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Millions of older adults who are behind on their student loans could soon receive a smaller Social Security benefit.
That warning from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., came in a letter to the Biden administration.
“When borrowers are in collections, on average their Social Security benefits are estimated to be reduced by $2,500 annually,” the lawmakers wrote. “This can be a devastating blow to those who rely on Social Security as their primary source of income.”

Martinprescott | E+ | Getty Images

Millions of older adults who are behind on their student loans could soon receive a smaller Social Security benefit.
That was the warning from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a recent letter to the Biden administration.

“When borrowers are in collections, on average their Social Security benefits are estimated to be reduced by $2,500 annually,” the lawmakers wrote on March 19. “This can be a devastating blow to those who rely on Social Security as their primary source of income.”
The U.S. government has extraordinary collection powers on federal debts and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, wages and retirement benefits. Social Security recipients can see up to 15% of their benefit reduced to pay back their defaulted student debt, which “can push beneficiaries closer to — or even into — poverty,” the lawmakers wrote.
After the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments expired in October of last year, the U.S. Department of Education said it wouldn’t resume its collection practices for 12 months.
However, the lawmakers wrote, “we are concerned that borrowers will face the extreme consequences associated with missed payments when protections expire in late 2024.”
They asked the Biden administration to provide a briefing on its efforts to address the issue by April 3.

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The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government’s collection practices with student loan borrowers, including the garnishment of wages and Social Security benefits, is an area under review, a source familiar with its plans told CNBC.

‘A morally bankrupt policy’

Outstanding student debt has been growing among older people. To that point, more than 3.5 million Americans aged 60 and older had student debt in 2023, a sixfold increase from 2004, according to the lawmakers.
Consumer advocates say the government’s collection actions are extreme.
“Many retirees need their Social Security benefits to survive,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Social Security benefits constitute nearly all income for one-third of recipients over the age of 65, the lawmakers said in their letter. The average check for retired workers is $1,907 this year, according to the Social Security Administration.
The garnishments mean older adults are often “forced to choose between skipping meals or rationing medicine,” Kantrowitz said. “It is a morally bankrupt policy.”

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U.S. home prices increased 0.6% from a month before in February, in line with the 0.6% average monthly gain in the roughly eight years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new Redfin analysis.
While price growth is moderating and inventory is improving, overall housing costs remain high. Here’s what buyers and sellers can expect.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

The rate at which home prices grow is slowing down.
U.S. home prices increased 0.6% from a month before in February, in line with the 0.6% average monthly gain in the roughly eight years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new Redfin analysis.

Before the pandemic, it was normal for prices to grow about half a percent every month, or to increase around 5% or 6% annually, said Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin.
“We’re back to that trend, despite these higher mortgage rates,” she said.
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A similar trend appeared in Moody’s Analytics House Price Index, said Matthew Walsh, assistant director and economist at Moody’s Analytics.
“Home prices are appreciating at the same pace as before,” he said. “It’s returned to the trend that we saw pre-pandemic.”

However, the market today is vastly different from the market two to eight years ago, experts say. The average home is still unaffordable for most potential buyers while inventory has slightly improved but not enough to meet demand.
“The sentiment we’re getting from our agents is that neither sellers nor buyers are satisfied with this market,” Fairweather said. “Sellers are dissatisfied … with offers that they’re getting. And buyers are disappointed in rising prices and rising mortgage rates.”

Levels of transactions are at ‘recessionary lows’ 

While the housing market has stabilized in terms of price growth, a major difference between the market today and the pre-pandemic period is the relatively low number of transactions, which is largely due to high mortgage rates, said Fairweather. Mortgage rates peaked at nearly 8% last year, but are still over 6%, according to Freddie Mac data.
In fact, the level of transactions are at “recessionary lows” despite “a pop in the data in February,” Walsh said.
Another factor affecting sales is the extremely limited supply of homes, he added.
New listings climbed 5% during the last four weeks ended March 17, the biggest year-over-year jump since May 2023, Redfin found. But “it’s like a small recovery from a rock bottom,” said Fairweather.
“We’re not back to where we were pre-pandemic,” she said.
Supply growth is mostly tied to a seasonal trend, economists say. Owners often list their homes for sale in February because they prefer to move in the spring and summertime, Walsh said.
And sometimes, life happens. “Another factor is just people needing to move for either a new job or they’re getting married, or there’s some other big life event,” Fairweather said.

