Markus Andrews

Spot bitcoin ETFs combined to rake in tens of billions of dollars in 2024.
The Calamos fund will combine options exposure on the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index with Treasury holdings and is designed to be held for 12 months.
Calamos is not the only ETF manager working on how to marry crypto exposure with other popular styles of funds.

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Bitcoin ETFs were a hit with investors in 2024, and now asset management firms are starting to build out ways to combine crypto and derivatives in exchange-traded packages.
New products are set to roll out this month. Asset manager Calamos announced Monday that it will launch a structured protection ETF that aims to give investors a way to capture some of bitcoin’s upside with 100% downside protection.

The fund will combine options exposure on the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index with Treasury holdings and is designed to be held for 12 months. The exact upside cap will be determined Jan. 22, based on options pricing. It will be traded under the ticker CBOJ.
The fund is essentially bringing a popular equity ETF strategy to crypto investing. Defined outcome products, including buffer funds, have boomed in recent years as investors look for new ways to diversify their portfolios. Their gain in popularity was seemingly helped by the 2022 market sell-off, when stocks and bonds both declined.
Spot bitcoin funds launched in January 2024 and had arguably the best debut in ETF history. The funds combined to rake in tens of billions of dollars and helped fuel bitcoin’s run to a record high above $100,000.

Stock chart icon

Bitcoin has rallied sharply since ETFs tracking the cryptocurrency were approved last January.

The inflows and the crypto rally pushed the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), the most popular of the funds, over $50 billion in total assets.
However, Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs at Calamos, said his team believes that financial advisors are still largely avoiding bitcoin because of its volatility history, and that these structured funds can win them over.

“For folks looking to access that space, they want to do so in a risk-managed framework, or something that makes a little more sense for their portfolio,” Kaufman said. He also thinks investors will hold the Calamos fund in conjunction with the pure-play bitcoin ETFs.
Calamos is not the only ETF manager working on how to marry crypto exposure with other popular styles of funds.
Innovator and First Trust are two other ETF issuers that have filed to launch funds with strategies similar to those of Calamos. Firms are also trying to combine bitcoin with income-generating strategies, including proposed covered call funds from issuers such as Grayscale and Roundhill.
More funds are likely to be filed throughout 2025, especially with a Securities and Exchange Commission that is expected to be more friendly to crypto under President-elect Donald Trump.

How it works

The Calamos fund is designed to be held for a 12-month period. The stated holding period is Jan. 22, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026. Because the bitcoin exposure is built through options, which change in price as their expiration date gets closer, it is possible that investors who sell the fund early will get less than the expected gain from a bitcoin rally and could even suffer a loss.

Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF – January

Ticker
Holding Period
Downside protection Target
Annual fee

CBOJ
1/22/2025-1/31/2026
100%
0.69%

Source: Calamos

Calamos also plans to launch “floor” funds that offer 90% and 80% protection for bitcoin, allowing for some initial losses in exchange for more upside.
Kaufman said the structure of the bitcoin products that work will likely look different than traditional buffer funds, which protect against the first stated percentage loss, because of the volatility in crypto.
“If you look at the S&P 500 returns, it looks like a normal bell curve distribution. If you look at the distribution of bitcoin returns, it looks much more like a smile. It’s all left tail risk or extreme far right on the upside. So if you built a buffer, you’re really not protecting against much of anything,” Kaufman said.
Another thing to watch is how the options market grows alongside the funds. Options tied to bitcoin ETFs only began rolling out in late 2024. Liquidity issues for options have hurt the performance of leveraged funds tied to MicroStrategy, which is often seen as a proxy for bitcoin.
“We have no concerns about capacity whatsoever,” Kaufman said about the options market for the Calamos funds. More

On Sunday, President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act, paving the way for nearly 3 million public workers to boost their Social Security benefits.
The bipartisan legislation repeals two provisions that reduced Social Security benefits for certain public workers who also receive pension income.
Advocacy groups who lobbied for the changes for decades praised the change as a historic move.

 U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he participates in a bill signing ceremony for the “Social Security Fairness Act” in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, U.S. on Jan. 5, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters

President Joe Biden on Sunday signed the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation that clears the way for teachers, firefighters, policeman and other public sector workers who also receive pension income to receive increases in their Social Security benefits.
The benefit boost comes as the new law repeals two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, and the Government Pension Offset, or GPO — that have been in place for more than four decades.

