The financial news that actually matters
Tens of millions of Americans are about to receive a small, unexpected deposit from Google, and most of them will not have to lift a finger to get it. A $700 million antitrust settlement over the Google Play Store received final court approval this spring, and the money is now going out automatically through PayPal…
A growing number of hospitals are cutting ties with Medicare Advantage plans, and the finance executives who run those systems say the retreat is only picking up speed. A flash poll of hospital and health-system finance leaders released in mid-August found that nearly a quarter have already terminated, declined to renew, or materially narrowed at…
Many families set up a revocable living trust expecting it to keep the family home and bank accounts out of the courts, only to discover, too late, that the paperwork alone does nothing. A trust can genuinely spare heirs the expense, delay, and public exposure of probate, but that protection depends on a step people…
For a retiree living on a fixed income, prescription costs can be one of the hardest bills to control, and one of the most frightening to face at the pharmacy counter. What many do not realize is that Medicare runs a program built to wipe out most of those costs for people with limited means….
Millions of working Americans hand back a tax break every year simply because they have never heard of it. The federal Saver’s Credit rewards lower- and middle-income households for doing something they may already be doing, contributing to a retirement account, by cutting their tax bill by as much as $1,000, or $2,000 for a…
A trust can be a smart way to control how an inheritance is spent, but pointing one at a traditional IRA can backfire in a way many families never see coming. Because the tax code treats retirement accounts differently from ordinary assets, naming a trust as the beneficiary can shorten the schedule for emptying the…
One of the most valuable moves in Social Security is also one of the least understood: a surviving spouse does not have to lock into a single check for life. Because a survivor benefit and a person’s own retirement benefit are two separate entitlements, a widow or widower can often collect one now and let…
Deeding the family home to a son or daughter while a parent is still alive can feel like a generous, tidy way to pass on the most valuable thing a household owns. In tax terms, it is often the opposite of tidy. The way the tax code treats a gift is fundamentally different from the…
An ambulance can feel like the one form of transportation nobody chooses, and many older Americans assume Medicare simply pays for it whenever it arrives. The reality is narrower and more conditional. Medicare covers ambulance rides only when they are medically necessary, and even then the patient is left owing a share of the cost….
Medicare famously refuses to pay for routine eyeglasses, yet it makes one narrow exception that surprises many people who have just had cataract surgery. After the procedure, the program will help cover a single pair of glasses, one time, with strict limits on what counts. Understanding exactly where that lone benefit begins and ends prevents…
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