Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Middle-class retirees hoping to stretch their savings in the Sunshine State are running into a financial wall. Housing costs in Florida’s most popular retirement corridors are climbing faster than Social Security benefits can keep up, and the demographic profile of new arrivals is shifting toward wealthier households. For anyone planning a budget-conscious move south, the…
Retirees who have paid off their mortgages can cover all basic living expenses on Social Security alone in exactly 10 states, according to analyses of federal benefit data and regional cost figures. With the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment raising the estimated average monthly retirement benefit to $2,071 starting in January 2026, the math works in a…
The expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits at the close of 2025 has put approximately 22 million Marketplace enrollees on a collision course, with sharply higher insurance costs. These subsidies, first created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and later extended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, kept monthly…
Only eight states still tax Social Security benefits in 2026, and each uses its own income tests and formulas to decide what retirees owe. Key Points For 2026 from Dec reporting state that Only eight jurisdictions, including Colorado and Connecticut, still reach into Social Security checks. Understanding which states tax benefits and how they calculate…
Federal agencies are sounding alarms about a surge in financial schemes draining retirement savings, with Americans over 60 reporting more than $3.4 billion in fraud losses in 2023 alone. From high-pressure annuity sales to botched tax calculations, five specific traps keep catching retirees off guard, and the pressure to fall for them is only intensifying…
Federal Reserve data shows that American households aged 65 to 74 who hold retirement accounts have stacked up a median balance of roughly $200,000, yet roughly 40 percent of older Americans still depend entirely on Social Security checks to cover their bills. That gap between what retirees have saved and how they actually fund daily…
Young workers born after 1996 are building retirement savings at a pace that defies the economic headwinds stacked against them, according to federal data on household balance sheets and spending patterns. Despite housing costs consuming the single largest share of American household budgets and real wage growth struggling to keep up, Gen Z participants in…
Suze Orman, the personal finance personality who built a media empire on retirement advice, has called $2 million in savings “nothing” and “pennies” for anyone planning to leave the workforce early. The remark, delivered during an interview on the Afford Anything podcast hosted by Paula Pant, set off a fierce debate about whether the popular…
Medicare Advantage enrollment growth slowed sharply in early 2026, breaking a years-long streak of rapid expansion that had drawn tens of millions of seniors into privately run plans. Federal enrollment data for February 2026 shows growth slowed year over year, with gains appearing to be driven more by Special Needs Plans than broad-based increases. The…
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has publicly warned that a series of Social Security Administration changes, from workforce cuts to restricted phone services and mandatory field office appointments, amount to a “brutal” erosion of access for retirees who depend on the program. The warning lands as the SSA simultaneously shrinks its staff, tightens how beneficiaries manage…