The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pension or disability benefits from employment where Social Security payroll taxes were not withheld. As of December 2023, that provision affected about 2 million Social Security beneficiaries.
The GPO reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows and widowers who also receive income from their own government pensions. In December 2023, the GPO affected almost 750,000 beneficiaries.
“By signing this bill, we’re extending Social Security benefits for millions of teachers, nurses and other public employees and their spouses and survivors,” Biden said Sunday. “That means an estimated average of $360 per month increase.”
That extra income is a “big deal” for middle-class households, he said.
More than 2.5 million Americans will receive a lump sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in benefits they should have received in 2024, Biden said.

The Social Security Fairness Act will affect Social Security benefits payable after December 2023. More details on how the benefit increase will be implemented are not yet available, according to the Social Security Administration.
“With the repeal of WEP and GPO, federal retirees, along with so many others, will finally receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned,” William Shackelford, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said in a statement.
The bill was passed by the Senate on Dec. 21 with a 76 bipartisan majority vote, including Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who co-led the legislation in that chamber. In November, the Social Security Fairness Act was passed by the House with a 327 bipartisan majority, led by Reps. Garret Graves, R-La., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va.
Advocacy groups who lobbied for the changes praised Biden’s signing of the bill as a historic move.
“Our organization has spent decades lobbying for the repeal of the WEP and GPO,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement. “We endorsed the Social Security Fairness Act — and are gratified to finally see this legislation enacted and signed by the president.”
The provisions have reduced Social Security benefits for decades.
“This victory is more than 40 years in the making, and while we celebrate today, we also reflect on those who were impacted by these provisions but are no longer here to witness this change,” Shackelford said. “Their service and contributions are not lost on us, and we honor their legacy by continuing to advocate for fairness in retirement benefits for all public servants.” More

Some 40% of Americans are behind on retirement planning and savings, according to a CNBC poll conducted by SurveyMonkey.
Starting in 2025, you can boost your 401(k) plan with higher deferral limits and catch-up contributions for some older workers.
Many plans also have a “true-up” feature, which allows workers to max out their plan early without losing part of their employer match.

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If you’re eager to save more for retirement, you could be overlooking ways to maximize your 401(k) plan, including key changes for 2025.
Some 40% of Americans are behind on retirement planning and savings, according to a CNBC poll conducted by SurveyMonkey, which polled 6,657 U.S. adults in August.

But before making 401(k) plan changes, experts say you should always review your financial situation, including your income, immediate spending needs and goals. 
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“401(k) investing focuses on long-term retirement goals,” said certified financial planner Salim Boutagy, partner at Moneco Advisors in Fairfield, Connecticut. But it should work alongside other savings that cover your midterm goals, emergencies and immediate spending needs.  
If you’re ready to boost retirement savings, here are some key things to know about your 401(k) for 2025.

Use higher 401(k) contribution limits as a ‘prompt’

Starting in 2025, employees can defer $23,500 into 401(k) plans, up from $23,000 in 2024. The catch-up contribution limit remains at $7,500 for investors age 50 and older.    

“This higher ceiling isn’t just a win for high earners,” said CFP Jon Ulin, managing principal of Ulin & Co. Wealth Management in Boca Raton, Florida. “It’s a prompt for everyone to consider boosting their savings rate,” Ulin added.
Even 1% yearly increases “can make a substantial difference” thanks to compound growth over time, he said.
The retirement plan savings rate for the third quarter of 2024, including employee deferrals and company contributions, was an estimated 14.1% as of Sept. 30, according to Fidelity Investments, based on an analysis of 26,000 corporate plans.

Leverage the 401(k) ‘super max catch-up’

On top of higher 401(k) deferral limits, there is also a new “super max catch-up” opportunity for some older investors in 2025, said CFP Dinon Hughes, a greater Boston area-based financial consultant with Nvest Financial.
If you are between the ages of 60 and 63 in 2025, the catch-up contribution limit increases to $11,250, which brings the total deferral cap to $34,750 for this group.
Only about 14% of employees maxed out 401(k) plans in 2023, according to Vanguard’s 2024 How America Saves report, based on data from 1,500 qualified plans and nearly five million participants.

