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☆ Sign Up for Your Money’s Financial Boot Camp for 20-Somethings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Mike Dang | More About Mike Dang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s graduation season, which is a good time for people in their early 20s to start thinking about how to get a better handle on their finances. How do you balance paying off student debt with saving for the future? What’s the best way to create a proper budget? Very few people have their finances perfectly in order while figuring out their lives and careers in their 20s. We’ve put together a five-day financial boot camp for people in their 20s to get them thinking about jobs, budgeting, saving and tackling debt.

Persons: We’ve, Ron Lieber, Tara Siegel Bernard, Mike Dang

☆ What the Fed’s Moves Mean for Mortgages, Credit Cards and More
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

American households who have been hoping interest rates would soon decline may have to wait a bit longer. The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. But yet another report of persistent inflation may ultimately cause the policy-making body to keep rates elevated for longer than it had previously expected. For people with money stashed away in higher-yielding savings accounts, a continuation of elevated rates translates into more interest earnings. But for people saddled with high cost credit card debt, or aspiring homeowners who have been sidelined by higher interest rates, a lower-rate environment can’t come soon enough.

Persons: they’ve Organizations: Federal

☆ Who Can Be Trusted for Retirement Advice? New Rules Strengthen Protections.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But many people don’t realize that the rules financial professionals must follow vary, depending on where they work and what products they’re selling. One of those federal regulations, which governs retirement plans, was just tightened: The Biden administration announced new rules on Tuesday that will require more financial professionals to adhere to the highest standards when providing financial advice about your retirement money. The goal is to minimize conflicts of interest, or at least ensure that they aren’t influencing investment professionals’ advice that lines their pockets at the customers’ expense. The changes, issued by the Department of Labor, which oversees retirement plans, close loopholes that made it easier for many investment professionals to avoid fiduciary status — including, for example, when workers roll over their savings from a 401(k) plan to an individual retirement account. Those transactions, which totaled nearly $800 billion in 2022, weren’t always covered by these investor protections, even though these sums often amount to a person’s life savings.

Persons: they’d, weren’t Organizations: Biden, Federal, Department of Labor

☆ You Finished I.V.F. and Want to Donate Embryos. Is There a Tax Benefit?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But a few unusual ones linger for people all over who want to explore every option. What does the law say about what you can and can’t do with your embryos? And if you donate them — say, to a university for research — can you take a tax deduction? It is not clear how many human embryos sit in storage across the United States, but plenty of people who put them there worry about losing control over them. Selling embryos seems outlandish, though it may not violate federal law.

Persons: Tara Siegel Bernard, I, — Organizations: Alabama, Transplant Locations: United States, Alabama

☆ Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan Is Being Challenged. Here’s What to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When President Biden announced his plan to provide student debt relief for 43 million borrowers nearly two years ago, there was a piece to his program that attracted less attention: a new student loan repayment program that would cut monthly payments in half for millions. The repayment program, called SAVE, was meant to become a permanent fixture of the federal student loan system, offering a more affordable path to repayment, particularly for lower-income borrowers. But two groups of Republican-led states have filed separate lawsuits to block the SAVE program — including many of the states that challenged Mr. Biden’s $400 billion debt cancellation plan, which was struck down by the Supreme Court last year. Missouri, along with six other states, filed suit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, seeking to upend the program. Both suits argue that the administration has again exceeded its authority, and the repayment plan is just another backhanded attempt to wipe debts clean.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Republican, Eastern, of Locations: Missouri, U.S, of Missouri, Kansas

☆ Visa and Mastercard Agree to Cap Swipe Fees in Settlement
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to cap the so-called swipe fees they charge to merchants that accept their credit cards, as part of a class-action settlement that could save merchants an estimated $30 billion over five years — the latest development in a nearly 20-year legal battle. Each time a customer uses one of its credit cards, Visa or Mastercard collects a swipe fee — also called an interchange fee — for processing the transaction, which it shares with banks issuing the cards. The settlement, which was announced on Tuesday and is subject to court approval, can be traced back to a 2005 lawsuit by merchants arguing that they paid excessive fees to accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. As more consumer spending has shifted to credit cards over the years, processing fees have also risen. To accept Visa and Mastercard, U.S. merchants paid $101 billion in total fees in 2023, including $72 billion in interchange fees, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks the payments industry.

