Category: Benefits & Retirement
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SNAP recipients 18 to 64 with no child under 14 lose food stamps after three months in three years unless they work 80 hours monthly, with no veteran exception
Adults on SNAP who are 18 to 64 and have no child under 14 at home can receive food stamps for only three months in three years unless they work 80 hours a month, and veterans are no longer excused. The change came from the 2025 federal budget law, known as the One Big Beautiful…
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About 3.16 million Medicare Advantage members are in plans ending for 2027, an analysis of CMS files finds, and open enrollment to choose new coverage runs until December 7
Roughly 3.16 million people in individual Medicare Advantage plans are in plans that are being terminated for 2027. The exact count is 3,156,598 enrollees, or 10.6 percent of the individual market, according to Medicare Market Insights, a firm that tallies federal plan files. Open enrollment, the stretch for picking replacement coverage, runs October 15 through…
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Treasury launches TrumpIRA.gov on January 1, 2027, listing IRAs that take the Saver’s Match
Treasury says TrumpIRA.gov, a federal website listing IRAs that accept the new Saver’s Match, will officially launch on January 1, 2027. The Internal Revenue Service announced the date in an August 7, 2026 release, IR-2026-89, which began putting Executive Order 14403 into effect. Until then, no official list of qualifying IRA providers exists, so a…
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Social Security generally pays children of a deceased worker 75% of the parent’s benefit, though a family maximum can lower every survivor’s check
When a parent who paid into Social Security dies, the agency can pay monthly checks to the worker’s children. Social Security says children generally get 75% of the parent’s benefit, but a cap called the family maximum can pull every survivor’s check down. The rule matters most to widowed parents and grandparents raising children, because…
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SSI stops for any month a recipient spends entirely outside the U.S., and after 30 days abroad a recipient must be back 30 straight days to qualify again
Supplemental Security Income pays only to people who are living in the United States, and a long trip abroad can stop the checks. The Social Security Administration’s rule is built around calendar months and a 30-day clock. A recipient who spends an entire month outside the country is ineligible for that month, and one who…
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Medicare’s Part B late penalty adds 10% to the monthly premium for each full 12 months a person could have had Part B but did not sign up
Medicare charges a permanent surcharge to people who skip Part B when they were first able to have it. The rule is simple and the math adds up fast: an extra 10% on the monthly premium for each full 12 months a person could have had Part B but did not sign up. With Medicare…
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Social Security can waive repayment of an overpayment for beneficiaries who did not cause it and cannot afford to pay it back, using Form SSA-632
An overpayment letter from Social Security does not always end with a repayment. A beneficiary who agrees the money was overpaid, did not cause the mistake and cannot afford to repay it can ask the agency to waive the debt on Form SSA-632. Social Security says it will stop recovering the overpayment until it decides…
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Humana Basic Rx drug plan members in 28 states who paid no premium in 2026 and get no Extra Help face 2027 premium increases of $6.30 to $30.60 a month if they keep the plan, an analysis of CMS data finds
Medicare members who pay nothing for a Humana Basic Rx drug plan this year will pay something in 2027 if they stay put. A KFF analysis of the 2026 and 2027 Medicare plan landscape files from CMS finds that Humana Basic Rx enrollees in 28 states face increases of $6.30 to $30.60 a month. The…
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Social Security lets a divorced spouse married at least 10 years collect up to half of an ex’s full benefit, and the ex’s own check does not shrink
A person who was married for at least 10 years and later divorced can collect Social Security on a former spouse’s earnings record, and the former spouse’s own monthly check does not go down because of it. Social Security spells out both points in its publication for divorced spouses. The rule matters most to people…
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Food stamp shoppers in Ohio cannot buy sugar-sweetened drinks or any fountain drinks starting April 1, 2027
Ohio food stamp shoppers will not be able to use their benefits on sugar-sweetened drinks or on any fountain drinks beginning April 1, 2027, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of state restriction waivers. The list was updated October 13, 2026. That is six months later than the date Ohio first had in…