Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Retirees can collect Social Security in most countries abroad
Americans who retire overseas face a sharp dividing line: in most countries, their Social Security checks keep arriving without interruption, but in a smaller set...
Medicare’s 2026 out-of-pocket drug costs cap at $2,000, and a new plan lets you spread that bill across the year
Medicare Part D enrollees facing high prescription drug bills now have two layers of financial protection for 2026: an annual out-of-pocket cap set at $2,100...
A dependent parent can claim up to 82.5% of a late child’s Social Security
A parent who depended financially on an adult child can, after that child’s death, collect monthly Social Security benefits equal to 82.5 percent of the...
Some veterans will see two VA disability payments arrive in July because of the way the payment calendar falls this year
Some veterans receiving VA disability compensation will see two deposits hit their bank accounts in July 2026, not because of a policy change or bonus...
A bipartisan Senate bill would force Congress to vote on Social Security’s finances before a 22% benefit cut lands in 2032, and AARP just came out against it
Eight senators from both parties introduced a bill this month that would strip Congress of its ability to ignore Social Security’s looming insolvency. The measure,...
Past full retirement age, Social Security stops docking your check for earnings
Americans who keep working past full retirement age no longer lose a portion of their Social Security check to the earnings test, a protection signed...
A free my Social Security account blocks thieves from rerouting your deposit
Social Security recipients who have not locked down their payment details face a straightforward risk: a thief can reroute their monthly deposit to a different...
An adult disabled before 22 can draw Social Security on a parent’s record for life
Families with an adult son or daughter who has lived with a disability since childhood often do not realize that federal law entitles that person...
Medicare covers a yearly depression screening and flu shots at no cost
Medicare Part B pays for a yearly depression screening and a seasonal flu shot with zero copayment, coinsurance, or deductible for beneficiaries whose providers accept...
Retirees whose 2025 income topped about $112,000 are projected to owe a Medicare surcharge in 2027, and the top tier pushes Part B past $743 a month
Retirees who earned more than roughly $112,000 in modified adjusted gross income during 2025 are on track to pay a Medicare Part B surcharge in...
A spouse caring for your young or disabled child can draw a Social Security check without shrinking your own
Families with a stay-at-home parent caring for a young or disabled child can tap into a Social Security benefit that pays the caregiving spouse on...
Remarry and you usually lose any claim to an ex-spouse’s Social Security
Widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses who remarry before turning 60 generally forfeit their right to collect Social Security survivor benefits tied to a former...
$255 is Social Security’s one-time death benefit, frozen since 1954
When a worker who paid into Social Security dies, their surviving spouse or qualifying children can file for a one-time death benefit of $255. That...
The three months of inflation data that set Social Security’s 2027 raise just began, with the running estimate near 3.8%
About 67 million Social Security recipients are now watching a three-month inflation window that will determine their 2027 cost-of-living adjustment. The July 2026 Consumer Price...
Moffitt Cancer Center leaves Humana’s Medicare Advantage network this month, forcing its patients to switch plans or pay out of network
Cancer patients enrolled in Humana Medicare Advantage plans who receive treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa face a forced choice this month: switch to...
A Special Enrollment Period lets you change Medicare plans after a move or losing job coverage, outside the fall window
Medicare beneficiaries who move or lose job-based coverage do not have to wait for the fall open enrollment window to change coverage. Federal rules create...
A Medicare Advantage plan’s doctor network can change every January, so last year’s physician may be out this year
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees face a recurring disruption each January: the doctor they saw all year may no longer be in their plan’s provider...
About 180,000 seniors will lose their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan in 2027 as the insurer exits 109 counties
Roughly 180,000 seniors enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans face the loss of their coverage as the insurer pulls out of 109 counties ahead of...
Medicaid must leave a nursing-home resident’s healthy spouse at least $2,644 monthly in 2026
Couples facing a nursing-home admission in 2026 now have a firm federal floor for how much income the healthy spouse can keep each month: $2,644....
Social Security caps what one family can draw on a single worker’s record, usually between 150% and 188% of the benefit
Families with multiple members collecting Social Security on a single worker’s earnings record face a hard ceiling on their combined monthly payments, one that Congress...