The rate lock-in effect is loosening its grip

The mortgage rate lock-in effect, also known as the golden handcuff effect, kept homeowners with extremely low mortgage rates from listing their homes last year: They didn’t want to finance a new home at a much higher interest rate. Now, that is loosening its grip on the market and slightly boosting available supply, economists say.
“It was definitely keeping people in place, but the more time that passes, the less strong that effect becomes,” Fairweather said.
Some buyers who had put off listing their homes “are coming to terms with higher mortgage rates,” because they feel they can no longer postpone the move, Walsh explained.
While the rate lock-in effect is still playing a role in today’s low inventory, it will fade further over time, especially as the Federal Reserve decides to cut rates later this year, Fairweather said.
Mortgage rates are also forecast to modestly decline this year as the Fed trims interest rates, while home prices are likely to remain flat or unchanged nationally, Walsh said.

New builds are slightly improving

New-home sales are running at the high end of the range seen pre-pandemic, averaging about 600,000 per month, Walsh said. There were 661,000 new homes sold in January, 1.5% more than in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Buyers frustrated with the tight supply of existing homes, are giving a lift to the new-home market. “Builders are certainly benefiting from that,” he said.
Homebuilders can also offer buyers incentives that homeowners might not, such as mortgage rate buydowns or price cuts, Walsh added.
However, the boost is not enough to bolster the acute housing supply across the country. “It’s going to take us some time to make up for that gap, even though they’re building more than before,” he said.

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Borrowers with multiple federal student loans who request a consolidation by April 30 — which will leave them with one, larger loan — could be closer to student loan forgiveness.
Here’s what to know.

Maria Korneeva | Moment | Getty Images

The Biden administration has set a key deadline for student loan borrowers hoping to get forgiveness.
Those with multiple federal student loans who request a consolidation by April 30 — which will leave them with one, larger loan — could benefit from the U.S. Department of Education’s overhaul of income-driven repayment plans.

Those changes have already led to debt cancelation for more than 930,000 people and $45 billion in relief.
“The opportunity to consolidate loans will help many more borrowers to qualify for student loan forgiveness,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Here’s what to know about the deadline.

Consolidation can get you closer to loan forgiveness

Income-driven repayment plans, which date to 1994, set borrowers’ monthly payments based on a share of their discretionary income. Those payments are typically lower than under standard repayment, and can be zero under some plans.
Borrowers typically get any remaining debt forgiven after 10, 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan.

One complicating factor for borrowers in these programs is that they often have multiple loans, taken out at different times, Kantrowitz said.
“They get at least one new loan each year in school, on average,” he said.
That can mean a borrower has multiple timelines to forgiveness, one for each of those loans.
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Now, the Biden administration is temporarily offering borrowers the chance to combine their loans and to get credit going back as far as their first loan payment on the oldest of their original loans in that bundle.
For example, say a borrower graduated from college in 2004, took out more loans for a graduate degree in 2018 and is now in repayment under an income-driven plan with a 20-year timeline to forgiveness. Consolidating could lead them to immediately qualify for forgiveness on all of those loans, experts say.
In normal times, consolidating your student loans can be a terrible move for those hoping to get rid of their debt as your forgiveness timeline is restarted. But the Biden administration has changed that program detail through April 30.

What to know about consolidating your student loans

All federal student loans are eligible for consolidation, including Federal Family Education Loans, Parent Plus loans and Perkins Loans, Kantrowitz said.
You can apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan at StudentAid.gov or with your loan servicer.
“So long as the application is submitted by April 30, they should be fine, even if the servicers takes longer to process it,” Kantrowitz said.

Some borrowers who took out small amounts may even be eligible for cancelation after as few as 10 years’ worth of payments, if they enroll in the new income-driven repayment option, known as the SAVE plan.
Consolidating your loans shouldn’t increase your monthly payment, since your bill under an income-driven repayment plan is based on your earnings and not your total debt, Kantrowitz said.
Your new interest rate will be a weighted average of the rates across your loans.

