10 most livable cities in the world; Vienna, Copenhagen top list: EIU

10 most livable cities in the world; Vienna, Copenhagen top list: EIU

Vienna, Austria is the wrold’s most “liveable” city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Global Liveability Index. Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images For the third year in a row, Vienna, the capital of Austria, is the world’s most livable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The annual report aims to show … Read more

80% of Americans say grocery costs have increased since pandemic started

80% of Americans say grocery costs have increased since pandemic started

A customer shops at a Safeway store on June 11, 2024 in Mill Valley, California.  Justin Sullivan | Getty Images The rate of price increases for food has subsided in recent months, according to the latest government inflation data. However, shoppers still report feeling burdened by the prices they’re seeing in the grocery store aisles. … Read more

As Social Security faces fund depletion, plans for reform commission spur debate

As Social Security faces fund depletion, plans for reform commission spur debate

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images A protester interrupted a January congressional committee hearing to consider a bill that would create a bipartisan commission to address Social Security. “A vote for a commission is a vote to cut Social Security,” the man shouted before he was escorted off the floor. While there was a protest … Read more

Supplemental Security Income marks 50 years. How benefits may change

Supplemental Security Income marks 50 years. How benefits may change

Martonaphoto | Moment | Getty Images A federal program for people with disabilities and older adults made its first benefit payments 50 years ago. In 1974, Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, began sending the first monthly checks starting at around $140 per individual, or $210 per couple. In 2024, the maximum monthly benefit is $943 … Read more

Why people don’t wait to claim Social Security and what experts say

Why people don’t wait to claim Social Security and what experts say

Alessandro Biascioli | Istock | Getty Images When it comes to claiming Social Security retirement benefits, experts agree it’s generally best to delay. Yet many people still claim early — either at the earliest possible age of 62 or before their full retirement age. Those early claims result in reduced Social Security benefits for life. … Read more

Why groceries are so expensive — and how consumers may see some relief

Why groceries are so expensive — and how consumers may see some relief

Elena Perova | Istock | Getty Images High inflation is subsiding, but many Americans have yet to see relief from elevated prices at the grocery store. “Grocery prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, and in many cases, they’ve kept going up, even though the pandemic is over,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at a Wednesday Senate … Read more

Lawmakers debate if child savings accounts may reduce wealth inequality

Lawmakers debate if child savings accounts may reduce wealth inequality

Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images An unequal distribution of wealth in the U.S. can make it so some children are behind from birth. Now lawmakers are considering whether federal children’s savings accounts can help. One proposal — the 401Kids Savings Act — would create savings accounts for all newborns. Low- and moderate- income families … Read more

Delaying Social Security even by months can boost retirement security

Delaying Social Security even by months can boost retirement security

Aj_watt | E+ | Getty Images A recent Social Security report showed a strong economy has helped the program. Still, Social Security’s trust funds may be depleted in the next decade, if no changes happen sooner. Many Americans have a misplaced worry that benefits will disappear. “The biggest myth about Social Security is that when … Read more

Women’s financial security worries and the 2024 presidential election

Women’s financial security worries and the 2024 presidential election

A voter casts her ballot in the Pennsylvania primary elections at the Rockledge Fire Company in Rockledge, Pennsylvania, May 17, 2022. Hannah Beier | Reuters Older women are the largest bloc of swing voters — and the biggest concern they have heading into the November election is their financial security, according to the AARP. Most … Read more

What determines how well older households cope with high inflation

What determines how well older households cope with high inflation

Lourdes Balduque | Moment | Getty Images High inflation eased slightly in April, which may provide some relief to consumers who have been contending with elevated prices.   For retirees and people approaching retirement, higher than normal inflation poses unique challenges. Most retirees have access to one of the few inflation-adjusted sources of income — … Read more