Carl Smith | Fstop | Getty Images Social Security benefits are typically adjusted every year to keep up with rising prices. Social Security beneficiaries saw record-high COLAs in 2022 and 2023, when the annual increases climbed to 5.9% and 8.7%, respectively. Yet as the pace of inflation subsided, the size of the annual COLA increase…
Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images At the start of 2025, during President Joe Biden’s final weeks in office, lawmakers pushed forward with last-minute major legislation that provides Social Security benefit increases to certain public pensioners. The Social Security Fairness Act was passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate,…
People line up outside the Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images Social Security, the federal social insurance program that millions of Americans rely on for income, faces a shortfall in funding it counts on from its trust funds. But that doesn’t mean the program is going bankrupt or will be entirely unable…
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images As Americans prepare for the start of tax season next week, several new tax breaks are on the table as part of President Donald Trump’s “big…
Twenty47studio | Moment | Getty Images Tax changes for 2026 offer new ways for individuals ages 65 and over to plan financially. That is largely due to a new temporary senior “bonus” or deduction of up to $6,000 per qualifying individual that was enacted when President Donald Trump signed the “big beautiful bill” package into…
Ascent/ Pks Media Inc. | Photodisc | Getty Images Many Social Security beneficiaries will soon receive their first benefit checks for 2026. Jan. 14 marks the earliest date beneficiaries can receive January payments, depending on the Social Security Administration’s schedule based on date of birth. Those checks will include a 2.8% benefit boost, thanks to…
Alessandro Biascioli | Istock | Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries will soon receive statements showing how much of their total benefits received in 2025 may be subject to federal taxes. Changes enacted by Congress this year mean there’s more reason to pay attention to those tax documents. The forms, known as the SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S,…
Richard Stephen | Istock | Getty Images Even before they start receiving Social Security checks, millions of Americans rely on the Social Security Administration for information on when to claim retirement benefits and for help if their Social Security number has been compromised. This week, the House of Representatives passed several bills aimed at improving…
Ascentxmedia | E+ | Getty Images About 75 million Americans will see a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment to their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits in 2026. The increase is expected to add $56 per month on average to Social Security retirement benefits, according to the Social Security Administration. But other changes — particularly a…
Many baby boomers aren’t on track to retire with enough money. They have some options to adjust their trajectory, researchers said, but these come with trade-offs. Just 40% of workers who are age 61 to 65 — the youngest members of the boomer cohort — are financially on track for retirement, according to recent research…
