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.
A surviving spouse in a dual-earner household can lose thousands of dollars a month in Social Security income overnight. Federal rules bar benefit stacking, meaning the widow or widower keeps only the higher of the two payments the couple had been receiving. The smaller check simply stops. For couples who built retirement budgets around two…
Americans turning 73 this year face a federal tax rule that can quietly drain thousands of dollars from their retirement savings if they miss a single deadline. Traditional IRA and workplace plan holders must begin pulling money out of those accounts once they hit age 73, and the penalty for falling short is steep: a…
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Original Medicare will pay $283 in annual Part B deductible costs in 2026, a $26 jump from the $257 they owed in 2025. The increase, announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, lands alongside a standard monthly Part B premium of $202.90, raising the total out-of-pocket burden before coverage…
Every American collecting Social Security retirement or survivor benefits faces a 22 percent cut to their monthly check in late 2032 unless Congress acts first. The Social Security Board of Trustees released its 2026 annual report on June 9, projecting that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will run dry in the fourth quarter…
Americans born in 1943 or later who postpone their Social Security retirement claim from full retirement age to 70 stand to collect a monthly benefit roughly 32 percent larger than the amount they would have received at full retirement age. That gain comes from delayed retirement credits that add 8 percent per year, or two-thirds…
Workers collecting Social Security before they reach full retirement age will be able to earn up to $24,480 in 2026 without losing any benefits, a $960 increase over the 2025 threshold. For every $2 earned above that line, the Social Security Administration withholds $1 from monthly checks. A separate, higher limit of $65,160 applies to…
Retirees holding traditional IRAs and workplace retirement plans face a hard December 31 deadline each year to withdraw their required minimum distributions, and the penalty for missing it is steep: a 25% excise tax on the amount that should have been taken out. The age threshold for these mandatory withdrawals now stands at 73, a…
Workers saving for retirement through a 401(k) plan will cross a new threshold in 2027, when the annual contribution cap is expected to exceed $25,000 for the first time. The IRS set the 2026 elective deferral limit at $24,500, effective January 1, 2026, establishing the baseline from which the next inflation adjustment will be calculated….
Widows and widowers who already collect Social Security on their own work record can switch to a higher payment based on a late spouse’s earnings, yet a federal audit released in spring 2026 found that many survivors are not told about this option in time. The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General reviewed…
Starting in 2026, workers age 50 and older can contribute up to $8,000 in catch-up deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457, or Thrift Savings Plan on top of the new $24,500 base elective deferral limit. That catch-up figure is a $500 jump from the $7,500 allowed in 2025, and it creates a combined ceiling…