MA  plans in several areas are being shut down for 2027.  The choices seniors have is declining as insurance companies realize the profits are not there.
If your Medicare Advantage plan closes or terminates its contract, you get federal guaranteed-issue rights to buy a Medigap policy without health screening or denial for pre-existing conditions. 

You must apply within a strict 63-day window starting from the date your plan coverage ends. Keep Your Notice: You will need the formal termination or non-renewal notice from your Part C plan as proof when submitting your Medigap application so the insurer knows not to put you through medical underwriting.

Be careful out there. Index composition is a key to getting consistency in your investment outcomes. Vanguard vs iShares vs State Street vs etc. As Jason Zweig writes in the Wall Street Journal, it all depends on the composition of the index.
 
https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/how-a-few-hot-stocks-can-make-twin-funds-act-like-strangers-0ef7c52b?st=6mxLt3&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
 

With all that’s going on with SS (COLA, taxation, potential cuts) and some changes certain in the next six years, is it time to rethink the income replacement percentage you shoot for in retirement?
I won’t give my theory again, one or more of the Clements family will be upset with me😅
However, self preservation, a hedge against longevity, hence inflation and peace of mind still tells me that a goal of replacing 60, 70 or 80% of pre retirement income is not sufficient.

EVERY ARTICLE ABOUT Roth conversions says the same thing: pay the tax from taxable money, not from the IRA.
That is good advice if you have taxable money.
Plenty of retirees do not. Their savings sit almost entirely in a traditional IRA, built from years of 401(k) contributions and a rollover at retirement, with little brokerage money and no cash reserve worth naming.
For them, “pay from outside money” is not advice. It is a condition they do not meet.

AFTER YEARS OF heady gains in the stock market, many investors are facing the same question: To manage risk, they’d like to cut back on one or more of their holdings. But because of the potentially costly tax bill that might result, they aren’t sure exactly how to do that.
How can you square this circle?
One easy option would be to donate appreciated assets to charity. But that would make sense only if it aligns with your charitable goals and,

Looking back in the archives, I came across Jonathan’s No Regrets article. In it, he wrote “I’ve known enough bad times to have perspective”. I think there are both good and bad perspectives to be gleaned from such times. The important thing is to grab the good ones in order to move forward. For example, many HumbleDollar contributors write that they came from poor families, and from that experience, came the desire and drive to get more out of life.

Start with the world—and then subtract.
As I’ve mentioned in numerous articles, my favorite investment is Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (symbols: VT and VTWAX). It lets folks invest in every company of any significance from around the globe, with each stock’s weight determined by the company’s stock market value.
But while I think the fund is a great choice and, indeed, it’s been my core portfolio holding, I’m not saying folks should necessarily buy the fund.

I noticed a book excerpt in the Harvard Gazette yesterday (5 Aug 2026) that goes into some depth on a topic that is raised here on HD with some frequency, notably by R. D. Quinn, most recently with regard to the Social Security issue. The book in question is:
“Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth ― and What to Do About It” by Samuel Moyn, J.D. ’01, and published by Farrar,

A recent Barron’s article notes, “for most retirees, the greatest fear is not death—it is running out of money before they die.” As one survey they cite put it, “The prospect of running out of money in retirement is scarier to more people than death.” The same article described a new tool that promises to estimate more accurately how long we are likely to live. Life expectancy is one of the most important assumptions in any retirement plan because it answers a fundamental question: How long will my savings need to last?

Along with changes to the application of the COLA there is discussion about changing the way and amount of income taxes applied to SS benefits.
It’s quite complex, but here is a link to some alternatives from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. https://www.crfb.org/papers/new-approaches-social-security-benefit-taxation

Looking back, it’s remarkable how much of my life depended on one government issued card.
My twin brother Nick and I had no way of knowing that becoming permanent residents of the United States would eventually lead us to careers we never expected, a business we built together, financial independence and, ultimately, an early retirement. At the time, though, it just seemed like another piece of paperwork.
After spending much of our childhood in England and Bangladesh,

A retired actuary name Ken Steiner has a article today, 8/4/2026, titled Social Security’s Short-Term Crisis,  published on Advisor Perspectives.
I like Mr. Steiner’s thinking on breaking the funding or reduction of the future social security shortfall problem into short and long components.  His discussion of one alternative is a three-year COLA freeze starting around 2033. If you are part of the grandfathered group who is receiving a current social security benefit you may want to consider this possibility  in your planning.

Today I read the following article by the very respected Allan Roth:
https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2026/07/20/how-cfp-board-sold-public-profession
I have always regarded the CFP designation was the gold standard for advisors, and meant I could trust the advisor was looking out for my best interests. It appears this may no longer be the case.
About a year from now I will be looking for a new financial advisor as we analyze our overall financial situation once we both claim Social Security,

Long-time Lurker who read Johnathan’s WSJ columns for decades and had several delightful conversation with him.
 
I thought I would share “Yet-Another Social Security Spreadsheet Analysis on what Age to Start taking Benefits” as I would appreciate (candid) commentary on how I can improve this from the financial wizards at Humble Dollar.
 
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

WHEN MY HUSBAND and I moved into a continuing care retirement community, we were both in our late 70s, healthy, active, and living independently. We had been considering such a move for several years. Still, friends sometimes wondered why we would move before we needed care.
That was precisely the point.
We wanted to decide while the choice was ours—while we had the energy to explore alternatives, review the finances, and talk honestly about what each of us wanted.