Persons: Nilson Organizations: Visa, Mastercard

☆ How a New Rule Could Change the Way Advisers Handle Your Retirement Money
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It seems like an issue everyone can agree on: Financial professionals should be required to handle our retirement money with the utmost care, putting investors’ interests first. The issue has re-emerged as the department prepares to release a final rule that would require more financial professionals to act as fiduciaries — that is, they’d be held to the highest standard, across the investment landscape, when providing advice on retirement money held or destined for tax-advantaged accounts, like individual retirement accounts. Most retirement plan administrators who oversee the trillions of dollars held in 401(k) plans are already held to this standard, part of a 1974 law known as ERISA, which was established to oversee private pension plans before 401(k)s existed. But it doesn’t generally apply, for example, when workers roll over their pile of money into an I.R.A. Nearly 5.7 million people rolled $620 billion into I.R.A.s in 2020, according to the latest Internal Revenue Service data.

Persons: they’d Organizations: U.S . Labor Department, Internal Revenue Service

☆ How Fraudsters Break Into Social Security Accounts and Steal Benefits
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past two decades, Liz Birenbaum’s 88-year-old mother, Marge, has received her Social Security check on the second Wednesday of each month. When the deposit didn’t arrive in January, they logged into Marge’s Social Security account, where they found some startling clues: the last four digits of a bank account number that didn’t match her own, at a bank they didn’t recognize. (Ms. Birenbaum requested to refer to her mother by her first name only to protect her from future fraud.) Ms. Birenbaum immediately started making calls to set things right. When she finally connected with a Social Security representative from a local office in a Bloomington, Minn., the rep casually mentioned that this happens “all the time.”

Persons: Liz Birenbaum’s, Marge, It’s, ”, Birenbaum Organizations: Social, Citibank, Social Security Locations: Chappaqua, Minnesota, Bloomington, Minn

☆ What You Need to Know for the 2024 Tax Season
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Filing your tax return serves as an annual reminder of just how tediously complex the American tax code is — and this year is no exception. It’s not as messy as the pandemic years, but there are plenty of new provisions taking effect, and some changes could potentially land midseason. Procrastination may cost you: Interest on unpaid taxes and late penalties (yes, even penalties accrue interest) have more than doubled to 8 percent from just a couple years ago. Here are some of the latest changes to keep in mind as the filing deadline — April 15, or April 17 for Maine and Massachusetts residents — approaches.

Persons: It’s Locations: Maine, Massachusetts

☆ The Costs for I.V.F. Patients After Alabama’s Ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ron Lieber | Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the wake of the decision, doctors and patients have worried that they could be vulnerable to prosecution in any number of medical scenarios that were once routine. Some Alabama facilities have halted or restricted treatment, and patients elsewhere worry that similar rulings or laws may soon come to their states. And because so many people pay so much for health care, the fallout from the Alabama case raises big financial questions, too. What would it cost to move embryos to a state less likely to issue a similar ruling? Cryoport Systems, IVF Cryo and ReproTech are three shipping companies that specialize in transporting embryos, though there are others.

Organizations: Alabama Supreme Locations: Alabama

☆ A New Perk for Some Student Loan Borrowers: A 401(k) Match
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Student loan borrowers who are lucky enough to have access to a 401(k)-type plan, but are too stretched to save in it, may soon be helped by a new workplace benefit: Paying off their student loans can generate retirement savings contributions from their employer. Starting this year, workers with student loans can receive employer matching contributions in workplace plans, even if they’re not able to save anything on their own. The loan payments count instead. The new feature was made possible by legislation known as Secure 2.0, which included a package of retirement-related provisions intended to boost savings. “Employers can distinguish themselves in attracting and retaining workers by offering such benefits,” said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonprofit, particularly those “who are struggling with their finances and have student loan debt.”

Persons: they’re, ”, Craig Copeland Organizations: Dow Inc, News Corp, Masco Corp, Unilever, Fidelity Investments, “, Research Institute

☆ What the Fed’s Rate Moves Could Mean for Mortgages, Credit Cards and More
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While the Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, American households will want to know whether rate cuts are on the horizon, which could have meaningful implications for their monthly budgets. It has remained robust, which means policymakers might take their time before pivoting to rate cuts. But some banks have already started reducing the rates they pay to consumers, including on some certificates of deposit. Credit CardsCredit card rates are closely linked to the central bank’s actions, which means that consumers with revolving debt have seen those rates quickly rise over the past couple of years. (Increases usually occur within one or two billing cycles.)