However, there is “one major caveat,” Hughes said.
Your 401(k) must allow the increased catch-up contributions. Otherwise, payroll could flag the added funds as excess 401(k) deferrals, he said. There can be tax consequences if excess deferrals are not removed.
“Check with your employer now to avoid a much bigger headache at the end of 2025,” Hughes said.

Check for ‘true up’ before maxing out early

Generally, experts recommend investing sooner to boost compound growth over time. But you could lose part of your employer’s matching contribution by maxing out your 401(k) early — unless your plan has a special feature.  
Typically, your employer’s 401(k) match uses a formula to deposit extra money into your account. You must defer a certain percentage of income from each paycheck to receive your full employer match for the year. 
Some plans offer a “true-up,” or deposit of the remaining employer match, for employees who max out their 401(k) plan before year-end. 

If your plan offers this feature, it’s a green light to contribute aggressively in January, maximizing market exposure from day one.

Managing principal of Ulin & Co. Wealth Management

“If your plan offers this feature, it’s a green light to contribute aggressively in January, maximizing market exposure from day one,” Ulin said.
Some 67.4% of plans made true-up matches when matches were not made annually in 2023, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s latest yearly survey. The feature is most common in larger plans.

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Major U.S. indices had a good run in 2024, thanks to the buzz around artificial intelligence and interest rate cuts. However, macro uncertainty could weigh on investor sentiment in 2025. In this scenario, investors looking for regular income can consider adding dividend stocks to their portfolios.
Top Wall Street analysts can help investors pick attractive dividend stocks that offer consistent payments, supported by strong fundamentals.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks, highlighted by Wall Street’s top pros as tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Ares Capital
We start with Ares Capital (ARCC), a specialty finance provider that offers financing solutions to private middle-market companies. With a quarterly dividend of 48 cents per share, ARCC stock offers a yield of 8.7%.
In a research note on the 2025 outlook for business development companies (BDC), RBC Capital analyst Kenneth Lee reiterated a buy rating on ARCC with a price target of $23, calling the stock RBC’s favorite BDC name for 2025.
“ARCC has a leading position in the BDC space, with benefits from scale, strong originations engine in the Ares direct lending platform (coverage across all MM segments), and ~20 years of experience and solid performance in the space,” said Lee.
The analyst highlighted ARCC’s ability to offer flexible capital across various financing solutions for clients as differentiating it from its peers. Lee also noted other strengths, including the company’s impressive history in managing risks through the cycle, access to the resources of the Ares Credit Group, and scale advantages, given that it is the largest publicly traded BDC by assets.

Lee also emphasized ARCC’s dividends, which are backed by the company’s core earnings per share and potential net realized gains.
Lee ranks No. 23 among more than 9,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 71% of the time, delivering an average return of 18.1%. See Ares Capital Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
ConocoPhillips
We move to ConocoPhillips (COP), an oil and gas exploration and production company. In October, the company delivered better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year output guidance to reflect the impact of operational efficiencies.
Moreover, ConocoPhillips raised its quarterly dividend by 34% to 78 cents per share and boosted its existing share repurchase authorization by up to $20 billion. Based on an annualized dividend per share of $3.12, COP stock offers a dividend yield of 3%.
In a research note on the U.S. oil and gas outlook, Mizuho analyst Nitin Kumar upgraded ConocoPhillips stock to buy from hold and raised the price target to $134 from $132. “COP offers an enviable combination of long-duration inventory, a fortress balance sheet and peer-leading cash returns,” said Kumar.
The analyst noted that the pullback in COP shares since the announcement of the Marathon Oil acquisition indicates that moderate inventory dilution resulting from the deal has already been priced into the stock. Additionally, Kumar noted the company’s confidence about achieving significantly high-than-expected deal synergies. Specifically, ConocoPhillips expects to generate about $1 billion in annual synergies, which is twice its initial target of $500 million.
Kumar also emphasized that COP expects its 2025 capital expenditure to be below $13 billion, which could translate into additional free cash flow. The analyst believes that with its growing LNG presence and strong commercial marketing business, the company is well-positioned to gain from the rising global LNG demand and international pricing. 
Kumar ranks No. 336 among more than 9,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 58% of the time, delivering an average return of 12.1%. See ConocoPhillips Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks.
Darden Restaurants
Finally, let’s look at Darden Restaurants (DRI), a restaurant company that owns several popular brands like Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen. The company recently announced its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 and raised its annual sales guidance.
Along with its Q2 FY25 results, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, payable on Feb. 3. At a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share (annualized dividend of $5.60), DRI offers a yield of about 3%.
Following the results, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated a buy rating on DRI stock and raised the price target to $205 from $195, saying that “management has multiple levers to achieve full-year guidance.” He thinks that while the results were encouraging, the impact of hurricanes and the Thanksgiving calendar shift overshadowed certain favorable sales trends.
Highlighting the strong performance of the LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden chains, the analyst noted that the rise in visits from lower-and middle-income consumers reflected a notable turnaround from the trends observed in recent quarters. 
Among the other positives, Saleh also noted the faster-than-anticipated rollout of Uber Eats delivery and the reducing value gap compared with quick-service restaurants, thanks to Darden’s restrained pricing. The analyst expects all these positive factors to drive robust performance in the second half of fiscal 2025. Overall, Saleh views Darden as an industry-leading restaurant operator delivering consistent earnings growth at a lucrative valuation.
Saleh ranks No. 366 among more than 9,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 11.8%. See Darden Restaurants Hedge Funds Activity on TipRanks. More

