David Keller, Author at The Financial Wire

The sign for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation mounted on the exterior wall of a building. 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.

Both FDIC and NCUA cap deposit insurance at $250,000 per person per bank — and naming a second owner on a joint account doubles the coverage to $500,000 with no extra paperwork

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago012 mins

A married couple keeps $400,000 in a savings account at a single bank, titled in one spouse’s name only. If that bank fails tomorrow, federal deposit insurance covers $250,000. The remaining $150,000 is exposed. Had both spouses been listed as co-owners on the same account, the entire $400,000 would have been insured. No second bank,…

The 30-year mortgage just held at 6.47% heading into June — pricing the typical median-home buyer out by about $1,150 a month compared with January’s 5.75% rate floor

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago014 mins

Five months ago, a buyer shopping for a median-priced U.S. home could lock in a 30-year fixed mortgage near 5.75 percent, a level that, if reached, would represent the lowest reading on the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey since late 2024. (Freddie Mac’s PMMS showed rates in the 6.6 to 6.9 percent range through…

a large cargo ship in the middle of the ocean

The New York Fed just confirmed that U.S. households absorb nearly 90% of the tariff bill — roughly $1,300 a year per family, even after two Supreme Court defeats struck down the original orders

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago016 mins

A family of four in Columbus, Ohio, is still paying roughly $1,300 more per year on imported goods because of tariffs that the Supreme Court has since declared illegal. That figure comes from applying the pass-through rate established by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the dollar volume of duties collected…

The Saver’s Match replaces the Saver’s Credit starting in 2027 — putting up to $1,000 a year directly into workers’ IRAs instead of a tax refund they often couldn’t use

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago018 mins

A cashier earning $28,000 a year puts $2,000 into an IRA. She files her taxes, qualifies for the Saver’s Credit, and receives nothing. Her federal income tax liability was already wiped out by the standard deduction and the Earned Income Tax Credit, so a nonrefundable credit has no remaining value to deliver. That outcome is…

A 65-year-old couple will spend an average $373,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs over their retirement — and original Medicare doesn’t cover most long-term care or routine dental

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago015 mins

When Linda and Jim Kowalski retired in 2022, they figured Medicare would handle the heavy lifting on medical bills. Within two years, Jim needed daily help bathing and dressing after a stroke, and Linda learned that the three crowns her dentist recommended would run more than $4,500 out of pocket. Original Medicare covered neither. Their…

Contented senior african american woman hugging military son outside house. family, bonding and patriotism, unaltered

Wartime veterans and their surviving spouses can claim up to $2,873 a month in VA Aid and Attendance pension — yet most eligible families never apply

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago018 mins

A wartime veteran who needs help getting dressed in the morning, or a surviving spouse who can no longer bathe safely without assistance, may be entitled to a tax-free monthly check from the Department of Veterans Affairs worth more than many households spend on rent. The benefit is called Aid and Attendance, it has been…

The IRS has reissued tens of thousands of stolen paper refund checks this filing season — filers without direct deposit wait 12 weeks after a theft for a replacement

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago012 mins

A tax refund of $3,000 can cover two months of rent, a semester of child care, or a car repair that keeps someone employed. For the tens of thousands of filers whose paper refund checks are stolen from mailboxes every filing season, that money doesn’t just vanish once. It vanishes twice: first when a thief…

Person suffering from ptsd at psychologist

Veterans filing PACT Act claims now wait an average 11 months for a decision — and the VA’s new medication-rating rule can shrink awards before the first check arrives

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

Nearly four years after Congress passed the PACT Act with bipartisan fanfare, veterans who filed toxic-exposure claims under the law are running into a painful contradiction: the statute that was supposed to fast-track their benefits has funneled them into one of the slowest processing pipelines at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Multiple veteran service organizations,…

Group of diverse university students in a bright lecture hall, studying language education.

Student loan borrowers have 35 days to leave the SAVE plan — miss July 1 and the government auto-enrolls you in Standard Repayment by September

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

The clock is ticking for roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers still tied to the SAVE repayment plan. Starting July 1, 2026, loan servicers will begin mailing transition notices that give each borrower 90 days to pick a new repayment plan. Anyone who doesn’t respond will be automatically placed into Standard Repayment or a…

Senior caucasian couple spending time at home together, sitting in kitchen, the man looking at paperwork and the woman holding a cup. isolating during coronavirus covid 19 quarantine lockdown.

Foreclosure or eviction is now the No. 1 reason workers drain retirement savings early — a record 6% of Vanguard’s 401(k) participants tapped hardship withdrawals in 2025

David Keller4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

For years, the most common reason a worker cracked open a 401(k) under hardship rules was a medical bill. That is no longer the case. Preventing a foreclosure or eviction has become the top qualifying emergency cited by participants in Vanguard’s retirement plans, according to the firm’s 2025 How America Saves report, which tracks roughly…

David Keller

Both FDIC and NCUA cap deposit insurance at $250,000 per person per bank — and naming a second owner on a joint account doubles the coverage to $500,000 with no extra paperwork

The 30-year mortgage just held at 6.47% heading into June — pricing the typical median-home buyer out by about $1,150 a month compared with January’s 5.75% rate floor

The New York Fed just confirmed that U.S. households absorb nearly 90% of the tariff bill — roughly $1,300 a year per family, even after two Supreme Court defeats struck down the original orders

The Saver’s Match replaces the Saver’s Credit starting in 2027 — putting up to $1,000 a year directly into workers’ IRAs instead of a tax refund they often couldn’t use

A 65-year-old couple will spend an average $373,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs over their retirement — and original Medicare doesn’t cover most long-term care or routine dental

Wartime veterans and their surviving spouses can claim up to $2,873 a month in VA Aid and Attendance pension — yet most eligible families never apply

The IRS has reissued tens of thousands of stolen paper refund checks this filing season — filers without direct deposit wait 12 weeks after a theft for a replacement

Veterans filing PACT Act claims now wait an average 11 months for a decision — and the VA’s new medication-rating rule can shrink awards before the first check arrives

Student loan borrowers have 35 days to leave the SAVE plan — miss July 1 and the government auto-enrolls you in Standard Repayment by September

Foreclosure or eviction is now the No. 1 reason workers drain retirement savings early — a record 6% of Vanguard’s 401(k) participants tapped hardship withdrawals in 2025

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