Personal finance

Willie B. Thomas/Hinterhouse Productions | Getty Images When it comes to retirement security for women, marriage may not give them the leg up it once did. Women who have spent the majority of their adult life single — whether due to divorce or never marrying — are now generally as well prepared for retirement as

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The fate of the Biden administration’s sweeping plan to cancel $400 billion in student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans may hinge on the newest conservative member of the Supreme Court: Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett was the conservative justice who

During the coronavirus pandemic, child reading and math competency rates plummeted across the country. The National Assessment of Educational Progress found two decades of improvements were wiped away. The declines were widespread, but were most pronounced among the students who had already been struggling well before 2020. In a race to overcome the Covid-19 learning

In this article FIS Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT In the end, 2022 was not kind to retirement savers. Average 401(k) balances plunged 23% over the course of the year to $103,900, according to a report by Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) plans. Individual retirement account average balances sank 20% year

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images The April 18 federal tax deadline is only six weeks away, and if you haven’t filed yet, you may qualify for free preparation. While many prefer a paid preparer, free filing options may be worth exploring for simple returns, such as filings with only a couple of W-2 forms,

Demonstrators in favor of canceling student debt gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images As the Supreme Court deliberates whether or not to allow the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan to go through, tens of millions of Americans are stuck in an

Drakula & Co. | Moment | Getty Images After a year of soaring prices, the IRS made annual inflation adjustments for dozens of tax provisions, including the federal income tax brackets for 2023, which may affect next year’s taxes, experts say. While the rates didn’t change, the brackets show the federal income taxes you’ll owe

Adamkaz | E+ | Getty Images Many Americans claim Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest age possible but see their monthly benefit checks reduced for life for doing so. Now, a bipartisan group of senators is proposing two changes to help encourage retirees to wait. The lawmakers include Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Chris Coons,

Getty Images Roughly six weeks into the tax filing season, IRS improvements are underway with more staffing and technology upgrades as the agency begins deploying its nearly $80 billion in funding.  While processing may be faster this year, experts say there are some key things to know before filing your return. “Every tax season has

Pascal Broze | Onoky | Getty Images Lawmakers are hashing out plans to shore up Social Security’s ailing trust funds, and the possible changes will affect the benefits Americans receive. Broadly, that comes down to two key changes: raising the retirement age and increasing the amount of annual wages subject to the Social Security payroll

A sign calling for student loan debt relief is seen in front of the Supreme Court as the justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments in two cases involving President Joe Biden’s bid to reinstate his plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2023.  Nathan Howard | Reuters

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images The pandemic-era trend of working from home remains a key feature of the U.S. job market — and is likely to stay entrenched as a permanent perk for a broad swath of the American workforce, according to labor economists. The pre-pandemic baseline of going into an office five

Joos Mind | Photodisc | Getty Images Workers who use health care flexible spending accounts likely have at least one important deadline approaching. FSAs, as they’re called, let you stash away pre-tax money to cover your health care expenses (or, separately, dependent-care expenses). Last year, individuals could have contributed as much as $2,850 to their

momcilog | E+ | Getty Images For the most part, Medicare beneficiaries in Advantage Plans are happy with their coverage, a new study suggests. Of the more than 2,250 enrollees surveyed for the report from eHealth, 51% are “very satisfied” and 38% are “satisfied.” However, if you’re among those who are not thrilled about your

Justices on the bench hearing arguments about the student loan forgiveness program. Source: Bill Hennessy There were many tense moments Tuesday as the nine Supreme Court justices grilled the plaintiffs challenging the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and the government attorney defending the policy. The Supreme Court agreed to hear two challenges against President

In this article SNAP Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT People shop at a 99 Cents store in Santa Monica, California, on Sept. 13, 2022. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images Food stamp recipients may be in for a shock as temporary pandemic enhancements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expire, leading the average person

Ben Kirkhoff, a high school senior at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, knows that a four-year college degree isn’t for him. Even though his parents have a college savings account for him, he said money is still a factor. “I don’t want to put myself and my family in a lot of debt.” Instead, Kirkhoff,

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar Artist: Bill Hennessey The government’s top Supreme Court lawyer may have saved President Joe Biden‘s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan from what experts considered all but certain defeat. Experts lobbed praise on Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the lawyer who represented the Biden administration in front of the nine justices

Goc | Istock | Getty Images Scammers are making more money per episode of fraud, new government data suggests. While the number of fraud reports recorded through the Federal Trade Commission’s database fell to 2.4 million in 2022 from 2.9 million, the aggregate loss from those instances reached nearly $8.8 billion. That’s up 44% from

Despite higher prices, consumers are still spending, although not as much as they were a year ago, which is giving their budgets some breathing room. As of January, 60% of all U.S. adults, including 45% of high-income earners, were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report. That’s down from 64% a year earlier,