of network
Seniors who rely on Fairview Health facilities and carry UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage coverage face a hard deadline: starting January 1, 2027, Fairview will no longer...
Social Security can now take half your monthly check to recover an overpayment, starting automatically after 90 days unless you object.
Millions of Social Security recipients who owe money to the federal government now face losing half their monthly benefit check to repayment, up from 10...
Social Security will halve in-person office visits, pushing seniors to phone lines and the web.
Millions of Americans who depend on Social Security field offices for help with benefits, replacement cards, and identity verification lost the option to walk in...
$2,400 is Medicare’s new out-of-pocket drug cap for 2027, up from $2,100 this year.
Medicare enrollees who spend the most on prescription drugs will face a higher ceiling next year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services set the...
Medicare locked in telehealth-from-home coverage through 2027, plus hospital-at-home care through 2030.
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on virtual doctor visits from home now have a firm deadline on the calendar: December 31, 2027. That date marks the...
Social Security is expanding a tool that scans applicants’ bank accounts to catch overpayments early.
Starting May 4, 2026, every person approved for Supplemental Security Income will have their bank accounts checked through an automated federal verification system before payments...
Skip Medicare drug coverage when first eligible and a 1%-a-month penalty can stick to your premium for life.
Medicare beneficiaries who skip Part D prescription drug coverage when they first become eligible face a permanent surcharge of 1% per month for every month...
Original Medicare still won’t cover routine dental, vision, or hearing care, a costly gap for retirees.
Millions of retirees enrolled in Original Medicare still pay the full cost of routine dental cleanings, eye exams for glasses, and hearing aids out of...
Medicare Advantage plans may cut dental, vision, gym and grocery perks in 2027.
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees who rely on dental coverage, vision exams, gym memberships, or grocery allowances could see those extras shrink or disappear when...
$35 is the most Medicare enrollees pay for a month of insulin in 2027.
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on insulin will pay no more than $35 for a one-month supply of any covered insulin product in 2027, the same...
You can appeal a high Medicare surcharge after retiring, divorcing, or losing a spouse, using one SSA form.
Medicare beneficiaries who retire, divorce, or lose a spouse often see their premiums jump based on income they no longer earn. The Social Security Administration...