Category: Benefits & Retirement
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Social Security beneficiaries who sign up for digital notices by November 18 see the January raise online up to three weeks before the letter arrives
Social Security beneficiaries who sign up for digital notices by November 18, 2026, can see their personal cost-of-living raise online up to three weeks before the mailed letter arrives, the Social Security Administration says. The 2027 increase is 3.6 percent, and it reaches 76 million people on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The…
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A widow or widower who waits until survivor full retirement age collects a late spouse’s whole Social Security benefit, and children generally get three quarters
For a widow or widower, the size of a Social Security survivor check is set mostly by one choice: the age at which it is claimed. A surviving spouse who starts at the earliest age gets 71.5 percent of the late spouse’s benefit. One who waits until survivor full retirement age, which falls between 66…
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A marriage that lasted at least 10 years lets a divorced person 62 or older claim up to half an ex-spouse’s full benefit, taking nothing from the ex
A long marriage that ended in divorce can still leave a Social Security benefit behind. Social Security pays a divorced person a spouse’s benefit based on an ex’s earnings record, and the ex gives up nothing for it. The rule has a few conditions, and each one decides whether the benefit exists at all. The…
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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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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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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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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…
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Social Security adds two-thirds of 1% to a retirement check for each month a worker waits past full retirement age
Social Security adds two-thirds of 1 percent to a worker’s retirement check for each month the worker waits past full retirement age. For anyone born in 1943 or later, that adds up to 8 percent for every full year of delay, the agency’s delayed retirement credits page says. The extra amount keeps building until the…
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Medicaid adults flagged under the new work rule get 30 calendar days to show hours, income or an exemption before losing coverage, under CMS’s interim final rule
A Medicaid adult whose state cannot confirm compliance with the new work rule gets a notice and 30 calendar days to respond before coverage can be denied or ended. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set that in its interim final rule, CMS-2454-IFC, which the Federal Register published on June 3, 2026 at 91…