The financial news that actually matters
Nearly 3 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans were forced to find new coverage for 2026. That was after insurers pulled plans from markets around the country. This created one of the biggest disruptions the program has seen in years. The Medicare Advantage plan switch affected about 1 in 10 beneficiaries in non-employer HMO…
Social Security’s financing problem is no longer an abstract warning buried in an annual report. The latest projections now point to a much tighter timetable, with the program’s main retirement trust fund potentially reaching exhaustion early in the next decade if Congress does nothing. That does not mean Social Security disappears. It does mean the…
Tax refunds are up this filing season, but not by as much as Republicans promised after passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. IRS data through the week ending March 13 shows the average refund at $3,623, up from $3,271 at the same point last year. That $352 increase is real money for households that…
Mortgage rates moved lower again in mid-February, opening a refinance window that had been mostly shut for much of the past two years. For homeowners who financed at 6.5% to 7.5% during the recent rate spike, even a modest drop has started to change the math in a meaningful way. That shift matters because refinancing…
Retired workers collecting Social Security in 2026 receive an average monthly benefit of $2,076.41. On paper, that can still sound like a meaningful monthly cushion. In practice, a social security check rarely stretches as far as people assume once the most basic bills start hitting. For millions of older Americans, the problem is not one…
Retirees often expect their tax bill to drop once the paychecks stop. In reality, federal income taxes can eat into a fixed-income budget long after full-time work ends. For households headed by someone ages 65 to 74, average federal income taxes reached $5,404 a year in the latest data. That is money that could go…
Nationwide Building Society has trimmed fixed mortgage rates in a move that could intensify competition across the UK home-loan market just as buyers and homeowners are searching for clearer signs of relief. The timing matters. Borrowing costs are no longer at the painful highs seen after the market turmoil of recent years, but they are…
A major retirement-plan change is now in force for some older, higher-paid workers. The costly mistake, however, is assuming last year’s 401(k) catch-up election can stay on autopilot. Beginning in 2026, many employees age 50 and older who used to make pre-tax catch-up contributions must now make those extra contributions as Roth instead. That matters…
The U.S. housing market is no longer moving to the rhythm sellers enjoyed during the pandemic boom.Across much of the country, homes are sitting longer, buyers are negotiating harder, and more sellers are trimming asking prices to attract attention. The pressure point is affordability. After years of sharp price gains and a long stretch of…
The IRS has put inherited IRA beneficiaries back on alert, but not in the way many headlines suggest. The agency did not rewrite the rulebook for inherited retirement accounts in early 2026. What it did was signal that another round of required minimum distribution rules could start applying after a short transition period. For families…