Retirement & Social Security Archives - Page 101 of 114

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Medicare Advantage premiums will fall to an average $14 a month in 2026 — even as total enrollment drops for the first time in over a decade

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago012 mins

For 15 straight years, Medicare Advantage grew without interruption. More enrollees signed up, more insurers entered the market, and more plans advertised $0 monthly premiums bundled with dental, vision, and hearing benefits that traditional Medicare does not cover. That unbroken streak is now over. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that the average…

A new Medicare pilot will require prior authorization for 17 procedures in six states — the first time original Medicare has added the insurer-style hurdle

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago013 mins

When an orthopedic surgeon in one of six pilot states submits a request to perform knee surgery on a 72-year-old Medicare patient, the claim no longer goes straight to CMS for payment. Instead, it lands with a private technology vendor, which uses algorithms and clinical reviewers to decide whether the procedure should happen at all….

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Anyone under 59½ can now pull $2,500 a year from a 401(k) penalty-free — but only to pay premiums on a qualifying long-term-care policy

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago016 mins

A 50-year-old teacher in Virginia has $180,000 sitting in her 403(b). She knows she should own long-term-care insurance. She has even been quoted a premium: $2,200 a year for a standalone policy. But between her mortgage, two kids in daycare, and a car payment, writing that check has never quite made the cut. As of…

Happy young business woman standing in new office

Your old 401(k) can now follow you automatically to a new job — a new system built to stop workers from abandoning trillions in small accounts

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago016 mins

When Alyssa Bridgeman left her warehouse logistics job in 2021, she didn’t think much about the $2,800 sitting in her 401(k). She started a new position, enrolled in a new plan, and moved on. Two years later, she learned her old balance had been pushed into a default IRA invested in a money-market fund earning…

You may have a forgotten 401(k) worth $70,000 — Americans have abandoned a record $2.1 trillion across 32 million old workplace accounts

Warren Cohen3 months ago3 months ago014 mins

Somewhere in the retirement system, there is probably an account with your name on it that you have completely forgotten about. Maybe it is from a job you left five years ago, or ten, or fifteen. Maybe the plan changed administrators and the statements stopped coming. Maybe the balance felt too small to deal with…

Elderly Asian senior woman getting covid19 or coronavirus vaccine by doctor

Medicare now covers shingles, RSV, and flu shots for $0 under Part D — vaccines that used to cost seniors up to $200 out of pocket

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago013 mins

Until recently, a trip to the pharmacy for a shingles vaccine could cost a Medicare enrollee more than a week’s worth of groceries. Shingrix, the two-dose vaccine recommended for adults 50 and older, lists at roughly $200 per shot. Before 2023, most Part D plans required enrollees to cover a copay, coinsurance, or deductible on…

Financial advisor explaining paperwork to elderly retired couple front of desk

The maximum Social Security check is $5,251 a month in 2026 — but the average retiree gets just $2,000, and when you claim explains most of the gap

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago013 mins

Consider two workers who both earned at or above Social Security’s taxable ceiling for most of their careers. One files for benefits at 62. The other waits until 70. In 2026, the early filer collects $2,969 a month. The late filer collects $5,251. Same earnings history, same decades of maximum payroll contributions, yet the monthly…

A vial labeled glp1 on a yellow background symbolizing medication

Medicare’s new GLP-1 Bridge starts in 38 days — seniors can get Wegovy or Zepbound for about $50 a month instead of $1,350 out of pocket

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago015 mins

Right now, a Medicare enrollee with heart disease and obesity who fills a monthly prescription for Wegovy pays roughly $1,349 at list price. Zepbound, the other blockbuster GLP-1 drug, lists at about $1,060. For seniors on fixed incomes, those numbers have made clinically proven medications functionally unavailable. That changes on July 1. A new CMS…

Good looking mature architect drawing something while working in the office.

Claim Social Security before full retirement age while still working — and the government withholds $1 of every $2 you earn above $23,400

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago016 mins

A 62-year-old who files for Social Security in June 2026 and keeps pulling in $40,000 a year from a job will see roughly $8,300 in benefits vanish before the first anniversary of that decision. The money does not disappear into a bureaucratic void, but it does leave your bank account for years, and many early…

health stress old age and people concept senior man suffering from headache outdoors

A record 4 million Americans will turn 65 this year — the biggest “Peak 65” wave ever, testing Social Security and Medicare all at once

David Keller3 months ago3 months ago015 mins

Somewhere in America, every eight seconds throughout 2025, another person turned 65. By December, roughly four million had crossed that line, the largest single-year cohort to reach traditional retirement age in the country’s history. Researchers call it “Peak 65,” and as of mid-2026, the consequences are no longer theoretical. Social Security and Medicare are onboarding…

Category: Retirement & Social Security

Medicare Advantage premiums will fall to an average $14 a month in 2026 — even as total enrollment drops for the first time in over a decade

A new Medicare pilot will require prior authorization for 17 procedures in six states — the first time original Medicare has added the insurer-style hurdle

Anyone under 59½ can now pull $2,500 a year from a 401(k) penalty-free — but only to pay premiums on a qualifying long-term-care policy

Your old 401(k) can now follow you automatically to a new job — a new system built to stop workers from abandoning trillions in small accounts

You may have a forgotten 401(k) worth $70,000 — Americans have abandoned a record $2.1 trillion across 32 million old workplace accounts

Medicare now covers shingles, RSV, and flu shots for $0 under Part D — vaccines that used to cost seniors up to $200 out of pocket

Medicare’s new GLP-1 Bridge starts in 38 days — seniors can get Wegovy or Zepbound for about $50 a month instead of $1,350 out of pocket

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