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.
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…
Retirees who skip Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage after turning 65 face a permanent monthly surcharge that never goes away. The penalty kicks in after just 63 consecutive days without creditable drug coverage following the end of the Initial Enrollment Period, and it compounds for every uncovered month. With the national base beneficiary premium…
Savers who contribute to a Roth IRA hold a distinct advantage over those using traditional retirement accounts: the money they put in, which has already been taxed, can come back out at any time without triggering income tax or the 10% early-distribution penalty. That flexibility is built into federal tax regulations and confirmed by IRS…
Tens of millions of Social Security recipients will see a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment in their checks starting January 2026, but much of that raise will never reach their wallets. The standard Medicare Part B premium is climbing $17.90 per month in the same period, rising from $185.00 to $202.90. For retirees who have Part…
Medicare beneficiaries in six states now need their doctors to get advance approval before certain procedures, a requirement that Original Medicare has largely avoided for decades. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction Model, known as WISeR, on January 1, 2026, introducing an AI-assisted prior authorization process in…
Workers who earned at or above Social Security’s taxable ceiling every year of their careers and waited until age 70 to claim benefits can collect $5,181 a month starting in January 2026. That figure, published by the Social Security Administration, represents the absolute ceiling for a single retired worker, and the vast majority of retirees…
Americans who turn 50 this year gained an extra $8,000 in tax-advantaged savings room after the IRS raised the standard catch-up contribution limit for 401(k) plans alongside a new $24,500 base deferral cap for 2026. That brings the combined ceiling to $32,500 for workers in the 50-and-older bracket, up from $31,000 last year. The increase,…