Category: Retirement Matters

By Joanne Bump The Future of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid – At the 2026 State of the Union address held on February 24, 2026, the federal administration reviewed its policies.  It mentioned that “We will always protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, …”  Most Americans were likely to have found this reassuring as they Read more

By Joanne Bump Most Significant Change in Social Security Administration (SSA) in Years. This change is momentous given the sheer size of the number of beneficiaries affected. According to Forbes, roughly 71 million people are expected to collect Social Security benefits in 2026, as reported by SSA. Starting March 7, 2026, your call to SSA Read more

By Joanne Bump Affordable Care Act (ACA) Premium Subsidies Expire – According to the Wall Street Journal, negotiations to renew the health care subsidies for the next two years have effectively stopped.  Americans are now facing higher insurance premiums, as these ACA subsidies expired on December 31, 2025.  Some 21.8 million ACA enrollees received premium Read more

By Joanne Bump Medicare Premium Increase Takes a Large Bite From the Social Security (SS) Benefits COLA–The official 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for SS benefits is up 2.8 percent.  However, the cost of Medicare premiums is up 11.6 percent, an increase of $21.54 monthly for a typical beneficiary.  So, the increased Medicare cost erases about Read more

By Joanne Bump 2026 Social Security (SS) Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) – The updated COLA was announced on October 24, with over a weekdelay due to the federal government shutdown.  The actual COLA provides a 2.8 percent increase beginning this January.  The estimate is based on inflation data, providing an average monthly increase of Read more

By Joanne Bump 2026 Social Security (SS) Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) — is projected at 2.7 percent by an early estimate from the Senior Citizens League. The estimate is based on inflation data and would provide an average monthly increase of about $54. This rise is in keeping with the 2.5 percent COLA provided Read more

By Joanne Bump Historic Rollback in Federal Health Insurance Funding — The administration supported significant cuts to health insurance to fund the renewal of the 2017 tax cuts for the super wealthy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is a federal budget reconciliation legislation that has the biggest rollback in federal support for health Read more

By Joanne Bump Federal Safety Net Cuts — The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was enacted on July 4, 2025.  This law will make the largest cuts in history to Medicaid.  Medicaid provides health insurance to one in five Americans, usually for low-income and disabled persons.  In addition, significant cuts were made to the Read more

By Joanne Bump The U.S. House passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” with many changes that impact retirees.  The bill is before the U.S. Senate but it’s losing the momentum to pass it by the July 4 deadline.  The bill includes language to raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, extending the federal government’s authority Read more

Medicaid and You Who Is Covered? – Many of usthink of Medicaid as the program that pays for the health care for low-income individuals.  It is the largest provider of health insurance in the U.S., covering one in five Americans and 2.6 million Michigan residents.  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a majority of Read more