Before consolidating, it may be a good idea to get a complete payment history of each loan, so that you can later make sure you’re getting the full credit you’re entitled to, said Elaine Rubin, director of corporate communications at Edvisors, which helps students navigate college costs and borrowing.
You should be able to get a history of your payments at StudentAid.gov by looking into your loan details. You can also ask your servicer for a complete record.
The payment history counts when your loans first entered repayment, not when the loan was borrowed, Rubin said.
If a borrower believes there is an issue with their payment count, they can talk to their loan servicer or submit a complaint with the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid unit, she added. More

Bottles of Pepsi soda are seen on display at a Target store on February 09, 2024 in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Even as the major averages have recently hit fresh records, there are plenty of catalysts that could shake things up, including geopolitical tensions and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Investors seeking some stability in their portfolios may want to consider high-quality dividend stocks, especially those with a track record of steady income payments.

Analysts conduct thorough research of companies’ fundamentals and their ability to pay and increase dividends over the long term.   
Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Enbridge
Energy infrastructure company Enbridge (ENB) is this week’s first dividend-paying pick. The company moves nearly 30% of North America’s crude oil production and about 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.
Enbridge has increased its dividend for 29 years. It has a dividend yield of 7.7%.
Following its recent investor day event, RBC Capital analyst Robert Kwan reiterated a buy rating on ENB stock. The analyst thinks that recent developments, including regulatory approval of the acquisition of the East Ohio Gas Company, would support the market’s confidence in the company’s ability to grow its earnings.

It is worth noting that East Ohio Gas is the largest of the three utilities (the other two are Questar Gas and the Public Service Company of North Carolina) that Enbridge agreed to acquire from Dominion Energy.
“Dominion utilities represent the next episode in Enbridge’s series of growth platforms,” said Kwan.
The analyst highlighted that the company extended its growth targets through 2026 and now expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth in the range of 7% to 9% from 2023 through 2026. That compares with the previous growth outlook of 4% to 6% from 2022 to 2025. Additionally, the company anticipates that this forecast will enable it to increase its annual dividend.
Kwan ranks No. 191 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 67% of the time, with each generating an average return of 10.2%. (See Enbridge Hedge Funds Activity on TipRanks)
Bank of America
Next up is Bank of America (BAC), one of the leading banking institutions in the world. The bank returned $12 billion to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases in 2023.
The bank announced a dividend of 24 cents per share for the first quarter of 2024, payable on March 29. BAC stock offers a dividend yield of 2.6%.
Recently, RBC Capital analyst Gerard Cassidy reiterated a buy rating on Bank of America with a price target of $39. The analyst is optimistic about the leadership of chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan, who is helping the bank steadily generate improved profitability through a focus on expenses and solid credit underwriting principles.
Cassidy also noted that BAC has a solid balance sheet, with a common equity tier 1 ratio of 11.8% and a supplementary leverage ratio of 6.1% as of Dec. 31, 2023.
“Also, due to its strong capital position and PPNR (pre-tax, pre-provision revenue), it should be capable of paying and increasing its dividend throughout a downturn,” said Cassidy.
The analyst highlighted the bank’s growing deposit market share, its dominant position in global capital markets, and the stock’s attractive valuation. He expects BAC’s profitability to gain from the increased adoption of its mobile offerings.  
Cassidy ranks No. 143 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 62% of the time, with each generating an average return of 14.9%. (See BAC Technical Analysis on TipRanks)
PepsiCo
This week’s third dividend pick is snack food and beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP). Last month, the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, even as its revenue declined and missed analysts’ expectations due to pressure on demand in the North American business.
Nonetheless, PepsiCo announced a 7% hike in its annualized dividend to $5.42 per share, effective with the dividend payable in June 2024. This increase marked the 52nd consecutive year in which it boosted its dividend payment. PepsiCo currently has a dividend yield of 2.9%.
Overall, PepsiCo is targeting cash returns to shareholders of about $8.2 billion in 2024, including $7.2 billion in dividends and $1 billion worth of share repurchases.
On March 18, Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian upgraded PepsiCo stock to buy from hold with a price target of $190. The analyst cited two reasons behind an earlier downgrade of the stock – valuation concerns and his opinion that the consensus organic sales growth (OSG) guidance seemed too high.
However, Mohsenian noted, “Both of these issues have now played out, and we would be aggressive buyers here ahead of a powerful inflection in H2 after PEP bottoms fundamentally in Q1, and returns to above consensus and peer OSG, with PEP’s valuation compression overdone.”
The analyst named PepsiCo a top pick, contending that the market is not fully pricing in the growth prospects of the company’s international business.
Mohsenian ranks No. 383 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. The analyst’s ratings have been profitable 68% of the time, with each generating an average return of 9.2%. (See PepsiCo Stock Buybacks on TipRanks) More

