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Yes — Social Security benefits remain potentially subject to federal income tax in 2026 under the existing “combined income” rules that can make up to 85% of benefits taxable, but a new enhanced senio...
Two big changes will shape 2026: a 2.8% Social Security cost‑of‑living adjustment and a higher Social Security taxable wage base — the amount of earnings subject to the 6.2% OASDI payroll tax rises to...
Congress did not universally end federal taxation of Social Security benefits for 2026 in the sources provided; existing IRS rules that make up to 50% or 85% of benefits taxable for many recipients re...
No federal law has changed the official name of "Social Security" to "Federal Benefit Payment"; longstanding government usage has described Social Security disbursements as "benefits" or "federal bene...
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) typically publishes official federal pay tables in December for the coming year; sources say OPM "usually publishes pay tables ... sometime in December" for 20...
Available reporting shows there are two different but related numbers to watch for 2026: the COLA for federal retirees (annuitants) — announced as 2.8% for CSRS and effectively 2.0% for many FERS annu...
The 2026 retiree COLA has been set at 2.8% for Social Security beneficiaries and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuitants, while Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees will recei...
Federal retirees and current federal employees should expect the official 2026 cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) for most federal retirement systems to be in the mid‑to‑high 2 percent range: several ou...
For 2026 Social Security payments, recipients may still owe federal income tax on a portion of their benefits depending on “combined income”: up to 85% of benefits can be taxed under current federal r...
The Social Security Administration set the 2026 federal COLA at 2.8% for Social Security and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities; Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuitants rec...
There is no single, authoritative federal “social security stimulus check” confirmed for December 2025 in the available reporting; however, beneficiaries of Social Security programs will see routine a...
The 2026 Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) monthly limits rose to $1,690 for non‑blind SSDI beneficiaries and $2,830 for statutorily blind beneficiaries; the Trial Work Period monthly threshold incre...
The 2025 tax legislation called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) did not repeal the statutory rules that determine when Social Security benefits are included in taxable income; instead it create...
The claim that "2 million illegals received Social Security cards" is misleading: government data show roughly 2.1 million Social Security numbers were issued to migrants in fiscal year 2024 under enu...
The claim that Social Security payments were recently renamed “Federal Benefit Payments” is misleading: Social Security disbursements have long been described as benefits and have not been reclassifie...
The Social Security taxable wage base for 2025 is $176,100; at the 6.2% employee rate that produces a maximum employee withholding of $10,918.20 (employers pay the same), so total possible withholding...
Claims that the Biden administration “gave Social Security numbers to illegals” conflate several facts: the Social Security Administration’s Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) issued millions of new SSNs ...
The federal Cost‑of‑Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security and SSI was 2.5% for 2025, and the Social Security Administration announced a 2.8% COLA for 2026 that will take effect in January 2026 ...
For 2026 the Social Security payroll tax applies to earnings up to a wage base of $184,500; the employee OASDI rate is 6.2% (combined OASDI+Medicare is 7.65%) . Whether and how much of a retiree’s Soc...
The Social Security Administration (SSA) bases IRMAA on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from two years before the premium year — for example, 2024 MAGI is used for 2026 IRMAA — and it recal...