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.
Traditional IRA owners face a sharper set of timing decisions after the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury finalized new required minimum distribution regulations effective Sept. 17, 2024, with general applicability in 2025. The updated rules, published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-33, clarify how the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 changes…
Millions of Americans who rely on Original Medicare for their health coverage face a gap that has persisted for decades: the program excludes nearly all routine dental, vision, and hearing services. Federal statute bars payment for dental work tied to teeth and their supporting structures, for eye exams used to prescribe glasses, and for hearing…
Americans now believe they need $1.46 million to retire comfortably, a figure that has climbed more than 15 percent in a single year. Yet the typical retiree has saved just $288,700, creating a gap so wide it raises hard questions about whether most workers can close it before they stop earning a paycheck. Why the…
Medicare beneficiaries in six states now face a new requirement before receiving certain medical services: prior authorization from the federal government. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launched the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model, known as WISeR, covering Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. The program runs from January 1, 2026,…
Close to half of American workers end up leaving the workforce before they expected to, and health problems are the single biggest reason. Analysis of nationally representative survey data collected over decades shows that sudden health setbacks outweigh job loss and other disruptions in pulling workers away from their planned retirement date. Yet even after…
A growing number of American workers are tapping their 401(k) retirement accounts for emergency cash, even as average balances have slipped to roughly $141,000. The trend puts a sharp tension on display: employees facing immediate financial pressure are drawing down savings that federal rules were specifically designed to protect for decades. The regulatory framework governing…
Americans who have reached age 70½ can transfer money directly from an individual retirement account to a qualifying charity, exclude that amount from taxable income, and apply it toward the mandatory annual withdrawal the IRS requires. The mechanism, known as a qualified charitable distribution, sits at the intersection of two separate tax rules, and the…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks each month now face a fixed deadline: the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds are projected to run dry in 2034. After that point, incoming payroll taxes would cover only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits, according to the 2026 Trustees…
Employees of NextEra Energy stand to receive their share of an $8 million 401(k) settlement without filing a single claim form. The payout will rely on records already held by the company’s Employee Retirement Savings Plan, bypassing the traditional claims process that often leaves money uncollected. The approach represents a direct test of whether automatic…
Roughly two-thirds of older adults will need long-term services and supports over their lifetimes, yet the federal program most of them count on, Medicare, excludes nearly all of that care by law. The gap between expectation and reality forces millions of families into difficult financial choices each year, and as the 75-plus population grows, state…