The financial news that actually matters
Federal funding runs out at the end of September 30, and if Congress does not pass a spending measure in time, large parts of the government would shut their doors on October 1. For the tens of millions of retirees who depend on a monthly check, the reassuring part is that a shutdown does not…
Every fall, some Medicare Advantage plans stop serving certain counties or shut down entirely, and the members left behind assume their choices have narrowed to whatever plan is still standing. A quieter federal protection says otherwise. Losing a Medicare Advantage plan when the insurer pulls out unlocks a guaranteed-issue right to buy a Medigap supplement…
UnitedHealthcare has circulated a preliminary list of Medicare Advantage markets it may abandon for the 2027 plan year, and the early tally reaches into 34 counties spread across a dozen states. If the insurer follows through, roughly 20,000 members would lose their current plans and have to line up replacement coverage during the fall enrollment…
For most people, a Social Security check feels untouchable — earned income, protected by law, safe from creditors. But there is a major exception, and it catches older borrowers off guard: a defaulted federal student loan can let the government reach into that monthly benefit and take a slice before it ever lands in a…
Dementia does more than erode memory; it strips away the judgment that protects a person’s finances. A spouse who once caught a suspicious phone call or a strange piece of mail may no longer recognize a scam, and thieves know it. One of the most effective shields a caregiver can put in place costs nothing:…
A divorce decree can split a house, divide a pension, and end a marriage, yet leave one thing untouched: the beneficiary form naming a former spouse on a retirement account or life insurance policy. Those forms do not update themselves when a marriage begins or ends. Until someone changes them, a stale designation can hand…
A “free trial” is rarely as free as it looks. The offer hands over a card number for a week or a month of no-cost access, and unless the customer cancels in time, the trial quietly rolls into a paid subscription that renews on its own — month after month, often at a price the…
A carefully written will can lay out exactly who inherits what — and still be powerless over the largest accounts many retirees own. IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, life insurance, and annuities do not pass through a will at all. They go to whoever is listed on the beneficiary form on file with the plan or company,…
Naming a trust as the beneficiary of an IRA sounds like the careful, responsible choice — a way to control money for a spendthrift heir, a minor, or a loved one with special needs. Done well, it does exactly that. Done carelessly, it can accelerate taxes, strip away years of tax-deferred growth, and push an…
A Medicare Advantage plan is only as good as the doctors and hospitals it lets a member use, and that list is not permanent. Every plan year, the private insurers that run Advantage plans renegotiate contracts, add and drop providers, and reshape the network. A cardiologist or hospital that is in-network one year can be…