The financial news that actually matters
A 67-year-old retiree spending $6,500 a month faces a simple but uncomfortable math problem: Social Security was never designed to cover that entire bill. Federal data on both sides of the equation (what retirees spend and what benefits actually pay) show a gap that ranges from manageable to severe depending on earnings history and claiming…
New home construction permits in the United States fell 3.1% in January 2026, dropping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,376 thousand units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly residential construction report. The pullback comes as borrowing costs remain elevated, a backdrop that can weigh on new-project economics. For prospective homebuyers and renters…
Older Americans who claim Social Security before reaching full retirement age got a little more room to keep working in 2026 without triggering benefit withholding. The annual earnings test limit for beneficiaries who remain below full retirement age for the entire year rose to $24,480, up from $23,400 in 2025. That change may not sound…
Median asking rents are easing in enough large U.S. markets that a threshold which once looked untouchable is starting to give way again. In a dozen major metros, median asking rents are now back under $2,000 a month, a notable turn after the pandemic-era run-up pushed that level from warning sign to baseline in many…
Workers 50 and older will be able to put more money into workplace retirement plans in 2026, with the IRS raising the standard catch-up contribution limit to $8,000. That is up from $7,500 in 2025 and comes alongside an increase in the regular employee deferral cap to $24,500. For older Americans trying to make up…
Homeownership has become harder to reach for the typical American household, and the numbers behind that shift have grown difficult to ignore. The National Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Index, one of the housing market’s most widely followed gauges, fell to its weakest level on record in data going back to 1989, reflecting the combined…
Medicare beneficiaries will pay $202.90 per month for Part B coverage in 2026, up from $185 in 2025. The increase, announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, raises the standard premium by $17.90 a month, or about $215 over the course of a year before any doctor visits, outpatient procedures, or lab work…
For many homeowners, the housing boom that followed the pandemic is now showing up in a less welcome place. That place? The property tax bill. Across major cities, newly updated rolls of property tax assessments are translating years of price appreciation into higher taxable values. Owners who once ignored the process are now paying closer…
Americans who inherited an IRA in the last few years are entering a new phase of the rulebook. After several rounds of IRS transition relief, the agency is now enforcing the inherited IRA 10-year payout rules for distribution years beginning in 2025, which means beneficiaries who miss a required withdrawal can face a penalty that…
Homeowners insurance is getting harder to find in parts of California, Florida, and Texas, and the problem is no longer confined to a few zip codes after a bad storm. In all three states, insurers have been cutting exposure, limiting new business, tightening underwriting, or refusing to renew some policies as catastrophe losses mount and…