Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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In Social Security’s own 2026 example, a worker under full retirement age who earns $33,400 has $4,460 withheld and keeps $5,140 of a $9,600 benefit
Social Security publishes its own worked example of what working does to an early retirement check, and the numbers are blunt. A person under full retirement age who earns $33,400 in 2026 has $4,460 withheld from benefits and keeps $5,140 of a $9,600 yearly benefit. The example appears on the agency’s Receiving Benefits While Working…
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Ohio drivers pay almost no state gas tax from Oct. 4 through Jan. 2, as the 38.5-cent gasoline tax and 47-cent diesel tax drop to a hundredth of a cent
At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, Ohio’s state tax on a gallon of gasoline dropped from 38.5 cents to one-hundredth of a cent. The diesel tax fell from 47 cents to the same $0.0001. The Ohio Department of Taxation says the break lasts until 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2027, which takes in Thanksgiving,…
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Virginia’s old food stamp cards shut off 60 days after a new chip card is mailed, and the state says benefits lost to skimming cannot be replaced
Virginia’s old magnetic-stripe food stamp cards will switch off by themselves 60 days after the new chip card is mailed, even if the new card was never activated, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services. The same state notice carries a harder line on fraud: benefits lost to skimming, cloning or other fraudulent methods…
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Social Security overpayment repayments mailed to its old Portland P.O. box are returned to sender after Dec. 30, and payments now go to a Philadelphia box
Social Security has closed the Portland, Oregon, post office box that took repayments of overpaid benefits. Checks that reach it after Dec. 30 will be sent back to the sender, and the agency now wants repayments mailed to a box in Philadelphia. The change matters most to people whose overpayment notice still carries the old…
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The Claiming Age Clarity Act, a Social Security claiming-age bill backed by AARP, passed the Senate on Sept. 29 and went to President Trump’s desk
Congress has sent President Trump a bill that renames the key Social Security claiming ages without changing a dollar of any monthly check. The Senate passed the Claiming Age Clarity Act on Sept. 29, after the House approved it by voice vote in December 2025. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Pennsylvania Republican, sponsored the bill, and…
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Food stamp soda limits start Feb. 1, 2027 in Wyoming and Feb. 15 in Kansas, and Nevada’s candy and sugary-drink limit follows on Feb. 1, 2028
Food stamp shoppers in Wyoming will no longer be able to buy sweetened soda with their benefits starting Feb. 1, 2027, and Kansas follows two weeks later with a limit on candy and soft drinks that begins Feb. 15. Nevada’s limit on candy and sugar-sweetened drinks is set for Feb. 1, 2028, a full year…
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Texas opened an investigation into UnitedHealth over denied care, including a procedure approval it withdrew that left a patient with a large bill
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into UnitedHealth Group over care the insurer is accused of denying Texans. One example in the case is a patient who was told a procedure was approved and then received a large bill after the approval was withdrawn. His office announced the investigation on October 5,…
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People whose data was exposed at a lab serving Planned Parenthood affiliates can claim from a $6.1 million fund by Nov. 24
People caught up in a 2024 data incident at Laboratory Services Cooperative, a Seattle nonprofit lab that runs tests for Planned Parenthood affiliates, have until November 24, 2026 to file a claim against a $6.1 million settlement fund. The settlement covers U.S. residents whose personal information was potentially compromised, and the cooperative denies all claims…
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The Dump furniture outlets are closing all eight stores in five states
The Dump Luxe Furniture Outlets are closing all eight of their stores in five states: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and Virginia. The company said on October 8 that the stores will close permanently, and a going-out-of-business sale started that morning at all eight. No last day for the stores has been announced. The sale is…
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Pennsylvania food stamp households that do not prove rent and utility costs at renewal get benefits figured without those deductions, though the case stays open
Pennsylvania food stamp households that cannot show what they pay for rent and utilities when their case comes up for renewal will have their benefit figured without those costs, which can make it smaller. The case itself stays open. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) said on September 29 that the proof requirement has…