Personal finance

Getty Images Many Americans know the benefit of retirement savings, yet few realize there’s a special incentive to set aside money for their golden years: the saver’s credit. The saver’s credit, formerly known as the retirement savings contributions credit, offers low- and moderate-income filers a write-off at tax time.    Currently, savers may claim up to

Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The top 1% of Americans may be dodging as much as $163 billion in annual taxes, according to a report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  This estimate widens the so-called tax gap — the shortfall between

Trevor Williams | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re like most people, you probably assume you know more than you think you do, even if you don’t realize it. That false sense of security allows us to be decisive in the face of great uncertainties. But when it comes to investing, that can backfire, according

Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Federal unemployment benefits lapsed on Labor Day. But there’s good news for Americans who’ve been waiting weeks or months for that aid to arrive: They can still collect back pay past the cutoff date. Workers who haven’t yet applied for the federal assistance can still do

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images Good news for those struggling to save for retirement may be on the way. House Democrats are including measures to help people prepare for the long term in their $3.5 trillion federal budget plan. The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday released legislative proposals for portions of the

Thomas Barwick When it comes to income in retirement, one looming question confronts most individuals: How much money is enough? While the answer to that question in never black-and-white, recent headlines about the solvency of Social Security could be injecting more fear into that dilemma. Last week, the Social Security Administration released its annual trustees

MANDEL NGAN | AFP | Getty Images Democrats may change the rules for “mega” individual retirement accounts with more than $5 million to help fund their expansion of the country’s safety net. “Mega retirement accounts” are among roughly two dozen tax categories congressional Democrats are eyeing to help raise money for a $3.5 trillion spending

Getty Images Saving for retirement is an important part of a long-term financial plan, even if you don’t get help with a 401(k) through work. In 2020, some 33% of private industry workers didn’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Part-time workers, those in service

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questions IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig at a June 8, 2021 Senate Finance Committee hearing. Tom Williams | Pool | Reuters Congressional Democrats are floating a slew of taxes to help cover their $3.5 trillion budget plan, including new levies on the wealthy.   Senate Finance Committee Chairman

Tim Robbins | Getty Images The U.S. is one of the few industrialized countries without a national paid family leave policy. Democratic lawmakers are expected to get a long-awaited chance to address that when budget reconciliation legislation comes up on Capitol Hill this month. Now, a new survey from the Bipartisan Policy Center and Morning

Tim Robberts | Stone | Getty Images While Americans know they need to save for retirement, many are still coming up short. More than half of U.S. workers between the ages of 40 and 73 have less than $50,000 set aside for their golden years, a survey from the Insured Retirement Institute found. Nearly 6

People wait in line in Louisville, Kentucky, as Kentucky Labor Cabinet reopened 13 regional Career Centers for in-person unemployment insurance services on April 15, 2021. Amira Karaoud | Reuters Enhanced federal unemployment insurance put in place during the coronavirus pandemic ended this weekend, after nearly a year and a half. That means some 9 million

In this article GME Getty Images Teenagers have mixed feelings about the stock market after GameStop‘s trading frenzy, according to a survey from nonprofit youth organization Junior Achievement USA and tax, accounting and consulting firm RSM examining their beliefs about investing.  Following GameStop’s rises and falls, 39% of teens see the stock market as an

Before the pandemic, college was a given for many high school students. Now, more are finding there are affordable alternatives that might make sense. Kate Lillemoen, 21, recently completed a coding bootcamp instead of finishing her four-year degree. Armed with a certification from Tech Elevator, Lillemoen now works as a software engineer in Columbus, Ohio.

kool99 | iStock | Getty Images Life without student loan payments has come to feel normal for many. Borrowers, after all, haven’t needed to make a payment on their debt since March 2020, or for nearly a year and a half. But when the White House announced its most recent extension of the break last

Wide open spaces like national parks and beaches continue to be popular for long holiday weekend travel. Thomas Barwick | Stone | Getty Images A surge in Covid-19 infections due to the delta variant may be slowing the rebound from the pandemic, but Labor Day travelers looking for a last summer hurrah — and with

A woman waits in a line outside a temporary unemployment office in Frankfort, Kentucky in June. Bryan Woolston | Reuters Misty Todd has used unemployment benefits to pay bills since losing her convenience-store job in March last year.  But the 37-year-old Las Vegas resident is unsure how she’ll afford rent, groceries and essentials for her

Tippapatt | iStock | Getty Images It’s yet another example of how the pandemic’s economic recovery has been uneven: While overall credit card debt is on the decline, others are seeing their balances mushroom into huge figures. Money Management International, a nonprofit credit counseling agency, recently analyzed the credit card balances of renters who sought

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Being in the market for a new car right now is challenging, to say the least. Heading into the long Labor Day weekend, transaction prices remain elevated. While the three-day stretch normally marks when dealerships hold big sales events to clear their lots and make room for

OLIVIER DOULIERY | AFP | Getty Images More than a third of jobless Americans in August were long-term unemployed as benefits for these workers are set to expire. About 3.2 million people — or 37.4% of the total unemployed — have been out of work for at least six months, the official barometer for long-term