Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
Social Security’s projected shortfall now lands in 2032, the year today’s 61-year-olds reach full retirement age
Americans born in 1965 who plan to claim Social Security at their full retirement age of 67 will reach that milestone in 2032, the same...
Medicare’s hospital trust fund is now projected to cover full benefits only into 2033, a year earlier than last year’s estimate
Roughly 67 million Americans who depend on Medicare Part A for hospital coverage now face a slightly shorter runway before the program can no longer...
A surviving spouse can collect up to 100% of a late husband’s or wife’s Social Security benefit
A surviving spouse who waits until full retirement age can collect the entire Social Security benefit their late husband or wife earned, a figure that...
Social Security’s trustees now expect the retirement fund to run short in late 2032, which would trigger an automatic 22% cut to every check
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement and survivor benefits face a sharper deadline than they did a year ago. The Social...
If you claim Social Security and regret it, you have 12 months to cancel, repay, and reset your start date
Anyone who started collecting Social Security retirement benefits and then realized the timing was wrong has a narrow escape hatch: a one-time withdrawal that erases...
More retirees owe tax on their Social Security every year because the income limits haven’t moved since 1984
A growing number of Social Security recipients are losing a portion of their benefits to federal income tax each year, not because Congress raised rates,...
Leaving a job with health coverage at 65 opens an 8-month window to take Medicare Part B penalty-free
Workers who turn 65 while covered by an employer group health plan and then leave that job face a strict, time-limited window to enroll in...
A missing year in your earnings record can shrink your Social Security for life
Workers who earned steady paychecks for decades can still end up with a smaller monthly Social Security check if even one year of wages never...
If your income fell after retiring, you can ask Medicare to lower the surcharge on your premiums
Retirees whose earnings dropped sharply after leaving the workforce can ask the Social Security Administration to recalculate the surcharge that inflates their Medicare Part B...
Insurers can’t deny you a Medigap plan or charge more for poor health during your first six months on Part B at 65
People turning 65 and signing up for Medicare Part B get exactly six months to buy a Medigap supplemental policy without any health screening. During...
At full retirement age you can pause your benefit and add about 8% a year until 70
Workers who have already started collecting Social Security checks can stop them, let the payments grow by roughly 8 percent a year, and restart at...
A lower-earning spouse can claim up to half of the other’s Social Security
Married couples with unequal earnings histories face a concrete financial decision every year they approach retirement age: when each spouse files for Social Security can...
Original Medicare puts no cap on what you pay out of pocket each year
Millions of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare face a structural gap that no other major health insurance program in the country shares: there is no...
Teachers, firefighters, and other public workers are getting full Social Security checks again after Congress repealed two old penalties
Retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees across the United States are now receiving larger Social Security checks after Congress eliminated two decades-old...
Medicare picked 15 more drugs for price cuts, including its first under Part B
Roughly 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries who depend on 15 high-cost prescription drugs could see lower prices starting January 1, 2028, after the Centers for Medicare...
Original Medicare just started requiring prior approval for knee scopes and back injections in six states, with AI helping decide who gets covered
Medicare beneficiaries in six states now face a new step before receiving certain common orthopedic procedures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the...
A widow can take a survivor’s benefit first, then switch to her own later
Surviving spouses who qualify for both Social Security survivor benefits and their own retirement benefits face a choice that can shift their lifetime income by...
Divorced spouses married at least 10 years can claim up to half an ex’s Social Security — and the ex’s check isn’t reduced
Millions of divorced Americans who spent a decade or longer in a marriage may be sitting on a Social Security benefit they never claimed. Federal...
Social Security checks go out June 10, 17, and 24, set by your birth date
Millions of Social Security recipients will see their June 2026 payments land on one of three Wednesdays this month, with the exact date determined entirely...
The Social Security wage base climbs to $184,500 in 2026
Workers earning above $176,100 will see a bigger bite from their paychecks starting in January 2026. The Social Security Administration set the taxable wage base...