While all Social Security beneficiaries will get a boost to benefits in 2025, certain pensioners are also expected to see a notable change to benefit rules.
A new $2,000 annual cap for Medicare Part D prescription drug costs also kicks in.
Here are big changes coming this year that beneficiaries should be aware of, experts say.

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Retirees can expect to see some big changes in 2025 when it comes to their Social Security and Medicare benefits.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign a bill that will increase Social Security benefits for certain pensioners. Additionally, the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment goes into effect for all beneficiaries.

And Medicare enrollees who are worried about health-care costs now have a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket Part D prescription drug cap aimed at helping to reduce those financial pressures.
Here are some important changes to note for the coming year.

Some pensioners could get benefit increase

The Senate passed a bill in the final legislative days of 2024 to boost Social Security payments for millions of people who receive pensions from work in federal, state and local government, or in public service jobs such as teachers, firefighters and police officers. The House had passed the bill in November.
Now, Biden is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days.
The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates two provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for certain individuals who also have pension income from public work where Social Security payroll taxes were not paid.

That includes the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, which reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive pension or disability benefits from employers who did not withhold Social Security taxes.
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It also includes the Government Pension Offset, or GPO, which reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows and widowers who receive their own government pensions.
Together, the rules affect around 2.5 million beneficiaries, according to the Congressional Research Service. Once enacted, the law may provide higher benefit payments to those individuals.
Notably, it may provide retroactive payments of those benefit increases for the months after December 2023.  
The legislation marks the biggest change to Social Security since certain couples claiming strategies were phased out in 2016, said Martha Shedden, president of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts.
“We’re sort of in limbo as to how that process will proceed, when people will see that increase and how the retroactive [benefits] will be applied,” Shedden said.

All Social Security beneficiaries to get 2.5% COLA

In 2025, all beneficiaries will see a 2.5% increase to their Social Security benefit checks, thanks to an annual cost-of-living adjustment.
Of note, the 2024 increase was 3.2%. This year’s COLA is the lowest increase beneficiaries have seen since a 1.3% increase in 2021, reflecting a decrease in the pace of inflation.
The change will be effective with January checks for more than 72.5 million Americans, including Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries.
The average worker retirement benefit will be $1,976 per month, up from $1,927 in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration.

Monthly Medicare Part B premiums go up

Monthly Medicare Part B premiums — which are often deducted directly from Social Security checks — may affect just how much of a bump beneficiaries see in their 2025 benefit payments.
Medicare Part B covers physician, outpatient hospital and certain home health services, as well as durable medical equipment.
In 2025, the standard monthly Part B premium will be $185 per month — a $10.30 increase from $174.70 in 2024.
Part B deductibles will also rise, to $257, in 2025 — a $17 increase from the $240 annual deductible for 2024.
Medicare Part B premiums are based on a beneficiary’s modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, from their tax returns from two years prior. In 2025, beneficiaries who had less than or equal to $106,000 in MAGI in 2023 will pay the standard monthly Part B premium, as will married couples with less than or equal to $212,000.
Beneficiaries with higher incomes will be subject to income-related adjustment amounts, or IRMAA, that increase their monthly premium payments.

