Category: Benefits & Retirement
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VA processed a record 3.11 million veterans’ disability claims in fiscal 2026
The Department of Veterans Affairs processed a record 3,111,399 disability compensation claims in fiscal 2026, up from the prior record of 3,001,734 in fiscal 2025. VA announced the totals on Oct. 15, 2026 and rounded them to 3.11 million. The agency says it had never before processed more than 3 million claims in a single…
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Federal funding for welfare cash aid and community health centers runs out December 31 unless Congress acts
Federal funding for the welfare cash program known as TANF and for community health centers is set to run out December 31, 2026, unless Congress acts. Both deadlines land after the November elections, and Holland & Knight, a law firm that tracks Congress, says both could ride on a year-end package. The dates are fixed…
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Minnesota lost about $37 million a year in federal food stamp administration money October 1, and a 2029 cost share could reach $145 million, half billed to counties
Minnesota’s food stamp program started paying more of its own bills on October 1, 2026. The state’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families says Washington now covers 25 percent of what it costs to administer SNAP, down from 50 percent, which costs the state about $37 million a year. A second, larger change is scheduled…
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Social Security pays children of a worker who died through age 17, and at 18 or 19 only while they are full-time K-12 students
When a parent who worked dies, Social Security can keep paying their children. The agency’s survivor eligibility page says the benefit is available to a child who is 17 or younger, and to a child aged 18 or 19 only while that child is in school full time, at the K-12 level. Once a child…
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Social Security survivor benefits go to widows and widowers only if they did not remarry before 60, or 50 if disabled, the agency’s eligibility rules say
A widow or widower who remarries too early can lose the right to a Social Security survivor benefit. Social Security’s survivor eligibility rules say a surviving spouse must not have remarried before age 60, or before age 50 for a spouse who has a disability. The agency last updated that page on December 5, 2024,…
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Food stamp cases covering about 9,000 refugees, asylees and other noncitizens in New York’s Onondaga County close at recertification over the next year unless a member shows green-card status, the county says
About 9,000 people in Onondaga County, New York, are in food stamp cases that are set to close at their next recertification over the coming year. The county’s social services department says the affected households are those with refugees, asylees and other noncitizens, and a case stays open only if a member shows lawful permanent…
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Wisconsin FoodShare members 60 to 64 without a disability can no longer get three-year certifications, and those already on one must now file six-month reports and sit for a renewal interview
Wisconsin households on FoodShare, the state’s name for SNAP, can no longer get a three-year approval if a member is 60 to 64 and not disabled. The change took effect August 8, 2026, and households already holding a three-year approval now face extra paperwork: six-month report forms and an interview when they renew. The rule…
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Wisconsin BadgerCare adults who lose Medicaid under the work rule in Trump’s 2025 law also cannot get Obamacare premium tax credits, starting January 1, 2027 for new applicants and March 2027 for most current members
Wisconsin adults on BadgerCare Plus who lose Medicaid because they do not meet the new federal work requirement will also be shut out of Obamacare premium tax credits. The state’s Department of Health Services says the rule reaches new applicants on January 1, 2027, and most current members in March 2027. It comes from President…
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FERS federal retirees get a 2.6% raise in January, a point below the 3.6% for CSRS retirees, and most nondisabled FERS retirees under 62 get none
Federal retirees in the Federal Employees Retirement System will see a 2.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment on their annuities in January 2027, a full point below the 3.6 percent going to retirees in the older Civil Service Retirement System. Many FERS retirees younger than 62 get no adjustment at all. The Congressional Research Service says “beginning…
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Social Security’s special minimum benefit for workers with 30 years of low-wage coverage rises to $1,164.10 a month with the December increase, a new notice shows
The special minimum benefit for a worker with 30 years of Social Security coverage will be $1,164.10 a month beginning with the December 2026 increase, according to a Social Security Administration notice. The notice also lists a maximum family benefit of $1,748.30 at that level. It is set to appear in the Federal Register on…