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.
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…
Employer contributions to 401(k) plans have become a more visible part of the competition for workers, and the numbers show why. Recent plan data indicates the average maximum employer match has climbed to 4.7% of pay, while Fidelity’s broad retirement-plan analysis has also put the average employer contribution rate at about 4.7%. For workers, that…
The latest Social Security overpayment crackdown has left some retirees confronting a jarring possibility: a benefits problem they did not know existed can suddenly turn into a demand for repayment that cuts deeply into the monthly income they rely on to cover housing, food, utilities, and medicine. That is the practical effect of a rapid…
A 62-year-old roofer in Memphis and a 35-year-old software developer in Seattle live in different economies, work very different jobs, and likely picture retirement in completely different ways. But they share one anxiety that has returned to the center of Washington’s fiscal debate: the possibility that lawmakers could ask Americans to wait even longer for…
The typical American worker is nowhere close to retirement ready. At least, not by the broadest measure now getting fresh attention in Washington and across the financial press. A new analysis from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that the median working-age American has just $955 saved in a defined contribution retirement account. That…
The average 401(k) balance has climbed into territory that sounds reassuring. Large recordkeepers now report average balances around $148,000. This figure is boosted by stronger markets, steady payroll contributions, and the compounding power that comes with time. On its face, that number suggests the U.S. retirement system is doing a decent job of helping workers…
Social Security is not about to disappear. But the program’s main retirement trust fund is still on track to hit a hard legal wall within the next decade. According to the latest annual trustees report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2033. If lawmakers do nothing before then,…
The typical American worker has just $955 saved for retirement. This is according to a new analysis that cuts through the glossy six figure averages often promoted in the financial industry. The report explicitly exposes a concerning worker retirement savings gap. The figure comes from the National Institute on Retirement Security, which analyzed U.S. Census…
Parents who once focused mainly on 529 plans and savings accounts are increasingly taking a harder look at the Roth IRA for kids, especially when a child starts earning money early. The appeal is simple enough to explain at the kitchen table: if a child has legitimate earned income, even a few thousand dollars contributed…
More than 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, and by the end of January they could be swept back under older, narrower telehealth rules if Congress does not extend a temporary policy that has propped up virtual care for years. The approaching deadline is not just another Washington budget marker. It is the latest…