The Greencore logo is seen on the outside of its factory building in Bristol, England.
Matt Cardy | Getty Images

Company: Greencore Group (GNC-GB)

Business: Greencore Group is an Ireland-based manufacturer of convenience foods. Its segments include Convenience Foods UK and Ireland. Greencore supplies a range of chilled, frozen and ambient foods to retail and food service customers in the United Kingdom. The company supplies all of the supermarkets in the United Kingdom. It also supplies convenience and travel retail outlets, discounters, coffee shops, foodservice and other retailers. It has over 16 manufacturing and 18 distribution centers in the United Kingdom.
Stock Market Value: 531.2 million pounds (about 1.14 pounds per share)

Activist: Oasis Management

Percentage Ownership:  n/a
Average Cost: n/a
Activist Commentary: Oasis Management is a global hedge fund management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Tokyo, Austin and the Cayman Islands. Oasis was founded in 2002 by Seth Fischer, who leads the firm as its chief investment officer. Oasis is an authentic international activist investor, doing activism primarily in Asia (and occasionally Europe). The firm has an impressive track record of prolific and successful international activism. Oasis has as many arrows in its quiver as any activist and has been successful in getting seats on boards, opposing strategic transactions, advocating for strategic actions, improving corporate governance, and holding management accountable.

What’s happening

On March 15, the Financial Times reported that Oasis Management has been building a stake in Greencore, approaching the UK’s 5% threshold, and that managing director Daniel Wosner has met with the board and management several times.

Behind the scenes

Greencore Group is a leading supplier of prepackaged and convenience foods in the UK and Ireland, serving customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, retail outlets, coffee shops and other retailers. The company reports segmental information in two categories: “food to go” and “other convenience.” In 2023, “food to go” accounted for 65% of the group’s revenue and “other convenience” generated the remaining 35%. A key inflection point in recent history for Greencore was the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the company has struggled to regain its footing and recover both its stock price and operating performance. The stock has fallen sharply since its pre-pandemic peak. In addition, the company’s adjusted operating profit of 76.3 million pounds and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 132.8 million pounds have not caught up to its pre-pandemic levels of 105 million pounds and 142 million pounds, respectively. In addition, operating margins fell to 2% in 2020 and 2021, down from 6% to 7% in the years leading up to the pandemic. They have failed to recover completely, resting at 4% in 2023.

