Taxes, Social Security & retirement
Lawrence Strauss covers taxes, Social Security, and retirement for The Money Front. He follows the deadlines, benefit rules, and IRS changes most likely to affect what older Americans keep, and explains each one in plain, sourced language.
Latest from this writer
Dental, Vision, Hearing: What Medicare Leaves Out
Original Medicare skips most dental care, eyeglasses, and hearing aids. What the exceptions are and the realistic options for filling the gaps.
What Actually Puts a Tax Return on the Audit Pile
IRS audits are rare and mostly done by mail. How returns really get selected, what a DIF score is, and the difference…
Romance Scams: The Money Request That Ends the Story
Romance scams follow one script, and it always ends with a money request. What FTC data shows, the warning signs, and what…
A Tax Extension Buys Time to File, Not Time to Pay
Filing Form 4868 moved your deadline to October 15, but the IRS has been charging interest on any unpaid tax since April.…
The Roth IRA Five-Year Rules, Untangled
Roth IRAs have two different five-year clocks, one for earnings and one for conversions. How each works, when they start, and the…
Data Brokers Sell Your Profile: Where to Opt Out
Data brokers compile and sell profiles on nearly every American. The opt-outs that actually work, from prescreened offers to California’s new DROP…
The American Opportunity Credit: College Help Worth $2,500
The American Opportunity Tax Credit is worth up to $2,500 per student, and part of it is refundable. Who qualifies, what counts,…
IRMAA Explained: The Medicare Surcharge on Higher Incomes
Medicare’s IRMAA surcharge adds $81.20 to $487 a month to Part B in 2026. The income brackets, the two-year lookback, and how…
Buying a Used Car? Run the Recall Check First
NHTSA’s free VIN lookup shows in about a minute whether a used car has an unrepaired safety recall. How to run it,…
If Your Pension Plan Fails, the PBGC Steps In
A federal insurer backs most private pensions. What the PBGC guarantees in 2026, the limits on that promise, and what happens when…
How Long to Keep Tax Records, by the IRS Clock
Three years is the baseline for keeping tax records, but six, seven and forever all apply in specific cases. The IRS retention…
Tech Support Pop-Ups: The Script Scammers Follow
That frozen screen with a security alert and a phone number follows a script. The stages of the tech support scam, and…