More than 5.3 million Californians collect a Social Security retirement benefit, according to the Social Security Administration’s state count. California never taxes a dollar of it. These are the deductions that shrink a California retiree’s first Social Security check. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or Medicare advice. Withholding rules, premiums, and dollar…
Census figures put more than one in five South Carolina residents at 65 or older. A new federal deduction worth up to $6,000 landed in front of all of them this tax filing season. But the rules underneath that number don’t work the way many retirees assume, and a wrong guess can cost all of…
Nine in 10 adults between 50 and 64 own a smartphone nationwide, the Pew Research Center found. Many new phones arrive with dozens of settings already switched on. These are the settings many Ohioans over 50 never think to check, already flipped on before they even open the box. 1. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Scanning Android…
Would you agree to a funeral home’s bill before you’ve seen a single price on it? Many South Carolina families do. The National Funeral Directors Association’s most recent survey put the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300. These are the fees South Carolina families sign off on before anyone…
More than 2.3 million people in North Carolina have Medicare, and a wave of official mail goes out to nearly every one of them in September. Insurance companies flood the same mailboxes with plan brochures that same month. The notices that matter blend right in. That’s the trap. These are the pieces of Medicare mail…
There’s something strange about walking past a building you remember as one store and seeing a completely different name on the front. That’s what happened with several beloved Tennessee retailers. Some went under in bankruptcy, while others were bought out and renamed even though the stores themselves survived. Here are some of the stores Tennesseans…
What happens if you miss Medicare open enrollment depends on exactly which window slipped by. The Initial Enrollment Period carries the harshest consequence: Without employer coverage, Medicare adds a permanent 10% surcharge to the Part B premium for every full year someone waited. The fall Annual Enrollment Period works differently: No penalty at all, just…
Once upon a time, Floridians could do their grocery shopping and banking without leaving Publix. Barnett Bank installed teller windows inside Florida Publix stores in the mid-1990s. That window is gone now. Publix has let several things like that slip away over the years, and Floridians still notice every one of them. 1. Dressed Cashiers…
Getting power of attorney for an aging parent in Ohio means signing two separate documents, not one: A financial power of attorney (POA) and a health care POA. Skip either one, and Ohio’s fallback is a guardianship case that can run $1,500 to $3,500 in attorney fees alone, on top of court costs. Ohio’s financial…
Nearly one in five South Carolina residents is 65 or older. Many of them didn’t get there without a garage full of stuff to deal with first. The following things people regret keeping past 60 usually aren’t sentimental. They’re just heavy, expensive, or both. Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Tax…
