Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Social Security estimates a widowed mother with two children will average $4,076 a month in January, $142 above what the same family gets now
Survivor families with children get the largest dollar raise of any family type in Social Security’s January table. SSA estimates that a widowed mother with two children will average $4,076 a month, which is $142 above the $3,934 that kind of family averages now. The gain follows the 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment the agency announced…
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The IRS lets a married couple who are both 65 or older take $12,000 off their taxable income through 2028 under the new senior deduction
When both spouses in a married couple have reached 65, the IRS lets them subtract $12,000 from their taxable income. That is the couple version of the new senior deduction, and it runs for tax years 2025 through 2028. It comes on top of the extra standard deduction seniors already get, and it lowers the…
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Social Security withholds half of a monthly check to collect an overpayment unless the beneficiary asks for a waiver or appeals within 30 days
Social Security takes half of a monthly benefit check to collect an overpayment once the notice is 30 days old, unless the person has asked for a waiver or filed an appeal by then. An overpayment is money the agency says it paid out by mistake, more than the person should have received. The 30-day…
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Food stamps can still buy soda and candy in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia after a federal court vacated USDA’s approval of their purchase bans
A federal court order issued June 22 is the reason food stamps still buy soda and candy in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia. The order, in Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al., No. 1:26-cv-00861 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, vacated USDA’s approval of each state’s purchase limits. USDA’s…
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Bacon and raw pork buyers in 23 states and D.C. have until October 29 to file against Tyson, Hormel, Seaboard, Clemens and Triumph, and no receipts are required
People who bought bacon or raw pork at a grocery store in 24 places between 2014 and 2018 have until Thursday, October 29, to file a claim in the pork antitrust settlements. Five meat companies have agreed to pay a combined $117,065,000: Tyson, Hormel, Seaboard, Clemens and Triumph. The claim page says no documentation is…
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Social Security’s table puts the average retired worker’s payment at $2,170 a month in January, $76 more than now, after the 3.6 percent raise
Social Security’s own estimate shows the average retired worker collecting $2,170 a month in January, up $76 from the $2,094 that group averages now. The agency’s table of estimated average benefits ties the gain to a 3.6 percent cost-of-living raise. For a household living mainly on that check, $76 is small against a year of…
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About 20.8 million people on Original Medicare Part B without Medicaid premium help or IRMAA are getting a one-time $90 rebate this month, and CMS says Medicare Advantage enrollees do not qualify
About 20.8 million people on Original Medicare Part B are getting a one-time $90 rebate this month, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says people enrolled in Medicare Advantage do not qualify. CMS states the payment in one line: “Eligible beneficiaries will receive one $90 rebate in October 2026.” The money comes from…
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The White House says $500 refund checks go out beginning in October to nearly a million people who paid full Obamacare premiums with no subsidy
The White House says $500 refund checks go out beginning in October to nearly 1 million Americans who bought Obamacare coverage at full price. The Treasury Department and the IRS followed on October 14 with a release saying the government is sending the money. Neither announcement describes an application, a form or a cutoff date.…
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Food stamps will stop buying candy, soft drinks and energy drinks in South Carolina on November 1, and sweetened drinks and candy in North Dakota the same day
South Carolina and North Dakota are the two states where USDA’s food-restriction table shows a November 1 start for new limits on what food stamps can buy. The program, formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, puts benefits on an EBT card that shoppers swipe at the register. In both states, candy and sweetened…
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Federal retirees asking OPM to change their contact details would have to verify their identity on a new form under a proposal open for comment until December 18
The Office of Personnel Management wants retirees who ask to change the contact details on their federal annuity to prove who they are on a brand-new form. The agency published its proposal in the Federal Register on October 19, 2026, and is taking public comments until December 18, 2026. Nothing is required yet, because the…