In December 2022, Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 Act. It introduced two new rules relating to 529 plans and student debt that will take effect in 2024. The first provision allows for tax- and penalty-free rollovers from a 529 plan to a Roth IRA. The second provision allows student loan payments made by employees to
There is no magic formula to determine how much you or your child should borrow for college. But how much is too much? Starting Salary Guideline One guideline is for students to borrow no more than their expected first-year starting salary after college, which, in turn, depends on their specific major and/or job prospects. But
The bulk of Social Security benefits go to retirees, but Social Security is much more than a retirement program. Most Americans are protected by the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program — the official name of Social Security — throughout their lives. Current Social Security Beneficiaries Source: Social Security Administration, 2023 At the Beginning
The U.S. stock market struggled in 2022, with the S&P 500 index ending the year down more 19.4%.1 The S&P 500, which includes stocks of large U.S. companies, is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market as a whole, and it is a good benchmark for broad market performance. But there are thousands of
Unable to meet withdrawal requests triggered by depositor panic, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was placed into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on March 10, 2023. SVB represents the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history.1 Two days later, the FDIC announced the closure of a second bank — Signature Bank — and that
38% – Shelter’s contribution to the 12-month, 6.5% increase in consumer prices (through December 2022). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023 Fast-rising U.S. shelter costs — consisting of tenants’ rent and owners’ equivalent rent — were the top driver of inflation in 2022, but this may be a trend that has already shifted. Shelter costs
College students and parents deserve all the help they can get when paying for college or repaying student loans. If you’re in this situation, here are three federal tax benefits that might help put a few more dollars back in your pocket. American Opportunity Credit The American Opportunity tax credit is worth up to $2,500
$180.4 billion – Additional tax revenue estimated over ten years (2022-2031) due to increased spending on tax enforcement activities by the IRS. Only a small fraction of these anticipated revenues would be collected from taxpayers with income below $400,000. Source: Congressional Budget Office, 2022 IRS audit rates for individual income tax returns have fallen since
Financial markets reacted turbulently to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10, 2023, followed two days later by the failure of Signature Bank of New York. With $209 billion in assets and $175 billion in deposits, SVB was the nation’s 16th largest bank and the second largest to fail in U.S. history.1-2
On January 19, 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. government reached its statutory limit, commonly called the debt ceiling. The current limit was set by Congress at about $31.4 trillion in December 2021.1 On the day the limit was reached, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen instituted well-established “extraordinary measures” to allow necessary borrowing for a