Medicare $2,000 prescription drug cap goes into effect

Annual out-of-pocket Medicare Part D drug costs will now be capped at $2,000, as changes enacted with the Inflation Reduction Act go into effect.
Beneficiaries with Medicare Part D drug plans that have a deductible will pay out-of-pocket costs until that threshold is met. In 2025, the highest deductible for those plans is $590.
Once beneficiaries pay their full deductible, they will owe 25% of the cost of coinsurance until their out-of-pocket spending on both generic and brand-name drugs reaches $2,000. After that, those beneficiaries will have what’s known as catastrophic coverage, which means they won’t be on the hook to pay out-of-pocket Part D costs for the rest of 2025.
However, beneficiaries will also have the option to pay out-of-pocket costs monthly over the course of the year, instead of all at once.
Notably, insulin costs have also been capped at $35 per month, both under Medicare Part D covered treatments and Medicare Part B covered insulin used with pumps.

Social Security trust fund depletion dates get closer

In 2024, the Social Security trustees projected the trust fund the program relies on to help pay retirement benefits may be depleted in 2033. At that time, just 79% of those benefits may be payable, unless Congress acts sooner.
Social Security’s combined trust funds — used to pay both retirement and disability benefits — are projected to run out in 2035.
Now that the calendar has turned to a new year, those depletion dates are closer.
Notably, the previously mentioned Social Security Fairness Act that will provide increased benefits to some pensioners may move the trust fund depletion date six months closer.
“That’s the major looming issue right now, is what can be done to shore up those trust funds,” Shedden said. “That’s going to require very comprehensive, bipartisan changes to multiple parts of the Social Security rules in the program.”

However, most financial advisors emphasize that shouldn’t affect personal claiming decisions.
For younger generations, there could be changes to future benefits, said George Gagliardi, a certified financial planner and founder of Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts.
“But for those already receiving or about to get Social Security checks, I don’t think that there is anything to worry about,” Gagliardi said.

Other important changes to note

Maximum taxable earnings — the amount of wages subject to Social Security payroll taxes — will rise to $176,100 in 2025, up from $168,600 in 2024. Once workers hit that cap, they no longer pay into the program for the rest of the year.

Social Security beneficiaries who claim benefits before their full retirement age and who continue to work face what is known as a retirement earnings test. The earnings exempt from the retirement earnings test is now $23,400 per year in 2025 for those under full retirement age, up from $22,320 per year in 2024. For every $2 in earnings above the limit, $1 in benefits is withheld. For the year an individual reaches retirement age, a higher threshold of $62,160 in earnings applies, up from $59,520 in 2024. For every $3 in earnings above the limit, $1 in benefits is withheld. Of note: this only applies to the months before a beneficiary turns full retirement age. Starting from their birthday month, the retirement earnings test no longer applies. Importantly, once a beneficiary reaches full retirement age, any previously withheld benefits are applied to monthly benefits.

Do you want to talk to the Social Security Administration face to face? Starting Jan. 6, the agency is requiring appointments for local office services, such as obtaining Social Security cards. To improve efficiency, the agency is directing individuals who need help to first try its online or automated telephone services. However, people who are unable to schedule in-person appointments, particularly vulnerable individuals, may still come in and get in-person service.

 
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More than half of American workers feel they are behind on retirement savings, according to a Bankrate survey that polled 2,445 U.S. adults in August.
For 2025, employees can defer $23,500 into 401(k) plans, plus an extra $7,500 for those age 50 and older.
But the catch-up contribution limit rises to $11,250 for those age 60 to 63 in 2025, thanks to a change from Secure 2.0.

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If you’re ready to focus on retirement in 2025, early January could be the perfect time to boost your 401(k) plan contributions, financial experts say. 
More than half of American workers feel they are behind on retirement savings, according to a Bankrate survey that polled 2,445 U.S. adults in August.

