Andrii Zastrozhnov | iStock | Getty Images If you’re retiring and signing up for Medicare, there’s a chance you’ll be assessed extra monthly charges — at least at first. While most enrollees pay the standard premium amounts for Part B (outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs), about 7% of Medicare’s 63.3 million beneficiaries end
Personal finance
SDI Productions | E+ | Getty Images Financial planning — and the financial services industry, more broadly — has long been an arena of predominantly white men. Industry leaders have been working to boost diversity, and while progress has been slow, it seems to be bearing some fruit. Still, 83% of certified financial planners in
Steven Heap/EyeEm/Getty Images If you’re one of the millions of Americans still waiting on your 2020 tax return, you’ll need to take a special step to avoid a rejection for this year’s electronic filing, according to the IRS. When filing digitally, you validate your return with the previous year’s adjusted gross income. Typically, your tax filing
In this article EFX Scyther5 | Getty Images Your ticket to free credit monitoring for four years may be sitting in your inbox. If you signed up for this service a couple of years ago as part of the settlement from the 2017 massive data breach at credit-monitoring firm Equifax, you should have received information
Catherine McQueen | Moment | Getty Images Many Americans enter their retirement years with little or no savings. As a result, most or all of the money they receive comes from their Social Security check. Around 12% of men and 15% of women rely on the benefit for 90% or more of their income, according
Primary co-founders and co-CEOs Cristina Carbonell and Galyn Bernard shifted the online children’s clothing retailer to a four-day workweek during the pandemic and have no plans to go back to the longer week. Courtesy: Primary Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs and rethinking what they want when it comes to work and work-life balance.
Passengers board an Airbus passenger jet operated by Icelandic low-fare carrier Play. Play Startup low-fare Icelandic airline Play announced new transatlantic service out of a third U.S. airport, Stewart International in New Windsor, New York, to begin June 9. (Stewart lies about 65 miles north of New York City.) Play, which launched last July with
James Andrews | iStock | Getty Images Things have come a long way from the peak of the pandemic, when rents in major cities were hugely discounted and concessions were common. Across the U.S., average monthly listed rents are up more than 14% from last year, according to real estate firm Redfin. In New York,
Throughout the pandemic, 529 college savings plans have only gained momentum — even as higher-education enrollment numbers sank. In 2021, the average account size jumped to a record of $30,287, according to the College Savings Plans Network, or CSPN. Total investments in 529s also reached a record $464.3 billion last year, up nearly 10% from 2020. More
Lauren Niesz purchased a new home with her boyfriend in January after they were able to save more cash during the pandemic. Source: Lauren Niesz Like many people forced to work from home after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lauren Niesz, 26, found the conditions were not necessarily ideal. Niesz, who rented a townhouse
Taiwanese ethnicity man looking at the home budget and sorting out bills using his laptop in his cozy living room SrdjanPav | E+ | Getty Images Americans are feeling the impact of surging inflation, which doesn’t appear to be easing up anytime soon. For many, that means it’s a good time to revise the family
Algerina Perna | Baltimore Sun | MCT | Getty Images If you plan to drop money on a Super Bowl bet this weekend, remember that the IRS will want a piece of your winnings. Americans are expected to wager $7.61 billion on Sunday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals in Los
It started with Melissa Houston buying small indulgences online — shoes, clothes, handbags. Then, she moved on to major purchases, renovating the family room and putting a swimming pool in the backyard. She says her spending spree spiraled her family’s finances into massive debt — and she hid it from her husband. “I went off
Your grocery bill has likely been going up. That’s because food prices are rising steeply, with the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a 7.4% increase between January 2021 and January 2022. The cost of bacon has swelled by 18%, and peanut butter, 15%. It’s unclear when the uptick will relent.
Items on sale at a Washington, D.C., supermarket on Jan. 12, 2022. Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images If surging costs are a concern, you may consider using your tax refund to bypass the purchase limits on I bonds, a nearly risk-free and inflation-protected asset. Annual inflation rose by 7.5% in January, growing at
Brothers91 | E+ | Getty Images Tax season is underway — and the IRS is warning of a likely increase in scams targeting taxpayers. Agency officials are sounding the alarm on “IRS impersonation scams,” in which criminals pose as IRS agents to try stealing money or personal information. The latter can lead to identity theft
Ariel Skelley | DigitalVision | Getty Images Municipal bonds, also known as muni bonds, have become a popular option for investors seeking security and tax-free portfolio income. However, these assets may also trigger a costly surprise for retirees. Demand surged in 2021 amid President Joe Biden‘s proposed tax increases, with a record $96.8 billion of net money
sturti The Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult for people to answer big questions about their futures, and many financial planners are underestimating the financial anxiety that is causing, according to a survey. A majority of financial planning clients — 71% — report experiencing financial anxiety at least half of the time, according to researchers
mediaphotos | E+ | Getty Images Tax filing season is underway. Most Americans should be able to file their 2021 tax returns to the IRS for free. About 100 million Americans, or roughly 70% of people filing taxes in the U.S., are eligible to submit their tax returns to the IRS at no cost, according
staticnak1983 | E+ | Getty Images Millions of parents who’ve defaulted on their federal student loans may get part of their child tax credit seized this tax season. The federal government has long been able to collect past-due debts, like child support, owed to state and federal agencies. This occurs via the Treasury Offset Program,