Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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State law sets when your last paycheck and unused vacation must be paid after you leave a job
Leaving a job, whether by choice or not, raises an immediate question that surprises a lot of workers: when does the last paycheck have to arrive, and does unused vacation come with it? The answer rarely comes from federal law. It comes from the state where the work was done, and the rules swing widely…
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A federal court ordered $1.73 million in back overtime for 1,666 workers left out of the math
When 1,666 hourly workers at a Tennessee manufacturing site opened their overtime math, a piece of their pay was missing. Their employer had been earning incentive bonuses but leaving those bonuses out of the calculation used to figure overtime, which quietly shrank every overtime check. A federal investigation forced the money back: $1,730,598 in back…
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A new Trump order lets 401(k) plans add private equity and crypto to workers’ retirement savings
For decades, the menu inside a typical 401(k) looked much the same from one employer to the next: a handful of stock and bond mutual funds, maybe a target-date option, and a stable-value or money-market fund. A 2025 executive order, paired with guidance that federal regulators are still rolling out, is now clearing the way…
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A Medicare Savings Program can cover the Part B premium for lower-income enrollees
Millions of Medicare enrollees pay their Part B premium out of pocket every month without realizing a state program could cover it for them. Medicare Savings Programs are designed to do exactly that for people with limited income, yet they remain one of the most under-claimed forms of help in the Medicare system. For a…
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Social Security now offers five-year repayment plans so an overpayment need not gut your monthly check
An overpayment notice from Social Security can read like a demand for money the recipient does not have. For years, the agency’s approach could mean an entire monthly check disappearing until a supposed debt was repaid. That has changed. Social Security now gives beneficiaries several ways to soften how an overpayment is recovered, and none…
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A widow or widower can step up to 100% of a late spouse’s Social Security benefit
When a spouse dies, the surviving partner’s Social Security often changes in a way most couples never plan for. A widow or widower can move up to the full benefit the late spouse was receiving, replacing their own smaller check with the larger one. For a household that spent years living on two Social Security…
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Ozempic and Wegovy are set to cost about $350 cash, and $50 a month for many on Medicare
The blockbuster weight-loss drugs that many households could not afford are getting markedly cheaper under a pricing arrangement between the federal government and the two companies that make them. Starting-dose versions of drugs like Wegovy, Zepbound, and the Ozempic class are being sold for about $350 a month in cash, and Medicare enrollees are looking…
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New Medicaid work rules start in 2027, and states like Nebraska are already dropping people who fall short
A nationwide Medicaid work requirement is coming, and a few states are not waiting for the deadline. Federal regulators have set January 1, 2027, as the date by which states must require many adults on Medicaid to log work hours to keep their coverage. Nebraska has already begun, and its early rollout offers a preview…
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SNAP rolls have fallen by roughly 5 million people in a year as new work rules bite
The nation’s largest anti-hunger program has shrunk fast. In roughly a year, the number of people receiving SNAP food benefits fell by about 5 million, a drop that came faster than federal officials had projected. Behind the decline is a new set of work rules that took effect after last year’s big tax-and-spending law, and…
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About 2.9 million seniors could be forced to switch as 25 hospital systems drop Medicare Advantage this year
For most older Americans, the hospital and doctors they trust are only “in network” because of the specific Medicare plan in their wallet. That link is fraying. A running industry tally now counts 25 health systems that have dropped, ended, or narrowed their Medicare Advantage contracts so far in 2026, and the number keeps climbing…
