Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Some Nevada Medicaid adults 19 to 64 must log 80 activity hours or earn $580 monthly from Jan. 1, 2027 under Trump’s 2025 law, and some renew twice a year
Starting January 1, 2027, some Nevada Medicaid members ages 19 through 64 will have to show 80 hours of approved activity each month, or earn at least $580 a month, to keep their coverage. The rule comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also called H.R. 1, the 2025 law President Donald Trump signed…
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Social Security lets an unmarried divorced spouse 62 or older, married at least 10 years, get up to half of an ex’s full benefit without cutting the ex’s check
A divorced person can collect Social Security on a former spouse’s record, and the former spouse’s own check does not shrink when that happens. The rule applies to someone who is 62 or older, has not remarried and was married to the ex for at least 10 years. The most the divorced spouse can receive…
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Social Security cannot pay benefits for the month a beneficiary dies, so the payment that arrives the following month must be returned
When a Social Security recipient dies, the payment for that month cannot be paid, and the deposit that shows up the next month has to go back. Social Security checks arrive a month behind, so the money landing in the account after a death is often the payment for the month the person died. Families…
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New York’s HEAP heating aid opens Nov. 2 with base benefits for oil, kerosene and propane raised to $990, for households earning up to $82,230 for a family of four
New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, opens for applications on Nov. 2, and the base benefit for households that heat with oil, kerosene or propane has gone up by $90, to $990. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the new season on Oct. 16. A family of four can have gross income of up…
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Social Security’s full retirement age is 67 for workers born in 1960 or later, up from 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959
Workers born in 1960 or later cannot collect a full Social Security retirement check until they turn 67, according to the Social Security Administration. For workers born in 1959, that full retirement age is 66 and 10 months, the last step in a schedule that has been creeping upward for years. The figures come from…
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Massachusetts wants Eversource, National Grid and Unitil to set a payback schedule by Oct. 27 for an estimated $1.5 billion in transmission refunds owed regionwide
Gov. Maura Healey is asking Eversource, National Grid and Unitil to tell the state by Oct. 27 when they will start paying back an estimated $1.5 billion in transmission refunds owed to electric customers across New England. The money traces to a federal ruling that found the companies earned too much on their power lines.…
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Veterans’ disability and survivor raise due Dec. 1 is still not law, with the Senate bill untouched since May 11 and the House bill stuck in committee since June 30
A cost-of-living raise for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for the survivors of disabled veterans, is still not law. Two identical bills would make the increase effective Dec. 1, 2026. The Senate version has had no action since it was sent to committee on May 11, and the House version has been stuck in committee…
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Seniors leaving Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare outside a guaranteed-issue window can be refused Medigap, and Original Medicare alone has no yearly cap on costs
Seniors who drop a Medicare Advantage plan for Original Medicare can find the door to Medigap closed. Medicare.gov says there is no federal guarantee that an insurance company will sell a Medigap policy outside a short list of protected situations, and a company can turn down an applicant over health. Original Medicare on its own…
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Social Security pays a widow or widower up to 100% of the late spouse’s benefit when the survivor waits until full retirement age to claim survivor benefits
Social Security pays a widow or widower up to 100% of a late spouse’s benefit, but only when the survivor holds off until full retirement age for survivor benefits. Claiming earlier means a smaller monthly check. For many households that timing is one of the biggest money decisions that follows a death. The Social Security…
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Social Security beneficiaries paid by birth date get their last checks before the 3.6% raise Dec. 9, 16 and 23, then the first raised checks Jan. 13, 20 and 27
Social Security beneficiaries who are paid on a Wednesday according to their birth date will get their last checks before the 3.6% cost-of-living raise on Dec. 9, 16 and 23. The first raised checks arrive a few weeks later, on Jan. 13, 20 and 27. The Social Security Administration announced the 3.6% increase for 2027…