Organizations: Federal Reserve

☆ Bitcoin E.T.F.s Come With Risks. Here’s What You Should Know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly a dozen new investments funds that hold Bitcoin began trading last week, making it easier for anyone with a basic brokerage account to buy a slice of the digital currency. Several established financial institutions, including Fidelity and BlackRock, have coalesced around Bitcoin because it is the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency. But Bitcoin remains an enigma to most everyday investors, and it’s hard to separate the buzz from any true potential. But putting crypto into a traditional investment wrapper does not paper over the underlying risks. Exchange-traded funds are similar to mutual funds, but they can be traded on an exchange like a stock.

Persons: Bitcoin, It’s Organizations: Fidelity, Exchange Locations: BlackRock

☆ Some Student Loan Borrowers May Be Eligible for Forgiveness Sooner
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal student loan borrowers who initially took out smaller loan amounts may be eligible for debt cancellation sooner than they anticipated. The SAVE plan, which reduces payments for millions of borrowers, opened for enrollment last August. But some of its benefits, like the shortened path to forgiveness, were not set to take effect until July 2024. SAVE cuts that term by half for people who initially borrowed $12,000 or less and reduces the repayment timeline for those who originally borrowed $21,000 or less. For example, if someone originally borrowed $13,000 in loans, any remaining balance would be forgiven after 11 years of payments.

Organizations: Biden, Education

☆ Sex Workers Have Been Shunned by Banks, Even When Their Work Is Legal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“We do not prohibit people in this industry from having personal bank accounts with us,” she added. One of the risks associated with sex work is money laundering and human trafficking, where victims, mostly women, are forced or coerced to engage in commercial sex acts. Many banks and other financial platforms avoid doing business with these industries altogether. “That is the problem we have — trying to recognize potential human trafficking that we would have to report.”Beyond banks, many financial services apps have blanket bans, which state they won’t process any transactions related to adult content or services. CashApp — which, like Square, is owned by Block — lists “selling adult content and services” on its “not allowed” list.

Persons: Trish Wexler, Chase, ”, — Organizations: Treasury, PayPal, Block Locations: OnlyFans

☆ How Do You Use Checks? And Do They Work Well for You?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Ron Lieber | Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

How Do You Use Checks? And Do They Work Well for You? Banks are worried about check fraud and are trying to discourage the use of paper checks. Share full articleWith check fraud on the rise, banks prefer other forms of payment these days. Image Source Pink/Getty Images

Persons: Banks

☆ Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Ron Lieber | Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bank customers get a letter in the mail saying their institution is closing all of their checking and savings accounts. Instead, they discover that their accounts no longer work while they’re at the grocery store, rental car counter or A.T.M. “Per your account agreement, we can close your account for any reason at any time,” the script often goes. These situations are what banks refer to as “exiting” or “de-risking.” This isn’t your standard boot for people who have bounced too many checks. Instead, a vast security apparatus has kicked into gear, starting with regulators in Washington and trickling down to bank security managers and branch staff eyeballing customers.

Persons: they’re Organizations: Bank Locations: Washington

☆ What Fed Rates Mean for Mortgages, Credit Cards and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve will announce their latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday, and although they are expected to keep rates steady, their assessment of the economy often moves markets, with implications for borrowers and savers. The Fed last raised its benchmark rate, the federal funds rate, in July to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent. A series of rate increases that began in March last year was intended to rein in inflation, which has cooled but remains elevated, leading Fed officials to suggest that they will keep rates high for a prolonged period of time. That means the cost of credit cards and mortgages may remain relatively high, making it more difficult for people who want to pay down debt — as well as those who want to take out new loans to renovate their kitchen or buy a new car. In recent weeks, the long-term market rates that influence many types of consumer and business loans have drifted higher, even as the Fed left its key rate on hold.

Persons: ”, Anna N’Jie Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Re

☆ What Fed Rate Moves Mean for Mortgages, Credit Cards and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve will announce their latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday, after a series of increases squeezed the budgets of debt-laden Americans and rewarded those with money to stash in savings. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark rate, the federal funds rate, to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent to rein in inflation, which recently sped up as gas prices rose. Prices remain elevated, leading the Fed to keep rates high for a prolonged period of time. That means the cost of credit cards and mortgages may remain relatively high, making it more difficult for people who want to pay down debt — as well as those who want to take out new loans to renovate their kitchen or buy a new car. “We were very spoiled for a while with low rates, and that lulled us into a false sense of security in terms of what the true cost of debt can be,” said Anna N’Jie-Konte, president of Re-Envision Wealth, a wealth management firm.

