About a month ago, Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed legislation that boosted pension benefits for a group of Chicago firefighters, despite the urging of Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot not to do so, because of the cost to the already-woefully-underfunded plan. As I wrote back in January, this change could drop the funded status from 18%
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Beatrice is the Consumer Trends Expert for Opendoor. Buying a home will likely be one of the biggest and most important purchases you make during your lifetime, and it’s still part of the American dream. Investing in a home can also be a smart way for younger generations to build wealth over time. Over the last
Magic mushrooms are seen in a grow room in the Netherlands in this 2007 file photo. Peter Dejong | AP Entrepreneur Dick Simon has never shied away from speaking up about business topics other CEOs might find too stigmatized to touch. He has spent years dedicated to improving U.S. business relations with Iran, and more
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Futures contracts held steady at the start of the overnight session Sunday evening, suggesting that the major U.S. equity indexes could trade at or near records when regular trading opens in New York. Dow futures gained 30 points, while those linked to the S&P 500 rose 0.1%. Nasdaq
fizkes | iStock | Getty Images Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. has climbed to $1.7 trillion, a balance that is not evenly distributed among college graduates. Certain groups are far more burdened than others. President Joe Biden is now considering whether or not to reduce or eliminate those burdens by forgiving student debt.
In this article CMG Customers order from a Chipotle restaurant at the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Mark Makela | Reuters As the labor market heats up, Chipotle Mexican Grill announced Monday it’s raising pay for restaurant workers, reaching an average of $15 an hour by the end of June. The
The labor market is barely and apparently very slowly starting to recover and employers are already claiming that they cannot find enough workers. The Washington Post reports of anecdotal evidence that employers in the restaurant industry, among others, supposedly cannot find enough people to work for them. Most of the labor market data, especially a
Tax day this year was extended till May 17, but with that right around the corner, are you ready to file? Many mistakes happen when people are in a hurry, and tax returns are important. Each one must be signed under penalties of perjury. So instead of rushing to file your taxes, you can go
Eric is a Real Estate investor, founder of MartelTurnkey, and author of Stop Trading Your Time for Money. Apartment buildings are widely considered to be a good investment, but are they right for you? To answer this, let’s first differentiate between two investment strategies when it comes to apartment buildings: buying turnkey properties versus value-add properties. Turnkey
Crowds thronged Singapore’s shopping belt, Orchard Road, in preparation for the festive season on Dec. 12, 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Zakaria Zainal | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Covid-19 is “permanent” and subsequent waves of infections will be a normal occurrence in the coming years, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian
In addition to on-site yoga classes and ergonomic desks, companies may have a new wellness initiative up their sleeves — granting workers an annual period of remote work. Remote work has proved popular with many workers, with 54% of employees saying they want to keep working from home after the pandemic ends, according to
A logo of Ant Group is pictured at the headquarters of the company, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 29, 2020. Aly Song | Reuters BEIJING — Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, is becoming one of the first major privately run businesses to work with China’s digital currency trials. MYbank
Mary Ann Sergeant Source: Kara Sergeant After a year of grappling with the pandemic, many baby boomers have made changes to their retirement plans. Mary Ann Sergeant, 65, spent more than 15 years working as a pharmacy technician at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She wasn’t planning to retire from the community hospital for
By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Cynthia Murray, who turns 65 years this month, is a 20-year Walmart WMT associate in Laurel, Md. who puts in 32 hours in a four-day workweek. In February 2021, she got a 30-cent an hour raise boosting her hourly wage to $15.27. But even at that level, Murray can’t afford to
Storage tanks stand at the Colonial Pipeline Co. Pelham junction and tank farm in Pelham, Alabama, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday said the federal government is working to avoid supply disruptions after Colonial Pipeline, the operator of the country’s largest
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, shared a bit of wisdom with Ohio State University graduates during his commencement address on Sunday. “I’m always hesitant to give advice, because it sounds like I did everything right,” Dimon said, “but I assure you, I did not.” To start, Dimon told the graduates about the importance
bymuratdeniz | iStock | Getty Images If you haven’t filed your 2020 tax return, the clock is ticking. The deadline for 2020 returns is Monday, May 17. In March, the IRS pushed back the date for individual returns due to the coronavirus pandemic, giving most Americans an extra month to file. Even with the additional
By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue The freelance market is heating up. During the first quarter of 2021, the Freelancer.com platform posted over a half million jobs. And during the same period, FlexJobs.com reported a 10%+ jump in postings for freelancers in a variety of career categories. It’s a trend that’s unlikely to cool anytime soon and
Today’s column addresses questions about divorcing and remarrying after 60 to allow survivor’s benefits from a previous marriage, temporarily avoiding the deeming provision even if you were born after 1/1/1954 and how Social Security uses earnings histories to calculate benefit amounts. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and
“It’s like a million incremental little decisions that either pay off or don’t.” For Todd Piccus, building his one-of-a-kind home in the heart of Venice Beach was the dream. But as the head of legal and business affairs at Mattel prepares to let the custom compound go, he’s reflecting on the whirlwind process that went