Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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A 90% VA disability rating pays $2,362.30 a month in 2026, or $2,559.30 for a veteran with a spouse
Between a 90% rating and a 100% rating, VA’s 2026 schedule jumps by $1,576.28 a month. At 90% a veteran alone is listed at $2,362.30, and one with a spouse at $2,559.30. The size of that leap, and the add-ons that sit around it, make this row of the table look different from the ones…
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A 60% VA disability rating pays a veteran $1,435.02 a month this year
Sixty percent is a rating with two jobs. In VA’s 2026 schedule it pays a veteran $1,435.02 a month, and in the department’s unemployability rules it is the single-condition threshold that can open the way to the 100% rate for a veteran who cannot hold steady work. The first fact comes from a table, the…
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Veterans rated 80% disabled get $2,102.15 a month from the VA this year, or $2,406.15 with a spouse and child
An 80% rating sits one step below 90% and two below 100%, and VA’s 2026 schedule prices that position at $2,102.15 a month for a veteran alone. With a spouse and one child on the award, the same rating is listed at $2,406.15. The number reflects a percentage that VA calculates, not one that anyone…
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Heirs can pay off a parent’s reverse mortgage by selling the home for 95% of its appraised value, even if the loan is larger
When the last borrower on a reverse mortgage dies, the loan comes due, and the heirs have a short window to decide what happens to the house. If the loan is larger than the home is worth, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says heirs can still settle it by selling for at least 95% of…
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Food stamp purchase limits are already in effect in eight states, and USDA lists five more starting Nov. 1
Eight states have already passed the dates USDA set for keeping soda, candy and other items off the list of foods that SNAP benefits can buy, and USDA lists five more states starting Nov. 1. The eight are Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. The five are Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South…
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A proposed House bill would pay full Social Security at 60 to workers in physically demanding jobs, instead of today’s 30% cut at 62
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, has proposed letting workers in physically demanding jobs collect full Social Security retirement benefits at 60, seven years before the current full retirement age of 67. Under today’s rules, a worker born in 1960 or later who claims at 62 takes a permanent 30% cut. The idea is a…
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Tyson, JBS and Cargill plant workers from 2000 to 2024 have until Feb. 4, 2027, to join a $202.7 million wage settlement
Anyone who worked at a beef or pork processing plant run by a named defendant between Jan. 1, 2000, and Feb. 27, 2024, sits inside a class covered by $202.7 million in wage-suppression settlements. The paperwork differs by mailbox: some workers already hold a notice printed with a dollar amount, and others hold nothing at…
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Amazon Prime members can save 20 cents a gallon on Fridays at bp, Amoco and ampm stations through Jan. 29
Amazon is doubling the fuel discount it gives Prime members on Fridays. From Oct. 2 through Jan. 29, members who have switched the offer on can take 20 cents off each gallon on one fill-up per Friday at more than 7,500 bp, Amoco, ampm and participating Thorntons stations, up from the usual 10 cents. Amazon…
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The White House’s promised $500 health exchange refund is per person, so a household with several full-price enrollees could get more than one
The White House has announced a $500 refund for people who buy full-price health coverage through HealthCare.gov, and the amount is set per person, not per household. That detail matters for families: a household with several full-price enrollees could be in line for more than one $500 payment. The plan is an announcement so far,…
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An SSI recipient with a $300 Social Security check still gets $714 in federal SSI, because only $20 of it is ignored
A $300 Social Security check does not wipe out Supplemental Security Income, but it comes close to a dollar-for-dollar trade. In the Social Security Administration’s own worked example, the federal SSI payment lands at $714, because only $20 of the check is ignored and the other $280 comes off the $994 federal benefit rate. Two…