Personal finance

designer491 | iStock | Getty Images By the looks of it, state-run retirement programs for private-sector employees are generally working as intended. Those with no access to a 401(k) plan or similar workplace option have collectively saved more than $400 million in individual retirement accounts through such programs. To date, there are three states that

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images This tax season, millions of American families who received advance child tax credit payments are calculating what they got in order to submit their 2021 returns. Some may be worried that they were sent more money than they were owed in the monthly payments from July to

bymuratdeniz | iStock | Getty Images Starting in December, the IRS began sending families who received the child tax credit letters to reconcile the benefit on their 2021 tax returns. For some, those forms, called a Letter 6419, contained incorrect information. That could be an issue for families when they file their 2021 taxes. That’s

Kwangmoozaa | iStock | Getty Images Student loan payments have been on pause for nearly two years. Come May, they’re scheduled to resume. Many of the tens of millions of borrowers will find themselves in a different financial situation then they were in March 2020, and a different payment plan may make more sense for

pixelfit | E+ | Getty Images Women earned just 84% of what men made in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. And that difference — dubbed the gender wage gap — has stayed consistent for about 15 years. The discrepancy is often attributed to education, occupation and experience. However, research from economists at the

A woman shovels her car out of the snow during a major snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022 in Stony Brook, New York. Andrew Theodorakis | Getty Images After a few months of winter and two major snowstorms pounding much of the eastern U.S. in January, many Americans may be realizing they’re in for elevated heating

Jamie Grill | Getty Images In a competitive job market, equity compensation such as stock options — the chance to buy stock in the company that employs you at a specific price — can be an incentive to sign on and stick around. It can also be nerve-wracking when these assets underperform.  “Part of the

urbazon | E+ | Getty Images An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve has reached a record high. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index climbed 4.9% from a year ago in December. The index measures the prices people pay in the U.S. for goods and services, excluding food and energy, which tend

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during his re-nomination hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Jan. 11, 2022 in Washington. Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates soon from rock-bottom levels to cool inflation. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index jumped by 5.8% in December

Getty Images Nearly one-third of undergraduates borrow money from the federal government to pay for college. That’s about 43 million Americans who owe a staggering total of nearly $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loans. A new survey found that 54% of federal student loan borrowers said taking on that debt was not worth it. Overall,

skynesher Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned investor, you need to consider asset location, as income in some accounts can trigger a surprise tax bill. While your 401(k) plan or individual retirement account may shield you from yearly investment income, such as dividends or capital gains, your brokerage account is taxable, meaning you may owe

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell Jan. 25, 2022. TIMOTHY A. CLARY | AFP | Getty Images The specter of rising interest rates is spooking the stock market. The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, is expected to increase its benchmark rate several times this year

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the Oval Office of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Over 80 House and Senate members wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday urging his administration to publicly release the

Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, speaks during a news conference announcing the State and Local Taxes (SALT) Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 15, 2021. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images As Democrats debate Build Back Better, the social and climate spending plan may still include changes to

Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images The IRS has issued all third-round stimulus payments to eligible Americans, the agency said Wednesday. However, new parents and other recipients who added dependents in 2021 may still qualify for additional money. The payments, up to $1,400 a person, were authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, a

Mihtiander | Getty Images The stock market’s wild ride this week may have you questioning your retirement investing strategy. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than1,100 points before rebounding to close slightly higher. However, Tuesday’s early market activity ushered in a new triple-digit drop before the index began to bounce back midday.

J. Kempin | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images The wild swings in the stock market may have you stressed about your investments. Yet if you took a page from self-made billionaire Warren Buffett, you shouldn’t be too concerned about daily market moves. “You’ve got to be prepared when you buy a stock to have

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell January 25, 2022. TIMOTHY A. CLARY | AFP | Getty Images Stocks have taken a beating in January. The S&P 500 index, a widely cited barometer of U.S. equities, touched into “correction” territory for the first time since the pandemic-fueled

People walk through the North American Bitcoin Conference held at the James L Knight Center on January 18, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Bitcoin has had a difficult start to 2022. The top cryptocurrency fell below the $33,000 mark on Monday to its lowest point since July, before regaining some losses

US President Joe Biden speaks about the September jobs report from the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2021. Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images The U.S. government has sent an unprecedented amount of aid to Americans amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the latest efforts to deploy