David Keller, Author at The Financial Wire

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The 2027 Social Security COLA forecast has split the experts — one projects 3.9%, the other 4.2%, as gas-driven inflation reshapes next year’s raise

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago015 mins

Somewhere between $81 and $87 a month. That’s the gap separating two early forecasts for the 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Based on the current average retired-worker benefit of about $2,081 per month, 3.9 percent yields roughly $81 per month and 4.2 percent yields roughly $87 per month. The variable driving the disagreement is one…

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A rival plan to save Social Security would tax every dollar earned above $250,000 — closing most of the shortfall without cutting a single check

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago014 mins

A rival plan to save Social Security would tax every dollar earned above $250,000 – closing most of the shortfall without cutting a single check Social Security’s clock is ticking. The program’s combined trust funds are on track to run dry by 2035, according to the 2024 Trustees Report, the most recent available projection as…

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A new SECURE 2.0 loophole lets anyone under 59½ pull $2,500 a year from a 401(k) penalty-free — to pay long-term care insurance premiums

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago014 mins

A 52-year-old worker paying $1,800 a year for long-term care insurance just got a new way to cover that bill: pull the money straight from a 401(k), skip the usual 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty, and keep the policy in force. The catch is that the annual limit is $2,500, the withdrawal is still taxed as…

Student loan borrowers have 42 days to pick a new repayment plan — miss July 1 and you’re auto-enrolled in the most expensive option

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago015 mins

If you are one of the roughly 8 million borrowers still enrolled in the federal SAVE repayment plan, according to the U.S. Department of Education, a clock is already ticking. On July 1, loan servicers will begin sending notices that the program is officially dead and that every SAVE enrollee must choose a replacement plan….

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Medicare’s Part B premium is projected to hit $218.60 in 2027 — clawing back nearly a third of next year’s Social Security raise before checks arrive

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago011 mins

For the average retired worker, the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment adds roughly $56 a month to their check. That sounds like breathing room until you look at what Medicare is expected to take back. The 2025 Medicare Trustees Report projects the standard Part B premium will rise to $218.60 per month in 2027, a…

G. Edward Johnson - CC BY 4.0/Wiki Commons

The FDIC’s new “debanking” rule takes effect in 20 days — after June 9, banks can no longer close your account over your political views

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago018 mins

A gun shop owner who loses his business checking account. A religious nonprofit that gets a terse closure letter with no explanation. A crypto startup that watches three banking partners walk away in a single quarter. For years, these stories have circulated through industries that sit on the political margins of American finance, always with…

Social Security hits insolvency in 2032 with an automatic 24% benefit cut — and the leading fix would cap couples at $100,000 a year

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago013 mins

Right now, a married couple who both earned top wages and waited until 70 to claim Social Security can collect roughly $122,000 a year, based on the Social Security Administration’s published maximum monthly benefit of $5,108 at age 70 in 2025. Within seven years, that income could drop by nearly a quarter overnight, with no…

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The OCC’s new bank fee rule takes effect in 42 days — your state can’t cap swipe fees no matter what your legislature passes

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago013 mins

The next time you tap your credit card at a coffee shop, the owner on the other side of the counter will hand somewhere between 1.5% and 3.5% of your purchase to the bank that issued your card. Multiply that slice across every card transaction in the country and the total is staggering: U.S. merchants…

Audits and Enforcement

The IRS has frozen 830,000 tax refunds this year — if you filed without direct deposit, you’re waiting 6 weeks for a paper check you must request

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago011 mins

Roughly 830,000 tax filers are waiting for refunds the IRS will not release, and most of them may not understand why. The money is not lost or denied. It is sitting in a federal holding pattern because those returns did not include direct deposit information, and under a policy that took effect last fall, the…

Chicago, IL: CFPB Financial Education Project Launch

The CFPB has stopped enforcing 13 consumer finance rules since January — overdraft caps, junk fees, and payday lending limits all went dormant without repeal

David Keller5 months ago5 months ago016 mins

A borrower in Texas who falls behind on a payday loan can still look up the federal rule that is supposed to stop lenders from draining her bank account with repeated withdrawal attempts. The rule is right there on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website. But as of early 2026, no one at the bureau…

David Keller

A new SECURE 2.0 loophole lets anyone under 59½ pull $2,500 a year from a 401(k) penalty-free — to pay long-term care insurance premiums

Student loan borrowers have 42 days to pick a new repayment plan — miss July 1 and you’re auto-enrolled in the most expensive option

Medicare’s Part B premium is projected to hit $218.60 in 2027 — clawing back nearly a third of next year’s Social Security raise before checks arrive

The FDIC’s new “debanking” rule takes effect in 20 days — after June 9, banks can no longer close your account over your political views

The OCC’s new bank fee rule takes effect in 42 days — your state can’t cap swipe fees no matter what your legislature passes

The IRS has frozen 830,000 tax refunds this year — if you filed without direct deposit, you’re waiting 6 weeks for a paper check you must request

The CFPB has stopped enforcing 13 consumer finance rules since January — overdraft caps, junk fees, and payday lending limits all went dormant without repeal

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