Personal finance

A Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images There’s new leadership at the Social Security Administration. A number of retirement advocates are applauding the move. President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul on July 9. Saul, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, locked heads with Democrats earlier this year over

Bill Oxford | E+ | Getty Images Roughly 4 million refunds will be sent this week to people who overpaid taxes on their 2020 unemployment benefits, the IRS announced Tuesday. Due to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which became law in March, up to $10,200 in 2020 unemployment compensation was excluded from taxable

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images Target-date funds have ballooned in popularity over the past 15 years — yet many investors aren’t using them the way they were intended. The funds were designed as a one-stop shop that put retirement savings on autopilot. Investors are meant to park their nest egg in one fund,

In this article DFS Last year, many high school seniors dramatically changed their expectations about the future. This year, more students are getting back on track. Nearly two-thirds of parents, or 63%, said their child’s post-high school plans have returned to what they were before the global pandemic, according to a report by Discover Student

Allyson Felix celebrates with her daughter Camryn after finishing second in the Women’s 400 Meters Final on day three of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Patrick Smith | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images When runner Allyson Felix heads to Tokyo to compete in the Olympics, she’ll go

Before Shira Berg, 30, heads to her workplace, she reserves a desk in advance.   The director at Autumn Communications helped her New York office implement a shared workstation system. With clients that include Amazon, Instacart and Goldbelly, the PR agency doubled in size during the pandemic. But adhering to Covid guidelines with just 27 desks

jittawit.21 | iStock | Getty Images With the pandemic proving hard to leave behind and the global economy still suffering, the stock market is having a bad week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 350 points, or 1.1%, in early Thursday trading, and the S&P 500 fell 1.3%. But while it can be painful

Lindsey Gamard, 38, quit her job at a technology company during the pandemic. Courtesy: Lindsey Garnard Lindsey Gamard, 38, knew she wanted to quit her job when she saw many of her co-workers leaving. “It was like a sinking ship,” said Gamard, a data analyst who lives in San Tan Valley, Arizona. It didn’t help

Ines Fraile | iStock | Getty Images The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency — which oversees loans of 8.5 million student borrowers — announced it would not renew its contract with the federal government when it ends later this year. Consumer advocates applauded the news because PHEAA, a quasi-governmental student aid organization created in 1963 by

lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Some 39 million American families on July 15 will get the first of six advance monthly payments of the enhanced federal child tax credit. However, some of those families should elect to not receive the monthly payments, say financial experts, and instead wait to claim the entire credit when

ljubaphoto | E+ | Getty Images Millions of individuals and families stand to receive money from the government through stimulus checks and monthly child tax credit payments. However, many are still waiting on their stimulus checks, while others may not know how to sign up for the child tax credit payments. The IRS this weekend

Trevor Williams | DigitalVision | Getty Images The eldest millennials are now approaching 40 and have experienced a few major setbacks that have kept them from building wealth in their adult lives. First, they were hit by 2008 recession — at the time, the worst economic downturn the U.S. had seen since the Great Depression

If a student invested $1,300 in Netflix stock in 2014, after three years they would have $4,527. Jill Brady | Portland Press Herald | Getty Images Teenagers haven’t had a better summer for employment since 1953. In June, the unemployment rate for teenagers aged 16 to 19 was 9.9%, the lowest it has been since

A job seeker fills out an application form during a restaurant and hospitality career fair in Torrance, California, on June 23, 2021. Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The number of Americans out of work for at least a year jumped by 248,000 in June, underscoring persistent challenges for some households even as the broader labor

Getty Images Strong jobs gains and falling unemployment point to progress in the U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In June, the country added 850,000 jobs, more than expected, and is now 7.13 million below the February 2020 level. And by the end of June, weekly jobless claims slumped to 364,000, a coronavirus pandemic low, according

An IRS office building in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. Timothy Fadek/Bloomberg via Getty Images Last December, two Atlanta tax professionals pled guilty to a scheme that defrauded the IRS of more than $250 million in taxes. The scam claimed more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent charitable deductions through so-called syndicated conservation easements,

Miami Herald | Tribune News Service | Getty Images There are no signs that Congress plans to send a fourth stimulus check to Americans. Still, many individuals and families are clamoring for more money. A Change.org petition calling for $2,000 per month for every adult American, as well as $1,000 per child, that was started

Tara Moore | Getty Images Most Americans are worried that Social Security will run out in their lifetimes, and those fears have only gotten worse amid the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s according to a survey from financial services company Nationwide, which found that 71% of adults felt that way. Fears about the benefits program were highest

Peter Cade | Getty Images While inheriting money is typically a good thing, newer individual retirement account rules may leave some heirs with a smaller windfall. Thanks to the Secure Act of 2019, certain heirs now have less time to take IRA withdrawals. The law stopped the so-called stretch IRA, which allowed non-spouse beneficiaries to

Yamiesha Bell, 27, started a book club focused on personal financial literacy and mindfulness one year ago. Yamiesha Bell In the last year, Raeshanna Mcanuff, 27, a cosmetic chemist, asked for a raise at her job. Adam Sherif, 24, who works at a music talent agency, paid off the first $30,000 of his $60,000 in