Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
$25,000 in combined income is when Social Security benefits start getting taxed, a limit frozen since 1984
Millions of retirees now owe federal income tax on their Social Security checks because of a dollar threshold that Congress set more than four decades...
$127,750 a year is the average private nursing-home room, and Medicaid helps only after your savings run down
Families facing a private nursing-home bill that averages $127,750 a year confront a stark financial reality: most of that cost comes out of pocket, and...
82% of retirees facing Social Security garnishment could stop it by claiming hardship
Roughly four out of five retirees whose Social Security checks are being reduced to cover defaulted student loans qualify for relief they have never claimed....
SSI recipients get two Social Security payments in July 2026, not a bonus
Millions of Supplemental Security Income recipients will see two SSI deposits hit their bank accounts during July 2026, but the second payment is not extra...
Social Security ends paper checks this year, but a hardship waiver lets some keep receiving one by mail
Americans who still receive Social Security payments by mail face a hard deadline: the federal government will stop issuing paper checks after September 30, 2025....
Maine raised its Medicaid asset limit to $10,000 for single seniors
Single seniors in Maine who hold modest savings now face a higher bar before the state can deny them Medicaid coverage. The state set its...
The Social Security Fairness Act erased the WEP penalty, raising checks for millions of teachers, firefighters and police
More than 1,127,723 retired public workers have received retroactive Social Security payments totaling over $7.5 billion after the Social Security Fairness Act wiped out a...
Medicare’s QMB program bars providers from billing enrolled seniors, yet many are charged anyway
Low-income seniors enrolled in Medicare’s Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program are shielded by federal law from paying deductibles, coinsurance, or copays for covered services. Yet providers...
Social Security now gives you five years to repay an overpayment, up from three
People who owe money to the Social Security Administration after receiving too much in benefits now have up to five years to pay it back...
Medicare’s projected 2027 Part B premium climbs to $209.50, quietly trimming next year’s Social Security raise
Retirees counting on next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment to stretch their budgets will see a bigger slice of that raise consumed by Medicare before...
Medicare’s negotiated price drops the IBS drug Linzess from $539 to $136 a month in 2027
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Linzess for irritable bowel syndrome will see their monthly cost drop from $539 to $136 starting January 1, 2027. The...
Social Security averages your highest 35 years, so one more working year can replace a zero and lift your check
Retirees who spent a few years out of the workforce, whether raising children, changing careers, or dealing with illness, may be collecting a smaller Social...
Medicare’s next round of price cuts covers 15 drugs and should save $12 billion a year starting in 2027
About 5.3 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries who rely on 15 high-cost drugs for cancer and chronic disease are set to pay less starting in...
About $30 billion in benefits for older Americans, from Medicare savings to SSI, goes unclaimed every year
Millions of Americans aged 65 and older qualify for federal benefits they never receive. The National Council on Aging estimates that eligible older adults leave...
Original Medicare sets no annual limit on out-of-pocket costs, one reason many buy Medigap
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face a financial exposure that no other major federal health program allows: there is no annual ceiling on...
Medicare’s fall enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and 2027 plans must match Original Medicare on mental-health costs
Medicare beneficiaries who want to change their health coverage for 2027 will face a familiar deadline and a new wrinkle: the annual Open Enrollment Period...
Retirees can have tax withheld from Social Security using Form W-4V
Retirees who owe federal income tax on their Social Security benefits can now authorize withholding by phone, after the Social Security Administration began accepting verbal...
Giving away money within five years of applying for Medicaid nursing-home coverage can trigger a penalty
Families who help an aging parent with a large cash gift or transfer a home to a relative could face months of blocked Medicaid nursing-home...
Medicare Part A charges no premium once you have 40 quarters of work
Americans approaching retirement age who have accumulated 40 quarters of work covered by Medicare taxes pay nothing each month for Part A hospital insurance. Those...
41 hospital systems have now dropped Medicare Advantage across 25 states, forcing patients to pay or switch
Patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans tied to at least two major hospital systems lost in-network access after those providers severed contracts with private insurers,...