Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Social Security withholds half of each monthly check by default to recover a new overpayment, starting at least 30 days after the notice, while SSI keeps a 10% rate
Social Security now withholds 50% of a monthly benefit by default to recover a new overpayment, and collection does not begin until at least 30 days after the notice is sent. Supplemental Security Income, the needs-based program, keeps its recovery rate at 10% of the payment. The rule is not new this month, but the…
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SNAP recipients 18 to 64 with no child under 14 lose food stamps after three months in three years unless they work 80 hours monthly, with no veteran exception
Adults on SNAP who are 18 to 64 and have no child under 14 at home can receive food stamps for only three months in three years unless they work 80 hours a month, and veterans are no longer excused. The change came from the 2025 federal budget law, known as the One Big Beautiful…
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About 3.16 million Medicare Advantage members are in plans ending for 2027, an analysis of CMS files finds, and open enrollment to choose new coverage runs until December 7
Roughly 3.16 million people in individual Medicare Advantage plans are in plans that are being terminated for 2027. The exact count is 3,156,598 enrollees, or 10.6 percent of the individual market, according to Medicare Market Insights, a firm that tallies federal plan files. Open enrollment, the stretch for picking replacement coverage, runs October 15 through…
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Food stamp shoppers in Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia lose the ability to buy sugary drinks with SNAP on November 1, USDA’s waiver list shows
Four states are set to stop SNAP from paying for sugary drinks on November 1, 2026. USDA’s list of food-restriction waivers shows Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia all carrying that target date, so food stamp shoppers there will no longer be able to buy soda and other sweetened beverages with their EBT cards.…
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A Texas jury convicted a fourth defendant tied to more than $150 million that call-center scammers took from elderly Americans
A federal jury in Austin has convicted Bhavesh Kumar Thakkar, 45, an Indian national who was in the United States on a spousal visa, of two counts tied to wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say he was directly connected to more than $150 million in proceeds that India-based call-center scammers took from elderly victims…
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An American who operated from the Philippines pleaded guilty in a scheme targeting veterans’ and servicemembers’ bank and benefit accounts
Robert Wayne Boling Jr., a 45-year-old American who ran a fraud operation from the Philippines, pleaded guilty on October 20 to conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Federal prosecutors say he used stolen personal data on thousands of servicemembers and veterans to break into their bank accounts and online benefits accounts, and that…
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Kentucky’s heating subsidy runs only in November and December before crisis aid opens
Kentucky households that want help paying for heat have a short window for the regular benefit. The state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, runs its heating subsidy only in November and December, and a separate crisis component does not open until early January. The program is federally funded, and the Cabinet for…
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PG&E customers’ average bill could rise $37 a month in 2027 under pending requests, the state’s ratepayer advocate projects
California’s ratepayer advocate says the bill of the average Pacific Gas and Electric customer could climb $37 a month, or 16%, in 2027 if the utility gets everything it has asked for. The projection comes from the Public Advocates Office, the state office that represents utility customers, and it adds up several pending requests rather…
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Duke Energy Carolinas home bills would rise $9.39 a month January 1 if approved
Customers of Duke Energy Carolinas in North Carolina would pay $9.39 more a month starting January 1, 2027, if state regulators approve a settlement the utility reached with the state’s Public Staff. The rate case is still pending, and the new rates are not in effect. The figure is for a typical home, and the…
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Propane for home heating averaged $2.689 a gallon October 19, $3.872 in New England
Homes that heat with propane are starting the cold months paying more than a year ago. The U.S. Energy Information Administration put the average residential price at $2.689 a gallon on October 19, up 5.6 cents in a week and 25.6 cents from the same week in 2025. Where a house sits decides how hard…