Personal finance

Mint Images – Tim Robbins The racial wealth gap — the disparity in median wealth between the different races — is a persistent struggle, and it appears to be worsening, especially between White and Black Americans.  According to a recent study by McKinsey & Co., Black Americans can expect to earn up to $1 million less than White Americans

MoMo Productions The secret to building sustainable income in retirement is right in front of you — and the IRS has had it all along. Retirees generally know all about required minimum distributions. This is the annual withdrawal that you must take from your individual retirement account and 401(k) plans after you turn 70½ —

Hanna Budzko 1. Technical writer  Nycretoucher | Getty Images Average annual pay: $68,640 Number of job openings as of June 10: 2,308 2. Financial analyst  Andrew Brookes Average annual pay: $67,900 Number of job openings as of June 10: 5,242 3. Proposal writer WavebreakMedia | Getty Images Average annual pay: $67,047 Number of job openings

Hispanolistic Forget high-interest savings accounts. The IRS is crediting up to 5% interest on late tax refunds. The government agency announced it would grant interest on tax refunds that are issued after April 15 – the original due date for 2019 federal income tax returns. Bear in mind that the IRS has pushed out the

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Michael Brochstein | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images The coronavirus stimulus checks have provided a financial boost to millions of Americans — except for those who filed tax returns with non-citizen spouses. A bill introduced on Thursday by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is seeking to

Audtakorn Sutarmjam / EyeEm For some investors, getting a piece of a legal settlement can happen without ever being part of a lawsuit. It comes from investing in so-called litigation finance — a strategy that generally involves providing cash to litigants or attorneys to fund their cases in exchange for a portion of any awarded

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks during a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images This tax season may look more like a tax year, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin weighs delaying the July 15 deadline once again. “As

Hundreds of unemployed workers wait in long lines outside the Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky. John Sommers II | Getty Images More than 1 million Americans have started dipping into an unemployment fund meant for extended periods of joblessness.   Research suggests these individuals

shapecharge The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed how close so many Americans are to severe financial insecurity. Over these past four months, millions of American workers have experienced sudden and unexpected losses of their primary sources of income, either temporarily or, for many, permanently. While stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits have filled in some gaps,

If you took a required minimum distribution from your retirement account this year and want to reverse it, you now may be able to. The IRS said Tuesday that anyone who already has taken an RMD in 2020 from certain retirement accounts has until Aug. 31 to put the money back. The announcement comes several

U.S. President Donald Trump signs H.R. 748, the CARES Act in the Oval Office of the White House on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Erin Schaff | Getty Images A political fight is brewing on Capitol Hill over what  the next coronavirus stimulus package will look like. But President Donald Trump made it clear

General manager Carlos Crow hangs a sign at Steiner’s, A Nevada Style Pub shortly before opening for business for the first time since closing on March 17 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller | Getty Images The ability to quit or refuse a job

10’000 Hours For those who desperately need tax refunds, it can feel like ages before they get the money.  For an unlucky few, the wait has taken months. “We filed a client’s return, and it was accepted on April 14,” said Nayo Carter-Gray, an enrolled agent at 1st Step Accounting in Towson, Maryland. “He finally

For many Americans, federal stimulus payments are a lifeline during this period of extreme financial stress. And yet, many questions remain unanswered in the ever-changing status of these payments. Americans are also wondering how to make the best use of this one-time cash injection — or whether more money is on the way. Here are

JGI/Jamie Grill Historical look The pandemic sparked a recession that began in February. And the Great Recession is still on the minds of a lot of novice and risk-averse investors, who have a lot of fear around what-ifs. Instead of giving into the anxiety, though, people need to look at the patterns of the stock market

Some investors see recent volatility as a way to get rich quick. Trying to outsmart the market can end very badly. Last week, 20-year-old trader Alexander Kearns using the Robinhood platform committed suicide after a series of risky options trades left him deep in the red. In the note to his family, he said he had “no

ljubaphoto Travel insurer Seven Corners has started two new products  tailored to vacations in the age of coronavirus: one policy specifically covers medical expenses incurred due to Covid-19 infection while traveling overseas, and another helps motorists as road trips replace flights and cruises as the preferred means of summer and fall travel. “Travel trends, in general,

Oliver Rossi If you inherited an IRA, think before you take that tax-favored $100,000 distribution.  That’s because the relief the CARES Act offers investors who have individual retirement accounts and 401(k) retirement plans isn’t as generous to those who inherit these accounts, according to the American Institute of CPAs. The CARES Act provides several options

More people will be eligible to take a $100,000 coronavirus-related distribution from their retirement account. The IRS released guidance on Friday which details new rules for individuals affected by Covid-19 to take a withdrawal from a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. The CARES Act allows savers to take coronavirus-related distributions – emergency withdrawals

Unlike most people who are now telecommuting due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been working from home for a long time. As in two decades. Between full-time jobs that allowed it (one of them way back in 2000) and freelancing while I raised two children, I’ve truly appreciated the benefits that come with the arrangement