Author: Brian Lund
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A cancelled Medicare Advantage plan opens a guaranteed right to buy Medigap
A letter arrives from a Medicare Advantage insurer notifying a household that their plan is leaving Medicare, pulling out of their county, or no longer covering their address. For a retired couple used to a low premium and routine dental coverage, the news reads like a threat: shop for new coverage with a lung condition,…
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Social Security announces its 2027 raise October 14, with outside estimates near 3.6 percent
About 75 million Americans currently collect a Social Security or Supplemental Security Income payment, and every one of them is waiting on a single number the government has not yet confirmed. The Social Security Administration will announce the official 2027 cost-of-living adjustment on October 14, and until then, any percentage in circulation — including the…
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Gas prices topped $4 a gallon every single day this August, the first August on record to do that
AAA’s daily fuel-price tracker has never made this claim about any previous August: not one day this month has closed with the national average below $4 a gallon. That finding, published in AAA’s August 27, 2026 report, means a household that fills up two vehicles a week has been paying real extra money at the…
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The Federal Trade Commission is mailing $23.8 million to 640,038 Grubhub drivers and diners, and nobody has to file a claim
More than 640,000 Grubhub drivers and diners across the country are being paid this month in one of the Federal Trade Commission’s larger food-delivery enforcement actions on record. The agency is distributing more than $23.8 million total after finding that Grubhub misled drivers about their potential earnings and blocked diners from their own accounts and…
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A federal judge threw out SNAP soda and candy bans in five states, and USDA told stores to stop enforcing them
Grocery carts in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia can hold soda, candy and other recently-banned items again without the SNAP card getting rejected at the register. A federal judge in Washington threw out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of each state’s food-restriction waiver, and the agency has since told grocers, in writing,…
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Social Security now withholds up to 50% for overpayments, though a request within 30 days pauses it
A Social Security overpayment notice is frightening on its own, and the stakes rose when the agency moved to withhold up to half of a monthly benefit to recover the money. But there is a narrow, powerful window of protection: acting within 30 days of the notice generally freezes the collection while your case is…
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Surviving spouses of veterans who died from a service-connected illness can claim tax-free VA payments
A tax-free monthly benefit exists for the surviving families of veterans who died from a service-connected illness or injury, and many of them never claim it. The program, called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, can be a meaningful and lasting source of income for a surviving spouse. Knowing it exists, and who qualifies, is the first…
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A spouse still living at home is protected when Medicaid recovers nursing-home costs from an estate
Families often hear a frightening version of Medicaid estate recovery: that the state will take the family home to pay for a parent’s nursing care. The reality is more protective than the rumor. Federal rules require states to try to recover long-term-care costs, but they also shield a surviving spouse who still lives in the…
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Social Security averages your highest 35 years of pay, so missing years drag the check down
The size of a Social Security check is not a mystery, but the formula behind it surprises a lot of people. The benefit is based on a worker’s highest 35 years of earnings, and if someone worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zeros. Those zeros quietly pull the check down, and…
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The IRS again says the proposed $2,000 tariff-dividend check has not been approved by Congress
A rumor keeps circulating that Americans are about to receive a $2,000 tariff-dividend check, and the reality is worth stating plainly: no such payment has been approved. The idea remains a proposal, not a law, and the IRS has warned that scammers are already using the buzz to trick people. This is a story about…