But starting in 2025, your 401(k) plan has a higher contribution limit — and a special catch-up for older investors — that could help grow your nest egg.
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For 2025, you can defer $23,500 into your 401(k) plan, up from $23,000 in 2024. Investors age 50 and older can make catch-up contributions of $7,500 on top of the $23,500 limit.
Typically, it takes a couple of paychecks for 401(k) deferral changes to go into effect, according to Boston-area certified financial planner Catherine Valega, founder of Green Bee Advisory.
Boosting your contribution to max out deferrals can be easier earlier in the year because the higher percentage is spread across more paychecks.

Be aggressive with your investments, especially if you have decades until retirement.

Catherine Valega
Founder of Green Bee Advisory

“Be aggressive with your investments, especially if you have decades until retirement,” said Valega, who urges clients to max out their 401(k) plans if possible.
Starting in 2025, there’s also a special catch-up limit for investors age 60 to 63, thanks to a change enacted via Secure 2.0. Instead of $7,500, this group can save $11,250 for catch-up contributions, which brings their total deferral limit to $34,750 for 2025. 

Invest ‘as much as you feel comfortable’

While many investors aim to max out 401(k) deferrals, it can be difficult with other short-term goals, like paying off debt or buying a home.
To that point, roughly 14% of employees maxed out 401(k) plans in 2023, according to a 2024 Vanguard report, based on data from 1,500 qualified plans and nearly 5 million participants.
Max contributors were typically older, with higher income and a longer tenure with their current employer, the report found.  

Ultimately, you should defer “as much as you feel comfortable” not tapping until retirement, said CFP George Gagliardi, founder of Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts. Otherwise, you could owe a 10% penalty and taxes for early withdrawals, with some exceptions.     
Plus, you need a “sufficient emergency fund” outside of your retirement savings, he said. 
Typically, experts recommend a minimum of three to six months of expenses for an emergency fund, depending on your family’s circumstances.   More

While the Biden administration withdrew its sweeping student loan forgiveness plans, borrowers should still look into the existing debt cancellation programs.
Those include the U.S. Department of Education’s income-driven repayment plans, and a host of federal and state-level opportunities.

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While the Biden administration withdrew its plans to forgive student loan debt for millions of people, borrowers should look into the many other existing debt cancellation opportunities, experts say.
The U.S. Department of Education posted notices in the Federal Register in December that it was pulling its wide-scale loan forgiveness plans. The department cited “operational challenges,” and experts say political difficulties likely also played a role.

Republican-led states have filed lawsuits to stop nearly all of President Joe Biden’s previous efforts at eliminating education debt. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump is a vocal critic of student loan forgiveness, and on the campaign trail called Biden’s attempts “vile” and “not even legal.”
As a result, at least for the foreseeable future, federal student loan holders should not expect a wide-scale debt forgiveness policy, experts said.
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There is good news, however. There are a still a number of more targeted student loan forgiveness programs available to individual borrowers.

Affordable repayment options with forgiveness

The U.S. Department of Education’s income-driven repayment plans can be a great option for borrowers with worries about how to pay their bills and hopes for eventual debt erasure, experts say.

IDR plans set your monthly bill based on your income and family size — and lead to loan forgiveness after a certain period, often 20 years or 25 years.
The Biden administration tried to make available a new IDR plan that would have lowered many borrowers’ payments even further compared with the existing plans, and forgiven the debt sooner.
However, that program, the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, is tied up from GOP-led legal challenges and faces an uncertain fate with the upcoming administration.
Still, there are a number of IDR plans that remain open to borrowers.

Borrowers should first check to see if they qualify for the Pay as You Earn Plan, or PAYE, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
That’s because it tends to be the most affordable option.
For example, your monthly bills can be limited to 10% of your discretionary income and your debt may be wiped out after 20 years. Under the plan, borrowers also make no payments on the first $22,590 of their income as an individual, or $46,800 for a family of four, according to a Dec. 18 press release by the Education Department.
There are several tools available online to help you determine how much your monthly student loan bill would be under different plans.

