Category: Retirement & Benefits
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Replacing a Social Security Card (and When You Don’t Need To)
A replacement Social Security card is free and often available online. But you rarely need the paper card at all. The rules, the limits, and the scams to skip.
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Medicare’s Fall Enrollment: The Dates Ahead and What You Can Change
Medicare open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. What you can change, what arrives in the mail this fall, and how to prepare over the summer.
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The Extra Help Program: Prescription Costs for Under $12
Medicare’s Extra Help caps 2026 prescription copays at $5.10 for generics and $12.65 for brand names, with no premium or deductible. Who qualifies and how to apply.
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Social Security’s Trust Fund: What This Year’s Trustees Report Says
The 2026 Trustees Report keeps the combined depletion date at 2034, with 83 percent of benefits payable. What the numbers mean for current and future retirees.
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SNAP for Seniors: Who Qualifies and Why So Few Apply
Only about half of eligible seniors are enrolled in SNAP. The special rules for people 60 and older make qualifying easier than most retirees assume.
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Medicare Part B in 2026: What You Pay and Who Pays More
The standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026. Here are the deductible, the income brackets that raise the bill, and how to appeal.
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What Happens to Your 401(k) When You Change Jobs
Leave it, roll it, or cash it out: the rules for a 401(k) after a job change, the $7,000 force-out threshold, the 60-day trap, and how to find lost accounts.
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Roth IRA Basics: Who Qualifies and How to Start
The 2026 Roth IRA limit is $7,500, or $8,600 at 50-plus, with income phase-outs starting at $153,000 single. Who qualifies and how to open one.
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What the 2026 COLA Did to the Average Social Security Check
The 2.8% COLA lifted the average retired worker’s check $56 to $2,071 in January. What each benefit type got, and what Medicare took back first.
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SSI vs. SSDI: Two Programs People Confuse Constantly
SSI and SSDI sound alike but work very differently. One is earned through work credits, the other is needs-based. Here are the 2026 numbers for both.