Personal Finance

A Social Security Administration office in Sebring, Florida. Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images Applying for Social Security benefits can be a complicated process. Now President Joe Biden wants to make it easier. This week, the president signed an executive order to streamline processes for Americans to apply for services and benefits

In this article COLM CLBK The days of rock-bottom rates are nearly over. The central bank will aggressively unwind last year’s bond buying sooner than originally planned after recent reports on inflation continued to show a sharp rise in prices. While the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that interest rates will stay near zero for now,

ljubaphoto | E+ | Getty Images The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated many differences between haves and have-nots in the U.S. Now, a new survey shows that it also made the savings gap more pronounced between those groups. Of those with incomes less than $50,000, 36% say they now have less savings than before the pandemic, versus

Karen Tongson Courtesy: Karen Tongson Karen Tongson never imagined a moment when she wouldn’t be paying back her student loans. As a professor at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles resident qualified for the public service loan forgiveness program but had heard too many stories of borrowers not getting the government’s promise of

Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty Images News that inflation rose to a historic high in November probably comes as no surprise to retirees. But they may be in for another shock when they receive their monthly Social Security checks in January. The Social Security Administration announced in October that beneficiaries will get

XiFotos | E+ | Getty Images Inflation is not just a day-to-day worry for Americans. It is now also their top risk for retirement. A survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America finds that 25% of Americans see rising inflation as the single greatest risk to their retirement plans. That’s up from 8%

MBPROJEKT_Maciej_Bledowski | iStock | Getty Images For retirees searching for investment income and protection from inflation, one solution may be real estate investment trusts. REITs, as they’re called, are companies that own and/or operate properties like office buildings, shopping malls, apartment complexes and warehouses. While they do come with more risk than some other income-producing

The amount of student loan debt in the United States is $1.8 trillion dollars — and counting. The price to get an education has never been more expensive. The student loan crisis has affected a lot of students but statistics show that it disproportionately affects the Latinx community. Around 72% of Latinx students take out

Dana Neely | Taxi | Getty Images Medicare beneficiaries may already be aware that the big jump in their 2022 Part B premiums is partly due to the cost of a single drug. Yet why all enrollees are picking up the tab for Aduhelm — a controversial new medicine designed to slow cognitive decline with

Throughout our lives as students, we work hard to get a good education that will lead us to a solid job and fruitful career. But we aren’t prepared for what happens after graduation — responsibilities such as finding a place to live, getting that first job and paying rent and other bills. You can’t just

Sporrer/Rupp | Image Source | Getty Images How much do you think you’ll need to save for retirement? If you’re in one of these major cities, the answer will be at least $1 million to live an average lifestyle, according to MagnifyMoney. To find the amount needed to retire in each city, analysts used data

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Inflation grew at its fastest clip in almost four decades last month — and rising costs are hitting the biggest areas of household budgets. Inflation measures changes in the price consumers pay for goods and services. It jumped 6.8% in the year through November 2021, the largest annual spike

RyanJLane | E+ | Getty Images With a rising cost of living, investors may be eyeing I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, paying a 7.12% annual rate through next April.  While I bonds have relatively low purchase limits, couples may leverage a year-end strategy to increase their holdings.    Annual inflation rose by 6.8% in

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., speaks at a news conference announcing the State and Local Taxes (SALT) Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol on April 15, 2021. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images House Democrats’ $1.75 trillion spending package boosts the limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, to $80,000

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., outside the Senate Chambers of the Capitol on Dec. 7, 2021. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images The Senate will soon consider whether to implement a plan for a federal paid family and medical leave as part of the Build Back Better bill. Advocates are campaigning

Financial advisors and their clients have waited for tax hikes as Congress hammered out provisions for the Build Back Better Act. But the House bill passed in November didn’t include the reforms many expected. “The biggest takeaway for Build Back Better is the lack of change,” said Jeffrey Levine, a certified financial planner and CPA

Jamie Grill | The Image Bank | Getty Images Millennials stand to inherit a whopping $68 trillion from the baby boom generation. But they aren’t necessarily taking cues from their parents on how to manage their money. The proliferation of online money management platforms has given millennials more options than their parents once had. Many

Jose Luis Pelaez | Iconica | Getty Images As Congress wrestles over changes to the $10,000 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, many business owners already qualify for a workaround. Enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the SALT cap has been a pain point

Steven Heap / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images It has been 39 years since Congress has taken action to change Social Security. Some House Democrats are hoping to change that with a bill to improve benefits that has been revamped and reintroduced in Congress. On Tuesday, a House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee

courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images Covid relief programs allowed millions of struggling Americans to pause mortgage payments, and many of those bailouts are now expiring, putting cash-strapped borrowers at risk. “The maximum forbearance term was 18 months for most programs,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “And many borrowers are

Betsie Van Der Meer | Getty Images Struggling to find last-minute holiday gifts that won’t be delayed by supply chain issues? One simple way to help children or relatives start investing is to gift them stocks or other financial assets. “If you’re looking at it as a Christmas gift or a holiday gift for a

Gen Z grew up on social media — we’ve been building our list of friends and followers since we were young. So, for college students who want to try their hand at launching a business, they have a ready-made customer base and marketing platform at their fingertips. Social media platforms recognize that potential and have

Scarlet Poulet (right), pictured with wife Nadine Kujawa, before Poulet was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. Courtesy: Scarlet Poulet Medicare’s rules for signing up have put 68-year-old Scarlet Poulet in an unenviable situation. The New Orleans resident, who is recovering from cancer, has been enrolled in Medicare Part A (hospital coverage) since 2018 when she

Did your “Great Resignation” lead you to start a business or become your own boss this year? You may be able to write off the cost of your home office come tax time. “Knowing that you’re not a 9-to-5 [worker] anymore, you can now take advantage of the home-office deduction,” said Sheneya Wilson, CPA and

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images Americans opened their hearts and wallets for another record-breaking Giving Tuesday. It’s estimated that 35 million U.S. adults participated in 2021, with total gifts of $2.7 billion, a 9% increase from 2020. While most aren’t shelling out for tax purposes, they may not know there’s a special write-off

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images Almost half of U.S. families with young children have faced a high risk of falling into poverty in the first six years of their children’s lives, according to new academic research. What put those families at risk? Insecure or precarious parental work, according to a study from experts at

Joe Raedle | Getty Images The number of long-term unemployed fell by 136,000 in November, continuing a downward trend since early 2021 as the economy and labor market have rebounded. However, the decrease was the smallest since April, when long-term unemployment fell by 35,000 people. Long-term unemployment is a period of joblessness that lasts more

sturti | E+ | Getty Images As millions of Americans quit their jobs in favor of taking time off, finding a new job or even starting their own business, financial experts have a warning: Don’t lose track of valuable employer-sponsored retirement plans. Neglecting such a plan, which can hold thousands of dollars after just a

courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images With soaring home values, many sellers expect a sizable profit when listing their property. However, capital gains taxes may put a damper on their windfall.  Home sales profits are considered capital gains, taxed at federal rates of 0%, 15% or 20% in 2021, depending on income. The IRS offers

Christine Schneider | Cultura | Getty Images A proposal for federal paid family leave is at risk of ending up on the chopping block as Washington lawmakers work to finalize new social spending legislation. Cutting the plan out of the Build Back Better package could cripple Democrats’ chances in key Senate races next year, advocates