The financial news that actually matters
June 13, 2026
- Treasury begins depositing the $1,000 Trump Account seed for eligible newborns July 4, but only 1 in 4 families has claimed it
- The maximum Social Security benefit is $5,251 a month in 2026, but only top earners who wait until 70 ever reach it
- Medicaid’s new 80-hour-a-month work rule for adults 19 to 64 starts January 1, 2027, and states can begin sooner
- Workers who turned 50 can add an extra $8,000 to a 401(k) this year, on top of the $24,500 base limit
Latest Insights
Treasury begins depositing the $1,000 Trump Account seed for eligible newborns July 4, but only 1 in 4 families has claimed it
Three million families with eligible newborns have opened Trump Accounts but left $1,000 on the table. The Treasury Department is set to begin depositing pilot-program seed contributions on July 4, 2026, yet IRS data show that only 1 million of the 4 million children signed up have actually elected to receive the money. That 25...
Read MoreBanking & Regulation
Deposits and Withdrawals
Treasury begins depositing the $1,000 Trump Account seed for eligible newborns July 4, but only 1 in 4 families has claimed it
Three million families with eligible newborns have opened Trump Accounts but left $1,000 on the table. The Treasury Department is set to begin depositing pilot-program seed contributions on July 4, 2026, yet IRS data show that only 1 million of the 4 million children signed up have actually elected to receive the money. That 25...
Loans
Borrowers who don’t exit the SAVE plan by July 1 will be auto-enrolled in a fixed 10-to-25-year repayment plan
Federal student loan borrowers still enrolled in the SAVE plan face an abrupt shift starting July 1, 2026, when servicers will begin issuing notices directing them to choose a new repayment option within 90 days. Those who fail to act will be automatically placed into either the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard...
Fees and Policy Changes
Federal regulators will void every state swipe-fee cap on June 30
Merchants in Illinois and potentially several other states are about to lose the fee relief their legislatures promised them. Two federal regulators have issued interim final rules asserting that national banks and federal credit unions answer only to federal authority when setting interchange fees, effectively stripping states of the power to cap swipe fees on...
Fees and Policy Changes
A new OCC rule overrides every state swipe-fee cap on June 30, though lawmakers just pushed the broader law’s start to 2027
Merchants in Illinois and potentially other states just lost a layer of protection against credit-card swipe fees. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interim final rule and a separate preemption order declaring that national banks and federal savings associations do not have to comply with the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition...
Fees and Policy Changes
Banks can no longer drop customers over “reputation risk” under the FDIC’s debanking rule
Federal regulators have formally banned the use of “reputation risk” as a basis for pressuring banks to close customer accounts, ending a supervisory practice that allowed examiners to push institutions into cutting ties with people engaged in lawful but politically disfavored activity. The FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a...
Fees and Policy Changes
Banks can no longer drop customers over “reputation risk” under the FDIC’s debanking rule
Businesses in firearms, cryptocurrency, adult entertainment, and other politically sensitive sectors have long reported losing bank accounts without clear explanation. Federal regulators just shut down the mechanism that made those closures possible. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) adopted a final rule that bars examiners...
Housing & Real Estate
Mortgages and Insurance
Mortgage rates rose to a two-week high of 6.52%
Homebuyers shopping for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage this week face higher borrowing costs after the benchmark rate climbed to 6.52%,…
Market Moves
Buyers closed on 3.2% more existing homes in May, pushing sales to a five-month high
American homebuyers closed on existing homes at the fastest pace in five months during May, with sales climbing 3.2 percent…
Market Moves
The median existing-home price hit $429,300 in May, a 35th straight annual gain
American homebuyers paid a record-setting median price of $429,300 for an existing home in May, extending the longest streak of…
Retirement & Social Security
Social Security
The maximum Social Security benefit is $5,251 a month in 2026, but only top earners who wait until 70 ever reach it
Workers who earned at or above Social Security’s taxable ceiling every year of their careers and waited until age 70 to claim benefits can collect $5,181 a month starting in January 2026. That figure, published by the Social Security Administration, represents the absolute ceiling for a single retired worker, and the vast majority of retirees...
Retirement Planning
Workers who turned 50 can add an extra $8,000 to a 401(k) this year, on top of the $24,500 base limit
Americans who turn 50 this year gained an extra $8,000 in tax-advantaged savings room after the IRS raised the standard catch-up contribution limit for 401(k) plans alongside a new $24,500 base deferral cap for 2026. That brings the combined ceiling to $32,500 for workers in the 50-and-older bracket, up from $31,000 last year. The increase,...
Social Security
Social Security is ending paper checks this year, so anyone still getting one by mail must switch to direct deposit
Millions of Social Security recipients who still receive paper checks face a hard cutoff this year. The Social Security Administration has announced plans to complete a full transition to electronic payments, aligning with Executive Order 14247, which directed federal agencies to stop issuing most paper checks by September 30, 2025. Anyone still waiting for a...
