Author: Brian Lund
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Debt collectors can take Social Security only in rare cases, but back taxes, federal student loans and support orders can reach it
A private debt collector cannot simply reach into a Social Security check. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that only in rare cases can debt collectors take Social Security or VA benefits. The exceptions are real, though: the agency says Social Security and Social Security Disability Insurance can sometimes be garnished for back taxes, federal…
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Food stamp recipients in Maryland, up to 80,000 of them, now must report work hours
Up to 80,000 more Marylanders on food stamps will have to show they are working, volunteering or in a training program to keep their benefits, according to the Maryland Department of Human Services. The state counts them as additional recipients pulled in by a wider federal work rule. The department explains the change on its…
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White House: nearly 53,000 Kansas farmers got over $735 million in emergency aid
The White House says more than $735 million in emergency aid has reached nearly 53,000 Kansas farmers. The figure comes from a release dated October 19, 2026, which credits the Trump Administration with delivering the money. The numbers are the administration’s own, and the release does not break them down county by county. The payments…
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Social Security lets new retirees undo a claim within 12 months by repaying everything
A new retiree who starts Social Security and then changes course has one way back: cancel the claim within 12 months and repay everything. Social Security’s cancel your benefits application page says a person can “cancel or withdraw your application up to 12 months after your benefit approval.” The page was last updated September 29,…
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Social Security stops withholding benefits for work earnings at full retirement age
Social Security’s earnings limit has an end date for every worker: the month that person reaches full retirement age. Social Security says earnings in and after that month “won’t affect” benefits at all, no matter how much a retiree makes. Before that month, the agency can hold back part of the check. The rule matters…
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SSI recipients with a job should report wages by the 6th of the month after payday, Social Security says, so an overpayment does not build
Anyone who draws Supplemental Security Income and also earns a paycheck has a second date to watch. Social Security says it encourages wages to be reported by the 6th day of the month after the person is paid, four days ahead of the 10th-of-the-month deadline that applies to every SSI change. The 6th appears in…
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Toyota Corolla, Avalon, Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia owners can still claim from a $78.5 million airbag control unit settlement until December 11, 2028
Owners of certain Toyota Corolla, Avalon, Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia models have until December 11, 2028 to file claims under a $78.5 million settlement over airbag control units. The deal is no longer in doubt. A court approved it in 2023, and an appeal against that approval was dismissed in December 2025. The official settlement…
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Cencora and Lash Group’s $40 million data-breach settlement now expects to start paying claimants in November, after earlier payment targets slipped
People who filed a claim in the Cencora data-breach settlement are still waiting on money, and the wait just got a new end date. The settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration, says it anticipates beginning to send payments to eligible claimants in November 2026. The notice went up on the official settlement website on October 16.…
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MaineCare expansion adults face work requirements at their first 2027 renewal under the 2025 law H.R. 1, plus six-month renewals and one month of retroactive coverage
MaineCare expansion adults will face a new work requirement at their first renewal in 2027, part of changes that take effect January 1, 2027 under the 2025 federal law known as H.R. 1. The same changes move renewals from every 12 months to every six and cut retroactive coverage from three months to one. Maine’s…
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PharMerica data-breach settlement checks issued October 12 and 13 become void after April 10, 2027, so claimants who have not cashed theirs are on the clock
Settlement checks in the PharMerica data-breach case were issued on October 12 and 13, 2026, and any that stay uncashed will become void after April 10, 2027. That gives people who filed an approved claim about six months from the issue dates to deposit the money. The date is a void date for checks, not…