The financial news that actually matters
National home prices in the United States have slipped into negative territory on a year over year basis for the first time since the housing market was still climbing out of its post-crisis slump. That shift does not point to a crash, but it does mark a clear break from the long stretch of annual…
Medicare scam calls were already a familiar nuisance for many older Americans. During the most recent open enrollment season, they became something more dangerous. Recent reporting citing Better Business Bureau complaint data found Medicare scam complaints running 40% higher than a year earlier, while federal officials were separately dealing with a confirmed Medicare.gov account incident…
Homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages during the pandemic’s low-rate window are running into a much harsher borrowing environment as their introductory periods expire. For that group, the jump is real: a loan that once looked manageable at roughly 3% can reset materially higher, lifting monthly payments and putting new strain on household budgets. But…
Turning 65 does not make a health savings account disappear, but it does change the rules in a way many workers miss until payroll or tax season catches up with them. Once Medicare coverage starts, new HSA contributions generally have to stop. That is true even for people who keep working and stay on an…
Financial advisors have long warned that borrowing from a 401(k) to fund a home down payment can solve one money problem by creating a bigger one later. The move can look sensible when buyers are scrambling to assemble cash in an expensive housing market, especially if a retirement plan loan seems cheaper or easier than…
For millions of Generation X workers, retirement at 65 is starting to look less like a milestone and more like a luxury. Americans born roughly between 1965 and 1980 are slowly moving toward a Gen X retirement crisis. That is because they are approaching retirement age with too little saved, less access to traditional pensions…
Nearly half of U.S. homeowners say they are considering a move because of weather-related risk, a striking sign that climate anxiety is no longer limited to abstract forecasts or long-range policy debates. It is showing up in household decisions about where to live, what a home will cost to protect, and whether staying put still…
Workers who want the biggest possible Social Security retirement check in 2026 need more than a high salary in a single year. To qualify for the maximum benefit, they generally must earn at or above Social Security’s taxable wage cap for about 35 years, because the program bases benefits on a worker’s 35 highest-earning years…
Social Security’s financing problem is no longer an abstract debate for future lawmakers. The latest official projections show the program moving closer to the point where it can no longer pay full scheduled benefits from its trust fund reserves, putting pressure on Congress to act before automatic cuts become the default outcome. The warning is…
Retirees who must take required minimum distributions from IRAs and 401(k) plans face a choice that rarely gets enough attention: withdraw the full amount in one shot or spread it across monthly payments. The timing decision does not change how much must come out of the account each year, but it can meaningfully shift the…