The financial news that actually matters
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…
The Social Security Administration has spent the past year rolling out a series of changes to how 75 million people receive benefits, access their accounts online, and interact with field offices. Taken together, the upgrades touch nearly every channel the agency uses to serve retirees, disabled workers, and low-income families who depend on Supplemental Security…
Turning 65 has long been treated as the unofficial starting line for retirement, but claiming Social Security at that age means accepting a permanently smaller monthly check. The average retired-worker benefit as of early 2026 sits well below what many Americans assume they will receive, and the gap between a 65-year-old’s reduced payment and the…
Retired workers collecting Social Security started 2026 with a larger monthly benefit, as the program’s 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment pushed the estimated average retirement check to $2,071 in January. For many households, that translates into roughly $56 more per month, a meaningful increase on paper even if it does not go as far as it…
For the millions of Americans born in 1960 or later, the Social Security full retirement age stands firm at 67, completing a decades long shift that began with legislation signed more than 40 years ago. This threshold determines when workers can collect their full, unreduced monthly benefit, and it will not budge under current law….
The Internal Revenue Service raised the annual contribution limit for individual retirement accounts to $7,500 for the 2026 tax year, a $500 increase over the $7,000 cap that applied in 2025. Workers aged 50 and older will also be able to set aside an extra $1,100 in catch-up contributions, up from $1,000. The changes, announced…