Personal finance

Don Bayley | Vetta | Getty Images This week’s announcement of the highest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment since 1982 was welcome news for retirees. It will help alleviate the financial pinch many are feeling. Beneficiaries in 2022 will receive a 5.9% boost to their checks. That’s up from a 1.3% benefit increase for 2021. Even

Geber86 | E+ | Getty Images It happens to the best of us — after setting a budget, somehow spending goes off the rails. “It’s so easy to do,” said certified financial planner Diahann Lassus, managing principal at Peapack Private Wealth Management, based in New Providence, New Jersey. The coronavirus pandemic, economic recession and subsequent recovery

In this article COIN Grandbrothers | iStock Editorial | Getty Images Kenny Schachter, an art dealer, columnist for Artnet and self-proclaimed nonfungible tokens evangelist, believes that the digital works could eclipse the traditional art market within five years. This month cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the auction house Sotheby’s, which has been around since 1744, both

designer491 | iStock | Getty Images Retirement savers could start seeing annuities in their 401(k) plans. While allowing them in workplace retirement savings plans is not new, the 2019 Secure Act aimed to eliminate companies’ fear of legal liability if the annuity provider were to fail or otherwise not meet its obligations. Now, insurance companies,

Fizkes | Getty Images The Department of Labor wants to reverse a Trump-era policy that restricts 401(k) plans and other retirement savings vehicles from offering environmental, social and governance-focused assets, known as ESG, investing options. Values-based assets have become increasingly popular, with investors funneling $51.1 billion of net new money into ESG funds in 2020,

When Haaziq Kazi was in the fourth grade, he was rocked to the core when he found out about the impact of plastic waste on marine life. He decided to do something about it, designing a prototype of a ship that sucks the waste from the ocean. “There’s this saying that we haven’t inherited this

In this article WTY-FF Brothers91 | E+ | Getty Images You may want to get to know about a health savings account a little better. HSAs are known for their triple tax advantage — contributions are made pre-tax, growth is tax-free and withdrawals used for qualified health-care expenses are also are untaxed. Yet there are

RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images | Denver Post | Getty Images People pursuing public service loan forgiveness know how difficult the program can be to successfully navigate. Less than 5% of those who’ve applied for the relief have been approved. The U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be giving borrowers

Peter Cade | Getty Images Federal Reserve officials are worried that inflation could last longer than they had anticipated, according to minutes from a recent meeting released this week. Now, a survey from Global Atlantic Financial Group shows that retirement age investors ages 59 to 75 are concerned inflation could wreak havoc on their investments.

Choreograph | iStock | Getty Images This is one of those times you may not want to follow the herd. Most Medicare beneficiaries — 71% — do not explore their coverage options during open enrollment, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation study. Because the specifics of health plans change from one year to the

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, speaks during a news conference in Mission, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Sergio Flores | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that he disagrees with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to ban nearly any coronavirus vaccine mandates in the state. That’s because the move will

There’s a growing push for students to get personal financial education in high school. But, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, that might not be early enough. “When I talk to students now, they talk about the need for financial literacy learning in a practical sense — how to look at debt and

Luis Alvarez | E+ | Getty Images After 18 months, Americans are still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and struggling economic recovery. Job openings and hiring fell in August, all while the number of workers who quit their jobs hit the highest level in more than two decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Westend61 The Covid-19 pandemic has been a financial boon for some and a catastrophe for others. Now those effects are showing up in one more place: anticipated retirement dates. The pandemic has prompted 35% of Americans to change the age when they anticipate retiring, a recent survey from Northwestern Mutual found. More from Personal Finance:If

In this article HOOD BLK AsiaVision | E+ | Getty Images Despite the high demand for values-driven investing, few individual shareholders participate in corporate decisions. But some companies and funds are making it easier for investors to voice concerns through a proxy voting process. When someone buys a stock, they become part-owner of the company

Aimstock | Getty Images Don’t overlook required minimum distributions from your retirement accounts this year. After being waived for 2020, those RMDs — amounts you must take each year from most retirement accounts once you reach a certain age — are again in force for 2021. That’s in addition to the RMD age changing to

Georgijevic | E+ | Getty Images Although many women lack investing confidence, their portfolios still outperform their male counterparts, according to Fidelity Investments’ 2021 Women and Investing Study.  On average, women investors achieve positive returns and surpass men by 40 basis points, or 0.4%, an analysis of annual performance across 5.2 million accounts from January

Kieferpix | iStock | Getty Images Time out of work — either planned or not — can have a major impact on your retirement savings. In September, there were still 2.7 million Americans who had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Damir Khabirov | iStock | Getty Images The expansion of the child tax credit is aimed at lifting millions of American families out of poverty. Yet an omission in its legislative language may leave behind a group that would most benefit from it: struggling student loan borrowers. The American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion stimulus

McBride Inlet in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, which ParkSleepFly rated as America’s most underrated national park. Andrew Peacock | Stone | Getty Images Ever since Covid-19 first made social distancing a thing, Americans looking to escape lockdown boredom and work-from-home isolation have sought out open spaces at the country’s 63 national parks — and