A mobile billboard with an image of Jeff Bezos calls for higher taxes on the ultrawealthy, in Washington, May 17, 2021. Drew Angerer | Getty Images In 2026, earnings up to $184,500 are subject to Social Security payroll taxes. As of Monday, individuals with $1 million in annual wage and salary earnings have stopped paying…
Skaman306 | Moment | Getty Images Even as many consumers feel stretched to cover rising daily costs, more low- and moderate-income individuals have turned to investing, according to a new report. Since 2020, the number of low- and moderate-income investors has increased by 2.7 times, or 167%, according to new research from the BlackRock Foundation, the private…
Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images New laws enacted in 2025 may have a big impact on how much Social Security beneficiaries pay in taxes this season. On Jan. 5, 2025, President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act, a law that ended provisions that reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for more than…
Carl Smith | Fstop | Getty Images Social Security benefits are typically adjusted every year to keep up with rising prices. Social Security beneficiaries saw record-high COLAs in 2022 and 2023, when the annual increases climbed to 5.9% and 8.7%, respectively. Yet as the pace of inflation subsided, the size of the annual COLA increase…
Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images At the start of 2025, during President Joe Biden’s final weeks in office, lawmakers pushed forward with last-minute major legislation that provides Social Security benefit increases to certain public pensioners. The Social Security Fairness Act was passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate,…
People line up outside the Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images Social Security, the federal social insurance program that millions of Americans rely on for income, faces a shortfall in funding it counts on from its trust funds. But that doesn’t mean the program is going bankrupt or will be entirely unable…
Twenty47studio | Moment | Getty Images Tax changes for 2026 offer new ways for individuals ages 65 and over to plan financially. That is largely due to a new temporary senior “bonus” or deduction of up to $6,000 per qualifying individual that was enacted when President Donald Trump signed the “big beautiful bill” package into…
Milorad Kravic | E+ | Getty Images For many consumers, buying a car increasingly comes with a hefty monthly bill. The share of new-car buyers who pay $1,000 or more per month for their auto loans rose to a record 20.3% of all new vehicle purchases financed in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to…
Ascent/ Pks Media Inc. | Photodisc | Getty Images Many Social Security beneficiaries will soon receive their first benefit checks for 2026. Jan. 14 marks the earliest date beneficiaries can receive January payments, depending on the Social Security Administration’s schedule based on date of birth. Those checks will include a 2.8% benefit boost, thanks to…
Miodrag Ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images After Beth Pinsker’s father died, she had her mother set up a new estate plan that included a power of attorney, a legal document that gives permission for someone to make financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Yet it wasn’t until years later, when her…
