Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Homeowners and renters in six Indiana counties and Cook County, Illinois can apply until December 8 for SBA disaster loans after June storms
People whose homes or belongings were damaged in Indiana’s June storms have until December 8, 2026 to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The offer covers homeowners and renters in six Indiana counties and in Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued the declaration on…
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SNAP’s work time limit has no statewide waiver anywhere as of October 1, leaving 41 states and territories with no waived areas
No state has a statewide waiver from SNAP’s work time limit this fall, and most of the country has no waiver at all. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of waivers in effect as of October 1, 2026, shows zero statewide waivers, 12 states with waivers that cover only parts of the state, and 41…
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HHS released $3.6 billion in heating aid to states for fiscal 2027, 90% of the annualized amount
The Department of Health and Human Services has released $3.6 billion in heating aid to states for fiscal 2027, the first money for the federal energy-bill program in the new budget year. The amount equals 90% of the annualized total available for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. The other 10%…
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Norada Capital’s Marco Santarelli gets 33 months after investors lost about $63 million
Marco Santarelli, the former CEO of Norada Capital Management, was sentenced on October 15 to 33 months in federal prison for running a promissory note scheme that cost investors about $63 million. A judge also ordered him to pay $63,165,357 in restitution. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California says more than…
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The White House says about 1.3 million Arizona seniors benefit from the new $6,000 senior tax deduction
A new White House release puts a number on how many older Arizonans are helped by the $6,000 senior tax deduction: about 1.3 million. The figure comes from an October 14 release tied to President Trump’s return to Arizona. The deduction is real and available for the 2025 through 2028 tax years, but the count…
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Social Security’s earnings test counts only wages and self-employment income, so pensions, annuities and investment income do not reduce retirement benefits, SSA says
Retirees who keep a job often worry that every dollar coming in will shrink their Social Security check. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says the rule is narrower than that. Its earnings test looks only at wages and net self-employment income, so a pension, an annuity or investment income does not lower a retirement benefit.…
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Students under 22 with disabilities who work can exclude up to $10,080 of their 2027 wages from Supplemental Security Income
Students with disabilities who get Supplemental Security Income and also hold a job will be able to set aside more of their pay next year. The Social Security Administration says the student earned income exclusion rises to $2,500 a month and $10,080 a year in 2027, up from $2,410 a month and $9,730 a year…
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Medicare open enrollment scammers are calling, visiting and mailing look-alike postcards through December 7, and Michigan regulators say Medicare never calls or visits
Medicare open enrollment began October 15, and Michigan regulators are already warning that scammers are working it by phone, at the front door and through the mail. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the state health department say the federal Medicare agency will never call or send someone to a person’s home.…
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Treasury’s proposed rules would bar adults who lose Medicaid for missing its work requirement from Obamacare premium credits, with comments due November 30
Treasury and the IRS have proposed a rule that would cut off Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for adults who lose Medicaid because they did not meet the new Medicaid work requirement. Under the proposal, those months would not count as months in which a person could get the credit. Written comments on the…
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Disabled workers on Social Security get an estimated average $1,701 a month starting in January 2027, up from $1,642
The typical disabled worker collecting Social Security is on track for a higher monthly check in 2027. The estimated average for all disabled workers goes from $1,642 to $1,701 a month with January 2027 payments, a gain of $59 that comes from a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment. The numbers come from the Social Security Administration’s 2027…