Federal and state student loan forgiveness

For now, the Education Department still offers a wide range of student loan forgiveness programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Loan Forgiveness, experts said.
PSLF allows certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans cleared after 10 years of on-time payments. Under TLF, those who teach full time for five consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency can be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500.
At Studentaid.gov, borrowers can search for more federal relief options that remain available.
Meanwhile, The Institute of Student Loan Advisors has a database of student loan forgiveness programs by state.
For example, in California, licensed mental health professionals who work at certain facilities for a set amount of time may be eligible for up to $15,000 in loan assistance.
The Maine Dental Education Loan Repayment Program offers a total of $100,000 in student loan repayment assistance to dentists in underserved areas of the state.
Other state programs may offer forgiveness based on your finances rather than your occupation.
In New York, the Get On Your Feet Loan Forgiveness Program allows certain residents to get up to 24 months of their income-driven repayment plan payments forgiven. Among other qualification requirements, borrowers must have an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000 a year.

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Donald Trump appointed to lead a new government efficiency team, said they intend to call federal employees back to the office five days a week.
Companies such as Amazon and The Washington Post are adopting a similar policy in 2025.
But many companies will keep remote or hybrid work arrangements, largely because they boost profits, economists said.
Some view return-to-office mandates as a stealthy way to reduce employee head count.

From left, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy arrive for a meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

When Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy laid out their vision for slashing the size of the federal government, they touted plans to bring workers back to the office full-time.
Working from home was a “Covid-era privilege,” the duo, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a new so-called Department of Government Efficiency, wrote in a Nov. 20 Wall Street Journal op-ed.

But labor economists don’t see the pandemic-era uptick in remote work as a passing fad.
Instead, they view it as an enduring feature of the U.S. job market.
“Working from home is here to stay,” said Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies workplace management practices.

Amazon, Washington Post curtail remote work

Many big-name employers have curtailed remote work.
In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a full-time in-office policy for corporate staffers starting in 2025. The Washington Post recently announced a similar policy. UPS, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase have called some employees back to the office five days a week.

Others have cut the number of remote workdays as part of a “hybrid” arrangement, where employees split time in and out of office. Disney, for example, required four days a week of in-office work starting in 2023.

However, data shows remote work hasn’t fizzled out.
More than 60% of paid, full workdays were done out of the office at the peak in early 2020 — up from less than 10% before the pandemic, according to WFH Research, a project run jointly by researchers from MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago and Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
That share has since fallen by more than half. However, it has remained flat at between 25% and 30% for two years, according to WFH Research data as of December.
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“Levels of working from home have been totally stable since January 2023,” Bloom said.
About 8% of job listings on Indeed advertised remote or hybrid work in November, down from a high of 10% in February 2022 but well above the 3% share in 2019.
“Remote work isn’t going away, but it is likely past its peak,” said Allison Shrivastava, an economist at Indeed.

Remote work is ‘hugely profitable’ for companies

Remote work — primarily hybrid work — has staying power because it’s “hugely profitable” for companies, Bloom said.
For one, workers’ productivity doesn’t seem to increase if they go to the office more than three days a week, said Bloom, citing research he co-authored that was published in the journal Nature in June.

Workers value the ability to work from home. Additional days mandated in the office increase employee turnover, which is “hugely costly” to firms, Bloom said.
Leaving workers’ output unchanged and reducing attrition therefore boosts profits, he said. A typical large company with tens of thousands of employees can increase profits by tens of millions of dollars a year by reducing turnover costs, he said.

A ‘covert’ way to lay off workers?

Musk and Ramaswamy said they aim to require federal employees to return to the office full-time precisely because they expect the policy would increase attrition.
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome,” they wrote in the November op-ed.

Remote work isn’t going away, but it is likely past its peak.

Allison Shrivastava
economist at Indeed

Likewise, companies may be using return-to-office mandates as a “covert strategy for headcount reduction,” according to a recent ZipRecruiter employer survey.
Some organizations cite cultural and productivity concerns as the primary reasons for return-to-office policies, but ZipRecruiter said such concerns may be “rooted more in perception than data.”
Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, denied in a November meeting that the company’s five-day in-office policy amounted to a “backdoor layoff,” according to meeting notes obtained by CNBC. The decision “is very much about our culture and strengthening our culture,” he said. More