Retirement Planning
The average 401(k) balance slipped 4% to $141,000 last quarter, even as the savings rate hit a record 14.4%
Millions of Americans saving more of their paychecks still watched their retirement accounts shrink last quarter. The average 401(k) balance fell roughly 4 percent to about $141,000, driven by equity losses that outpaced fresh contributions. At the same time, the total savings rate inside workplace retirement plans reached a reported 14.4 percent of pay, a...
Retirement Planning
The number of 401(k) millionaires fell to 645,000 amid market volatility
Workers saving for retirement at record rates still could not keep pace with stock market losses in early 2026. The number of 401(k) millionaires dropped to 645,000 in the first quarter, according to Fidelity’s quarterly retirement analysis released in late May. The decline arrived despite contribution rates hitting all-time highs in both 401(k) and 403(b)...
Social Security
The 2027 Social Security raise forecast has climbed to between 3.9% and 4.2%, about $81 more a month for the average retiree
Roughly 68 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks are tracking a number that keeps climbing. Forecasters now project the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment between 3.9% and 4.2%, which would add about $81 a month to the average retired worker’s benefit. That estimate draws on the latest Consumer Price Index data released by the Bureau...
Social Security
Each year past full retirement age adds 8% to a Social Security check
Workers born in 1943 or later who postpone claiming Social Security past full retirement age collect an extra 8.0% per year, or 2/3 of 1% per month, on every check they receive for life. That credit stops growing at age 70, creating a narrow window that can raise a monthly benefit by as much as...
Medicare
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is projected to reach $218.60 in 2027, about $15 a month more than today
Medicare beneficiaries already paying $202.90 a month for Part B coverage in 2026 face another increase next year. The standard monthly premium is projected to hit $218.60 in 2027, a jump of roughly $15.70, according to intermediate estimates published in the 2025 Medicare Trustees Report. The annual Part B deductible is also expected to rise,...
Medicare
Higher earners will owe Medicare’s IRMAA surcharge in 2027 once 2025 income tops $111,000 single or $222,000 jointly
Medicare beneficiaries with modified adjusted gross income above $111,000 for single filers or $222,000 for joint filers in tax year 2025 will pay higher Part B premiums in 2027 through the income-related monthly adjustment amount, known as IRMAA. The surcharge follows a fixed two-year lookback rule written into federal law, meaning financial decisions made this...
Retirement Planning
Workers who turned 50 can add an extra $8,000 to a 401(k) this year, on top of the $24,500 base limit
Americans who reached age 50 this year just gained a bigger window to build their retirement savings. The IRS set the 2026 elective deferral limit for 401(k) plans at $24,500, up from $23,500 the year before, and raised the general catch-up contribution for workers 50 and older to $8,000, up from $7,500. That means eligible...
Social Security
The 2027 Social Security raise forecast has climbed to between 3.9% and 4.2%, about $81 more a month for the average retiree
Retirees collecting Social Security could see their monthly checks grow by roughly $81 starting in January 2027, based on early cost-of-living adjustment projections that have climbed into the 3.9% to 4.2% range. The increase would represent a sharp jump from the 2.8% COLA that took effect for benefits payable in January 2026. Surging gasoline prices...
Retirement Planning
A non-working spouse can still fund a $7,500 IRA in 2026 as long as the couple files a joint return
Couples with a single income stream can double their retirement savings for 2026, even when one spouse earns nothing. The IRS set the individual retirement account contribution cap at $7,500 for 2026, or $8,600 for people age 50 and older, and a non-working spouse qualifies to contribute the full amount as long as the couple...
Social Security
The maximum Social Security benefit is $5,251 a month in 2026, but only top earners who wait until 70 ever reach it
Workers retiring in 2026 can receive a maximum Social Security benefit of $5,181 per month, but reaching that ceiling requires a career of top-tier earnings stretching back to age 22 and a willingness to wait until 70 to file a claim. At full retirement age, the same worker would collect $4,152. At 62, the earliest...
Social Security
Claiming Social Security at 62 instead of full retirement age 67 locks in a benefit about 30% smaller for life
Workers born in 1960 or later who file for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 lock in a permanent 30 percent reduction to their monthly check. That means they collect just 70 percent of the amount they would receive at full retirement age 67, and the cut never reverses. With roughly 10,000 Americans turning...
Retirement Planning
The 401(k) contribution limit is projected to reach $25,000 in 2027, with a $11,750 super catch-up for ages 60 to 63
Workers saving for retirement through a 401(k) plan could see their annual contribution ceiling rise to $25,000 in 2027, while those between ages 60 and 63 stand to benefit from a projected super catch-up limit of $11,750. Those figures, however, depend on inflation data that the IRS has not yet finalized, and the gap between...
Retirement Planning
Money put into a Roth IRA can be withdrawn anytime, tax- and penalty-free, because those dollars were already taxed
Savers who assume every dollar inside a retirement account is locked away until age 59-1/2 are working with an incomplete picture. Federal tax law treats Roth IRA contributions differently from earnings: because those contribution dollars were taxed before they went in, they can come back out at any time without triggering an additional tax bill...