UNITED STATES – MARCH 31: Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., is seen during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled Connecting America: Oversight of the FCC, in Rayburn Building on Thursday, March 31, 2022. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Senate lawmakers pressed President Donald Trump‘s pick for […]
3 red flags to avoid
South_agency | E+ | Getty Images ‘People don’t know a lot about tariffs’ Tariffs are taxes on goods imported from other countries, paid by the entity importing those goods. Businesses in turn often pass the cost of tariffs along to consumers in the form of higher prices. In April, U.S. President Donald Trump enacted sweeping […]
Student loan borrowers brace for wage garnishment
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attends the International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2025. Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images Jason Collier, a special education teacher in Virginia, often needs to wait until payday to fill up the gas tank of his car […]
How to avoid delinquency, default, garnishment
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters aboard Air Force One, en route to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on May 15, 2025. Brian Snyder | Reuters As the Trump administration ramps up its student loan collection efforts, worried borrowers need to ask themselves a key question: Am I delinquent, or in default? The answer […]
Eliminating Social Security benefit tax vs. senior bonus
The U.S. Capitol is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 7, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters House Republicans’ “One, Big, Beautiful” tax bill includes a new temporary $4,000 deduction for older adults. The change, called a “bonus” in the legislation, is aimed at helping retirees keep more money in their pockets and […]
Who benefits from bigger child tax credit proposed by House GOP
Jacob Wackerhausen | Istock | Getty Images House Republicans’ child tax credit plan The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, of 2017, temporarily boosted the maximum child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,000, an increase that will expire after 2025 without action from Congress. If enacted, the House bill would make the $2,000 credit […]
Medicaid work requirements would reduce health coverage: Senator
U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock speaks at the Capitol on April 10 in Washington, D.C. Jemal Countess | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Republican lawmakers may be looking at substantial cuts to Medicaid in upcoming reconciliation legislation. But one method of restricting access to coverage — work requirements — could have disastrous results for Americans, […]
Social Security COLA for 2026 projected to be lowest in recent years
Customers shop for produce at an H-E-B grocery store on Feb. 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is on pace to be the lowest annual benefit increase in five years, according to new estimates. But that may change depending on the pace of inflation […]
Defaulted student loan borrowers and wage garnishment: What to know
U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Shortly after the Trump administration resumed collection efforts on defaulted federal student loans, the Education Department offered more detail to borrowers […]
Social Security changes to monitor under new agency leadership
A Social Security Administration office in Washington, D.C., on March 26. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly aiming to reform and downsize the agency. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images The Social Security Administration is under new leadership, after financial services executive Frank Bisignano was sworn in as commissioner this week. Bisignano’s […]