The financial news that actually matters
Covers retirement planning, Social Security benefits, pension systems, and long-term financial security. It helps readers understand how to prepare financially for retirement.
The first batch of May 2026 Social Security payments arrives on Tuesday, May 13, and for the roughly 68 million Americans who depend on these benefits, every deposit this year reflects a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment that kicked in back in January. For the average retired worker, that translates to about $56 extra per month. Not…
Until now, a Medicare enrollee who wanted Wegovy had two options: pay roughly $1,350 a month out of pocket or go without. On July 1, 2026, a third option arrives. Under a new federal demonstration called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, eligible Part D beneficiaries will be able to fill prescriptions for covered weight-loss GLP-1 medications…
Somewhere in the United States, roughly 665,000 workers opened their 401(k) statements in early 2025 and saw a seven-figure balance staring back at them. Fidelity Investments, which administers more than 48 million retirement accounts, reported the milestone after the S&P 500 delivered back-to-back annual gains exceeding 20% for the first time since the late 1990s….
Social Security’s annual raise is starting to feel like a ritual of disappointment. For the third consecutive year, the cost-of-living adjustment is tracking at a level that sounds reasonable in a press release but will likely shrink considerably once Medicare premiums take their cut. The early projection for the 2027 COLA sits at 2.8 percent,…
About 74 million Americans will receive Social Security payments in May 2026, with the first round of retirement deposits scheduled to hit bank accounts on Wednesday, May 13. The remaining two waves follow on May 20 and May 27, depending on the recipient’s date of birth. For retirees who maxed out their earnings over a…
A child born in the United States today will soon have something no previous generation of American newborns has had: a federally funded investment account with their name on it. While some city and state governments have created children’s savings programs in the past, this is the first such program established and funded at the…
Starting July 4, 2026, the federal government will begin funding investment accounts for every U.S.-citizen child born since January 1, 2025. Each account opens with a $1,000 deposit from the Treasury Department, and families can add up to $5,000 per year of their own money. The funds are invested in S&P 500 index funds. The…
Maria works split shifts at two small restaurants in Phoenix. She has no 401(k), no employer match, and no pension. Neither does the freelance graphic designer in Atlanta billing clients through three gig platforms, nor the home health aide in rural Ohio employed by a five-person agency. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from March 2023…
The first Social Security deposits of May 2026 hit bank accounts next week, starting a four-date disbursement cycle that will put money into the hands of 74 million Americans. Retirees, disabled workers, survivors, and Supplemental Security Income recipients will all see payments that include the 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment that kicked in this past January….
Somewhere between $55 and $79 a month. That is the gap separating the low end and high end of early forecasts for the 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and for the roughly 72 million Americans who depend on those checks, the difference is not abstract. It is a tank of gas, a week of groceries,…