Persons: ”, Anna N’Jie Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal, Fed, Re

☆ Student Loan Payments Are Due Again. Here Are 5 Things to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After about 42 months, the student loan payment hiatus is officially ending: Interest on federal loans begins accruing again in September, and monthly payments will become due in October. To help borrowers with this transition, the Biden administration has provided some leeway for the first year after payments begin. So if you miss a monthly payment from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2024, you won’t be considered delinquent. You’re more likely to find a payment plan you can afford. The Biden administration recently opened up its more affordable income-driven repayment plan, SAVE, which pegs the size of your monthly payment to your income and family size.

Persons: Biden, won’t, You’re

☆ Biden’s New Student Loan Repayment Plan Is Open. Here’s How to Enroll.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It also creates a new safety net, automatically enrolling certain borrowers into the SAVE plan after they have fallen behind on their payments. By enrolling now, you can have your paperwork processed with enough time before your first payment becomes due, officials added. Borrowers won’t receive the full benefits of the plan until next summer, because some features won’t immediately take effect. Here’s a rundown on how the plan will work:Who is eligible for the new repayment plan? Parents who borrowed to pay for their children’s schooling using Parent PLUS loans cannot enroll in the new plan.

Persons: —, won’t Organizations: SAVE

☆ Discharging Student Debt in Bankruptcy Is Supposed to Be Easier Than Before
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Alista Lineburg is not a lawyer, but she assumed the role when she couldn’t find one to help her discharge $146,000 of federal student debt in bankruptcy. Ms. Lineburg, 49, knows this all too well. “The attorney called and she said, ‘You can’t win this,’” Ms. Lineburg recalled. “I feel like I can finally get ahead,” said Ms. Lineburg, who lives in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Unlike credit card, medical and other consumer debts, student loans don’t automatically disappear in bankruptcy.

Persons: Lineburg, ” Locations: Fairport Harbor , Ohio

☆ Angelo Mozilo, Whose Mortgage Giant Fell in Housing Bust, Dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Angelo Mozilo, a founder of Countrywide Financial who presided over that lending giant’s rapid ascent and then its collapse during the financial crisis of 2008, died on Sunday. His death, in the Santa Barbara, Calif., area, was announced in a statement by the Mozilo Family Foundation, the family’s philanthropic organization. Countrywide was a major player in the run-up to the housing crisis, when looser financial regulations enabled lenders to aggressively sell risky mortgage products to prospective homeowners, contributing to a bubble in housing prices. Mr. Mozilo, the son of a Bronx butcher and who worked his way through Fordham University, became one of the most recognized executives associated with the crisis. Motivated by his modest beginnings, he had built Countrywide into one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders by the early 2000s.

Persons: Angelo Mozilo, Mozilo Organizations: Countrywide Financial, Foundation, Countrywide, Fordham University Locations: Santa Barbara, Calif, U.S, Bronx

☆ Do You Qualify for Biden’s $39 Billion Student Debt Cancellation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tens of thousands of borrowers with federal student loans are probably wondering: Is my debt load about to get a little lighter? In the coming days and months, thousands of borrowers will learn whether they received an account adjustment resulting in enough qualifying payments to eliminate their loans — a process that will continue until the end of the year. After that, borrowers who don’t yet have enough qualifying payments for cancellation will receive their updated payment counts. Here’s what we know about who’s eligible:Who qualifies? Borrowers with direct loans or those made through the Federal Family Education Loan, or F.F.E.L., program and held by the Education Department may qualify, including borrowers with Parent PLUS loans.

Persons: servicers Organizations: Biden, Federal Family Education, Education Department, Parent

529 College Savings PlansI’m a parent of a toddler. What are the implications of following these two approaches: Gamble on financial aid, or be unethical? — A California readerThere are many misconceptions about how 529 college savings plans will affect a prospective student’s eligibility for financial aid, but your initial hunch was correct. If the 529 account is owned by a grandparent or another relative, it is not included in financial aid calculations. Some good news: Grandparent withdrawals will no longer be reported on the upcoming financial aid form, released in December for the 2024-25 academic year, financial aid and 529 experts said.

Persons: Gamble, it’s Organizations: Federal Student Aid Locations: California

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