The financial news that actually matters
Covers retirement planning, Social Security benefits, pension systems, and long-term financial security. It helps readers understand how to prepare financially for retirement.
Millions of people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans stand to pay less each month starting in 2026, with the federal government projecting the average premium will fall to about $14, down from $16.40 this year. The drop comes as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalizes a 5.06 percent average payment increase to plans,…
Workers turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026 can now set aside up to $11,250 in additional catch-up contributions to a 401(k), 403(b), or similar workplace retirement plan. The figure comes from a 150 percent formula spelled out in SECURE 2.0 Section 109, and the IRS has confirmed it through final regulations and recent…
Workers saving for retirement got a concrete boost when the IRS raised the annual IRA contribution limit to $7,500 for 2026, a $500 increase over the $7,000 cap that applied in 2025. The agency also lifted the catch-up contribution allowance for savers aged 50 and older to $1,100, up from $1,000. For households already stretching…
Married couples where one spouse earned significantly less over a career stand to collect a larger combined Social Security check than many realize, but the benefit hinges on precise timing. Federal law sets the spousal benefit at one-half of the higher earner’s primary insurance amount, or PIA, provided the lower-earning spouse has reached full retirement…
Any taxpayer holding a traditional IRA can convert part or all of it into a Roth IRA regardless of how much they earn, a rule that has been in place since 2010 when Congress removed the prior $100,000 adjusted gross income cap. Because Roth IRAs carry no required minimum distributions during the owner’s lifetime, each…
When a married couple both collect Social Security and one spouse dies, the survivor does not keep both monthly payments. The agency pays only the larger of the two checks, and the smaller one stops. That single rule can cut a household’s Social Security income by a third or more overnight, and the size of…
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on expensive medications for cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions stand to pay less starting in 2027. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has set Maximum Fair Prices for 15 additional drugs, projecting roughly $685 million in savings for enrollees in that year alone. Combined with the…
A two-year increase in Social Security’s full retirement age, from 67 to 69, would shrink a typical retiree’s monthly check by $345 to $741, depending on when they file and when they were born. The Congressional Budget Office has modeled exactly this scenario, and the Senate Budget Committee’s Democratic leadership has called it what the…
Americans born in 1943 or later who pass their full retirement age without claiming Social Security earn a permanent benefit increase of two-thirds of 1 percent for every month they wait, adding up to 8 percent per year through age 70. That fixed rate applies uniformly regardless of income, health, or life expectancy, which means…
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Ozempic or Wegovy will pay no more than $274 for a 30-day supply starting January 1, 2027, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services locked in a negotiated price through the second cycle of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The drugs, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, were among 15…