Social Security & Medicare
Benefit changes, claiming strategies, eligibility rules, Medicare enrollment, Part D updates, and policy changes affecting retirees.
Latest in Social Security & Medicare
DOGE built a Medicare portal to help seniors — then left providers’ Social Security numbers in a public database for weeks
For weeks this spring, the Social Security numbers of healthcare providers who treat Medicare Advantage patients were sitting in a publicly accessible government database, exposed...
Social Security’s 2.8% COLA added $56 a month — but the Medicare Part B premium hike swallowed nearly half of it, leaving retirees with just $38 more
The Social Security raise for 2026 was supposed to put $56 more per month into the average retiree’s pocket. Instead, most beneficiaries are seeing about...
2027 Social Security COLA forecast ranges from 2.8% to 4% — and the Iran war could push it higher
A Social Security recipient collecting the average monthly benefit of roughly $1,976 could see anywhere from $55 to $79 more per check starting in January...
Social Security payments up to $5,181 land next week — here’s the full May 2026 schedule
If you’re one of the millions of retirees who budget around the third of the month, May 2026 is throwing a small curveball. Because May...
New bill would raise Social Security benefits for millions
When a Social Security recipient dies, the federal government sends surviving family members a one-time payment of $255. That amount was set in 1954, when...
New Senate bill could reshape Medicare Advantage for millions
A physician orders an MRI for a Medicare Advantage enrollee with worsening back pain. Before the scan happens, the insurer has to approve it. That...
Social Security cuts loom, and Trump policy may speed the timeline
A retired teacher in Texas who spent 30 years in the classroom and just started collecting Social Security might soon face a choice she never...
Medigap premiums are jumping 12% to 26% this year — and unlike Part B, there’s no COLA to help absorb it
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 per month got about $55 more in 2026 thanks to the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment....
The new $6,000 senior tax deduction could eliminate federal taxes on Social Security for millions — but most retirees don’t know about it yet
A retired postal worker in Ohio earning $32,000 a year from Social Security used to owe roughly $800 in federal taxes on those benefits. This...
Medicare Part B premium hike swallows nearly half of Social Security’s 2.8% COLA — retirees net just $38/month more
The Social Security Administration announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 last October, promising the average retired worker roughly $50 more per month starting in...
2027 Social Security COLA projections are split — will the “Trump Bump” from war inflation boost your check?
If you collect Social Security, the difference between a quiet year for inflation and a turbulent one could mean an extra $30 or an extra...
2027 COLA projected at 2.8% again: senior group warns it’s not enough
A retiree collecting the average Social Security benefit of roughly $1,976 a month saw about $55 added from the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). If the...
What happens to your Social Security check if the trust fund is depleted — the actual math
A retiree collecting $2,000 a month from Social Security right now would lose $460 of it overnight if Congress lets the program’s trust fund run...
Medicare Part B premium crosses $200 for the first time, hitting $202.90 in 2026
Linda Garza, a 72-year-old retired teacher in San Antonio, checked her bank deposit in January 2026 and did a double take. Her Social Security payment...
More than a quarter of your Social Security COLA raise will be eaten by the new Medicare hike
Margaret Diaz, a 74-year-old retired school aide in Tucson, opened her January 2026 bank statement expecting a modest bump from Social Security. The cost-of-living raise...
SSA warns of surge in fake Social Security benefit-statement emails targeting seniors
The email looks like it came straight from the Social Security Administration: the agency logo sits at the top, the formatting is clean, and the...
New “Six Figure Limit” proposal would cap Social Security benefits at $50,000 per person
A retired couple in which both spouses earned top salaries for 35-plus years and waited until age 70 to file could collect roughly $122,000 a...
Medicare Part B deductible climbs to $283: another hit on top of the premium
The 2026 Medicare Part B deductible is now $283, a $26 increase from the $257 that beneficiaries paid in 2025. Paired with a standard monthly...
Suze Orman: “The 2026 Social Security–Medicare trap is here” — Part B premium hike eats a third of the cost-of-living adjustment
A retiree collecting the average Social Security check will see about $56 more per month starting in January 2026. Before that money covers a single...
Medicare Part B premium rises 9.7% to $202.90 a month in 2026
The standard Medicare Part B premium will jump to $202.90 per month in 2026, an increase of $17.90 from the $185.00 that enrollees paid in...