Category: Taxes and Retirement

If you're on Medicare and drug costs are eating into a fixed income, there's a federal program that quietly covers a lot of that gap — and a meaningful number of people who'd qualify never apply, often because they've never heard of it or assume their income is too high.…

If you get SNAP, the date to watch now is December 11, 2026 — not because benefits are scheduled to stop, but because that's when the stopgap funding bill Congress passed in September runs out. October 1 came and went without a funding lapse. Here's what happened the last time…

The median American household has a net worth of about $192,700 in 2026. If that number feels either way too low or suspiciously high compared to what you'd guess, you're not alone — most people have never seen this broken out by age, and the "average" figure everyone quotes ($1.06…

For every dollar the federal government spent in fiscal year 2026, about 22 cents went to Social Security and 16 cents went to Medicare. That's before a single cent goes to defense, interest on the debt, or anything else. Total federal spending in FY2026 runs about $7.4 trillion — 23.3%…

If you receive Social Security, SSI, or VA benefits on a Direct Express prepaid debit card, you may get a letter or a new card in the mail this year from a bank you've never heard of before: Fifth Third Bank. This is real, not a scam — but it's…

When someone who worked and paid into Social Security dies, their spouse, ex-spouse, children, or dependent parents may be able to claim a monthly payment based on that person's earnings record. The rules around who qualifies and how much they get are more layered than most people expect. Here's how…

SSDI back pay usually lands as a single lump sum about 60 days after approval. But the amount depends on three separate pieces: the application-to-approval gap, up to 12 months before you applied, and a five-month waiting period that is never paid. The terminology alone (back pay, retroactive benefits, waiting…

USDA has approved SNAP food-restriction waivers in 23 states, but the number actually in effect just went down, not up. As of October 2026, only 8 of those 23 restrictions are active — South Carolina and North Dakota's bans, both live as of last month, got pulled back to a…

If you get Social Security, your October 2026 payment lands on one of four dates depending on when you started benefits and your birth date. If you get SSI, October is the odd one: you'll see two deposits this month, not one. (Your payment amount still reflects this year's 2.8%…

July 10, 2026 came and went. That was the deadline the National Taxpayer Advocate flagged for tens of millions of taxpayers who may be owed refunds — or abatements — of penalties and interest the IRS assessed during the COVID-19 disaster period. If you're reading this now, you're probably asking…

If you regularly work overtime, there's a number you need to know right now: $12,500. That's the maximum amount of overtime premium pay you can deduct from your federal income tax for 2025 through 2028, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). For a nurse working regular double…

By early spring 2026, more than 1.4 million taxpayers had received an IRS CP53E notice — a letter that means your approved tax refund is frozen and you need to act. The cause is a new federal policy phasing out paper refund checks, and the window to fix it without…

Perpetual futures — "perps" in market shorthand — are the fastest-growing trading instrument in global finance right now. They started in crypto, stayed in crypto for years, and are now crossing into mainstream U.S. brokerage accounts. The CFTC formally approved Bitcoin perps from regulated U.S. platforms in May 2026, and…