The financial news that actually matters
Buyers showed new signs of life in the housing market as existing-home sales climbed 3.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,170,000, the fastest monthly pace since December. The National Association of Realtors released the data on June 9, confirming that rising inventory is starting to pull sidelined buyers back into…
Scammers posing as Medicare and Social Security representatives are calling Americans to demand payments and personal information, and federal data show the problem is getting worse fast. Reports of impersonation scams that steal $10,000 or more from older adults have risen more than four-fold, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The timing is not random:…
Federal student loan borrowers still enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE repayment plan face a jarring financial reset. Starting July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education will begin sending servicer notices to SAVE borrowers, triggering a 90-day window to pick a replacement plan. Those who do nothing will be automatically placed into the Standard Repayment…
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries will pay $202.90 a month for Part B coverage in 2026, a jump of $17.90 from the $185.00 standard premium set for 2025. For individuals earning above $109,000, the bill gets steeper: federal rules add an income-related surcharge on top of that base rate. The increase hits as retirees on fixed…
Millions of Americans age 65 and older filing their 2025 federal tax returns can subtract an extra $6,000 from taxable income, or $12,000 when both spouses on a joint return qualify. The deduction took effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, and runs through 2028. It arrives on a brand-new IRS form, Schedule…
Married couples with a single income can each fund a full IRA for tax year 2026, putting away up to $7,500 per spouse even if one partner earned nothing during the year. The IRS confirmed the $7,500 annual IRA contribution limit for 2026, a $500 increase over the $7,000 cap that applied for 2025. For…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement benefits now have one fewer year before the program’s dedicated trust fund is projected to be exhausted. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, known as OASI, is expected to be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, according to the annual Trustees Report released…
Homebuyers weighing a shorter loan term now face a clear rate gap: the average 15-year fixed mortgage sits at 5.84%, a full 68 basis points below the 30-year fixed rate of 6.52%, according to the latest Freddie Mac weekly survey. That spread creates a concrete cost tradeoff, with higher monthly payments on the shorter loan…
Homeowners in Texas, California, New York City, Florida, and Washington state can challenge the assessed value of their property by filing a single standardized form with the local review authority. Each jurisdiction prescribes its own document, but the process follows the same basic pattern: download or request the form, fill it out, and submit it…
Millions of Medicare Advantage enrollees are set to pay less each month starting in 2026. The average monthly premium across all Medicare Advantage plans is estimated to fall from $16.40 in 2025 to $14.00 in 2026, a drop of nearly 15 percent, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That decline arrives alongside…