A Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment next year may be higher than the 2.8% benefit increase beneficiaries saw in 2026, according to the latest projections. That might lead some older adults to consider claiming Social Security retirement benefits now — to ensure they benefit from that…
Nicolasmccomber | E+ | Getty Images For consumers, the actual amount paid at the cash register increasingly depends on the payment type used. Given the end of penny production last year by the U.S. Mint, many merchants have begun rounding cash payments up or down to the nearest nickel. States have passed laws governing how…
The K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a widening, persistent economic divide: higher-income Americans pulling further ahead — in wealth, spending, and financial security — while many lower-income households struggle to keep up. Now, that shape may be shifting. “I got sick of hearing about this K-shaped economy,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk…
Millions of people roll money from a workplace retirement plan to an individual retirement account each year — and mistakes can prove both costly and irreversible. Federal law allows for tax-free “rollovers” at various trigger points, such as a job change or upon retirement. Rollovers have gotten more common as baby boomers hurtle into their…
Traders celebrating at the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2026, as the S&P 500 closed above the 7,000 level for the first time. NYSE Equal-weight ETFs are having a moment. The investing approach isn’t new, but it has moved into the spotlight this year as many of the large-cap stocks that have driven…
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 05, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images Low-cost S&P 500 funds are the foundation of many portfolios, and holding a portfolio with a 90/10 split between the index and short-term…
Suze Orman speaks during AOL’s Build Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York. Jenny Anderson | WireImage | Getty Images If you want to shore up your finances, experts generally agree on a best first step — building an emergency savings fund. Yet data consistently shows setting aside a meaningful amount of cash to…
Students walk on campus at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., Nov. 19, 2025. Reba Saldanha | Reuters Amid ongoing disputes over immigration policies and international student visas, fewer new students from overseas chose to attend U.S. colleges last year, and enrollment could drop even further in the year ahead, new data shows. In the…
Yuliya Taba | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education is reevaluating account histories for borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness — in some cases, reducing the number of qualifying payments and pushing those individuals further away from debt cancellation. PSLF, which was created in 2007, wipes away the federal student debt of…
The U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed guidance on eligible Trump Account investments Thursday, establishing a framework for what products could qualify as additional investment options going forward. The new tax-deferred investing accounts for children, also known as 530A accounts, are designed to jump-start long-term savings. Under the proposed guidance, an eligible index must be designed primarily to…