Category: Benefits & Retirement
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Pennsylvania Medicaid enrollees ages 19 to 64 may get automated calls from 877-839-4782 about work rules that start with January 2027 applications, the state says
Pennsylvania Medicaid recipients between 19 and 64 may be getting automated phone calls from 877-839-4782, and the state has named that number as its own. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is using calls, text messages and letters to warn about a federal work requirement that starts for Medicaid applications received in January 2027.…
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Social Security pays divorced spouses 62 and older up to half of an ex’s full benefit when the marriage lasted at least 10 years and they have not remarried
Social Security pays a divorced spouse who is 62 or older up to half of the ex-spouse’s full retirement age benefit, as long as the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the divorced spouse has not remarried. The agency’s family benefits page sets the ceiling at up to half of the benefit amount the…
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People in Medicare Advantage plans that are leaving Medicare have the right to buy Medigap Plan G or seven other plans until 63 days after their coverage ends
Anyone whose Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare has a right to buy a Medigap policy, and the window to use it is time-limited. Medicare.gov says the choices are Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L, sold by an insurance company in the person’s state. That is Plan G plus seven others,…
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Social Security checks would again be shielded from federal debt offsets under a House bill introduced September 24 with 15 Democratic cosponsors, now in committee
A House bill introduced September 24, 2026 would again shield Social Security benefits from federal debt offsets, and it has not moved past committee. H.R. 10557, the Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act, was filed by Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., with 15 Democratic cosponsors. Nothing in it is law, and no payment rule changes…
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Martin’s Point has 41,528 Medicare Advantage plan terminations in Maine for 2027, among 49,297 cancellations statewide, and members have until December 7 to choose
Medicare Advantage plans are being cut across Maine for 2027, and one insurer accounts for most of it. Martin’s Point Health Care has 41,528 plan terminations in the state, about 63 percent of its plans, according to an October edition of the Medicare Market Insights newsletter. The Maine Bureau of Insurance counts 49,297 Medicare Advantage…
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Food stamp households with someone 60 or older or disabled are judged only on net income, up to $1,330 a month for one person through September 2027
A food stamp household with someone 60 or older, or someone with a disability, only has to pass the net income test, and for one person that limit is $1,330 a month. USDA says the figure applies from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the federal fiscal year 2027. Most households face two income…
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Social Security survivor benefits start at age 60, or 50 for a disabled widow or widower, and can reach 100% of the late spouse’s benefit at full retirement age
Social Security pays survivor benefits to a widow or widower starting at age 60, or as early as age 50 when the survivor has a disability, and the monthly check can reach 100% of the late spouse’s benefit at full retirement age. The agency’s survivor benefit page says payments start at 71.5% of the spouse’s…
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New Jersey food stamp households outside Cumberland, Essex and Mercer counties must activate their new chip EBT cards by November 20, when unused cards shut off
New Jersey food stamp households outside Cumberland, Essex and Mercer counties have until Friday, November 20, 2026 to activate their new chip EBT cards. After that date, the state’s Division of Family Development says, chip cards that were never activated will be deactivated in the remaining counties. The old magnetic-stripe cards have already stopped working…
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Social Security’s watchdog estimates about 610,165 underpayments totaling more than $195 million were never paid to living SSI recipients, and the agency agreed to its fixes
Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General estimates that the agency never paid about 610,165 back payments, worth $195,638,055 in total, that were owed to living Supplemental Security Income recipients. The watchdog’s audit of SSI underpayments, dated August 28, 2026, puts the wider gap at 1.1 million unpaid underpayments worth about $291 million once survivors…
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Social Security withholds half of each monthly check by default to recover a new overpayment, starting at least 30 days after the notice, while SSI keeps a 10% rate
Social Security now withholds 50% of a monthly benefit by default to recover a new overpayment, and collection does not begin until at least 30 days after the notice is sent. Supplemental Security Income, the needs-based program, keeps its recovery rate at 10% of the payment. The rule is not new this month, but the…