seniors
Are you five years out from retirement?
How close are you to retirement? Are you planning to retire in the next five years? If so, you still have time to finalize your retirement plans. You may need to assess your financial situation, create a retirement budget, and,…
Will the 2026 COLA be accurate?
How the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits is calculated is not as straightforward as you may think. First, they only use the data from the third quarter of the year, specifically the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage…
Ask Rusty – Why Can’t I get my Social Security payment plus my Railroad pension from my Ex-spouse?
Dear Rusty: I have a question. I now get a Railroad Pension from my ex-husband. I did not know it was from the Social Security Administration. I want to collect my SS benefits and my Railroad pension. Can I do…
What Medicare does not cover
A recent survey conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 23 percent of adults under 65 and 45 percent of those aged 65 and older believed that Medicare would cover the cost of time in a nursing home or…
What happened to President Trump Eliminating Taxes on Social Security?
Following its passage in the Senate, H.R. 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”)provides a larger standard deduction for seniors 65 and older. According to a post on whitehouse.gov, it is estimated that the “bonus” deduction will result in 88%…
103,000 Medicare Beneficiaries are getting new Medicare numbers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have notified 103,000 Medicare beneficiaries that their personal information was used to create accounts on Medicare.gov. On May 2, 2025, the Medicare call center began receiving calls from beneficiaries who had received…
Determining the 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment
COLA is determined each year since 1975, when automatic COLA determination began. It is based on the third quarter of the current year compared to the prior year’s third quarter, July, August, and September. The government uses the Consumer Price…
Social Security Full Retirement Age May Be Raised Again
Once again, the lawmakers must make changes to Social Security to prevent benefit cuts. Amongst the changes being considered is raising the full retirement age (FRA). It could affect the amount of your monthly payment and make you work longer.…
July 2025 Social Security Payment Schedule
It’s time for the July 2025 payments to be released. The payments for SSI will be paid on the first of July, and payments that are a combination of SSI and SSDI will be paid on the third of July.…
Medicaid enrollees who are ages 50 and older
On May 22, the House passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes significant changes to the Medicaid program designed to reduce federal spending and enrollment. On June 16, the Senate Finance Committee released language that could result in more substantial…