Author: News Room

Most seniors (89%) are worried that the U.S. is in the grip of a retirement crisis and nearly half said they are struggling to build their savings, according to a recent survey from the American Advisors Group’s (AAG). Nearly half (47%) of the seniors surveyed rated the conditions of their retirement savings as poor and 44% said they had not saved enough to retire comfortably. Additionally, 57% said they were somewhat or not optimistic that the savings would last through retirement.Rising costs and inflation has made it hard for 40% of the respondents to make ends meet, and 47% said…

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own. Debt consolidation could be a good option if you have unmanageable debt and high interest rates — or just want to optimize your debt repayment. Though applying for a new loan or line of credit may seem counterintuitive, it could help you handle your outstanding balances.Through a debt consolidation loan, home…

An inflation-adjusted boost to social security income and a rise in minimum wages has led to an increase in consumer spending at the beginning of 2023, according to a new Bank of America (BofA) report. Credit and debit card spending on BofA cards rose 5.1% annually in January, compared to a 2.2% annual increase the month before, the BofA Consumer Checkpoint February report stated. Monthly, customers spent 3.5% more on airlines and increased spending on restaurants and bars by 1.8%. Retail spending per household increased 1.7% year-over-year compared to 1.1% in December.  The increase in spending shows that while consumers have…

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own. When you take out private loans to help fund your education, choosing between fixed- or variable-rate student loans is important, as it can impact the total cost of your loan. Most private lenders offer both options. However, the U.S. Department of Education has only made fixed-rate loans available since July 1,…

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own. Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage rates for home purchases have remained unchanged for three key rates and risen for one rate since yesterday. Rates last updated on March 31, 2023. These rates are based on the assumptions shown here. Actual rates may vary. Credible, a personal finance marketplace, has…

A new home search site launched last week that aims to bring the process of finding a home to consumers without the for-profit model that has accompanied most real estate search sites since they first disrupted the industry nearly 20 years ago. Nestfully, a joint launch with several of the largest multiple listing services in the country, doesn’t sell user information to third parties or charge real estate agents to have their name associated with a home listing that isn’t theirs so that only the listing agents of a property appear on the page for each home. The site’s initial…

On March 9, 2023, President Biden published his 2024 budget proposals. Subsequently, the Treasury has published their new “Green Book, “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue Proposals,” that not only tries to explain the administration’s proposed tax changes in the proposed budget (including new estate planning-related changes) but adds several proposals contained in the 2023 Green Book, albeit with some modifications. Here is a quick outline of the proposals in the 2024 Green Book: Increase the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% for: Individual taxpayers with taxable income over $450,000; Married individuals filing a joint return…

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how earning less money before filing can affect benefit rates, how survivor benefits are calculated if the record holder had not yet filed and whether or not to suspend a benefit at FRA. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry answers here. Have Social Security questions of your own you’d like answered? Ask Larry about Social Security here. How Will Lower Income Affect My Social Security Benefit Amount? Hi Larry, I am 52 and have full…

Roth IRAs Are Special Roth IRAs are not subject to income taxation (as long as the account has been open for at least five years). There are no during-your-life forced withdrawals for the owner of the Roth IRA – that is, there are no lifetime required minimum distributions, in contrast to RMDs for traditional, tax-deferred IRAs. The owner can withdraw funds from the Roth anytime after age 59 1/2 without triggering income-tax obligations. Again, at no time is the Roth IRA owner forced to take withdrawals. And, it’s income-tax free during the lifetime of the owner, even when the owner…

Yet another legal dispute over student loan forgiveness may be headed to the Supreme Court, leaving thousands of borrowers unsure of what’s to come. The Supreme Court is already considering two legal challenges over President Joe Biden’s signature one-time debt relief plan. That massive initiative would allow up to 40 million borrowers to receive $10,000 or more in federal student loan forgiveness. The Court held a historic hearing in February where the justices hammered attorneys on both sides of the dispute, and it’s expected to issue a ruling in June. In the meantime, no borrowers have received loan forgiveness under…