Compared to its peers, many of whom were similarly set back by the forces of the pandemic, inflation and a recessionary macro environment in the UK and Ireland, Greencore has particularly struggled to return to its former performance. First, Greencore has not reinstated its dividend since suspending it in 2020. Greencore’s peers currently offer dividend yields between 1% and 7%, averaging approximately a 3.5% yield. Some of them had also suspended payments following the outbreak of Covid-19, but resumed them shortly thereafter. In addition, Greencore’s operating and EBITDA margins are lower than those of its peers Premier Foods and Bakkavor, but it had better margins in both categories in 2019.
Oasis is known as an Asian activist, which is true – 90% of its activist campaigns have been in Asia. But the firm has selectively pursued activism in Europe two other times prior to this. Both times its returns have been incredible – averaging 108.75% versus 5.29% for the MSCI EAFE Index. Moreover, both of those investments were in similar businesses to Greencore: One was a direct peer, Premier Foods, and the other was The Restaurant Group. At The Restaurant Group, Oasis successfully agitated for the removal of the company’s chairman, as well as asset sales to accelerate medium-term strategic plans to increase adjusted EBITDA, and the company was eventually taken private by Apollo. The Premier Foods campaign was a three-act play. In 2017, after the firm accumulated an 8.3% stake, Premier invited Daniel Wosner, managing director of Oasis, to join the board of directors, but he submitted his resignation after just one year. In its second act, Oasis immediately began agitating for change, urging shareholders to vote against the re-election of then-CEO Gavin Darby, citing shareholder value destruction, poor financial performance, consistent missed targets, a lack of strategy and weak corporate governance. While Darby was re-elected in 2018, shortly thereafter he announced his resignation. In the firm’s third act, Wosner was invited back to join the board in February 2019, and the company announced that it would launch a strategic review.
Since Wosner’s reappointment, Premier and Greencore appear as a rising star and a falling comet, respectively. Premier Foods has generated a total return of nearly 300%, while Greencore is down 41.5% in that time. Premier has resumed its dividend, while Greencore has suspended it. Premier has EBITDA margins of approximately 20% versus mid- to high-single digits for Greencore.
It is hard to believe there is another investor more qualified to create shareholder value at Greencore than Oasis. The situation at Greencore appears amicable, and the company would probably be served well to offer Wosner an opportunity to join the board. Oasis could help put the company in a financial position where it can resume dividend payments or accelerate buybacks. In addition, at The Restaurant Group and Premier, Oasis pushed for the sale of non-core assets, which is consistent with streamlining operations and creating shareholder value. It’s not necessarily Oasis’ plan to push for the ouster of executives here, especially since Greencore’s CEO Dalton Philips was recently appointed in 2022 and CFO Catherine Gubbins was appointed to her role in 2023. But certainly, there need to be changes, and this should put management on notice. One Greencore director who Oasis knows well is Alastair Murray, the former CFO and once-interim CEO of Premier Foods. Indeed, Oasis had played a part in elevating Murray to replace former Premier CEO Gavin Darby in 2019.
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. More

The Biden administration has cleared the student loans of nearly 4 million people, totaling $143.6 billion in aid.
How to know if you qualify for relief, too.

Female firefighter putting on her protective equipment inside the fire station in response to an emergency
Trevor Williams | Digitalvision | Getty Images

The Biden administration’s latest student loan forgiveness announcement contained good news for more people than the 77,700 borrowers eligible for this round of aid.
Starting next week, the administration said, President Joe Biden will send an email to nearly 380,000 additional borrowers confirming that they are “on track” for loan cancellation within two years as long as they continue to meet the requirements of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

“I’ve heard from countless people who have told me that relieving the burden of their student loan debt will allow them to support themselves and their families, buy their first home, start a small business, and move forward with life plans they’ve put on hold,” Biden’s email says, in a draft reviewed by CNBC.
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The Supreme Court last June struck down the president’s plan to deliver student loan forgiveness to as many as 40 million Americans. Since then, his administration has tried to cancel the debt in various other ways, using its existing authority. It has mainly done so by overhauling existing loan relief programs that historically were hard to access.
As a result, since Biden was elected, his administration has so far cleared the education debts of nearly 4 million people, totaling $143.6 billion in relief.
Those who haven’t qualified for that aid are likely wondering, “When will my turn come?”

While Biden’s emails may answer that question for some, here are other ways borrowers can figure out if, and when, they may be eligible for debt cancellation.
“These forgiveness opportunities are fantastic, but they are complicated,” said Elaine Rubin, director of corporate communications at Edvisors, which helps students navigate college costs and borrowing.

‘Over 100′ student loan forgiveness programs

If you’re not enrolled in a program that leads to student loan forgiveness, you can find “great information” on the U.S. Department of Education’s website, Studentaid.gov, about the different opportunities, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit.
Mayotte said students should “read all the things. They can also contact their loan servicer to talk about their potential eligibility and steps they may have to take to qualify.”
Two of the most popular debt cancellation avenues are the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which leads to a debt jubilee after a decade of payments for qualifying workers, and the income-driven repayment plans. Those plans, which cap a borrowers’ monthly bill at a share of their discretionary income, lead to debt erasure after 10 to 25 years of payments. There are currently four different plans, each with different rules.
Much of the relief the Biden administration has delivered so far has been through fixes to these two programs.

But there are also “over 100 other forgiveness programs out there to explore,” Mayotte said.
“Many are offered by states looking to encourage certain types of employment, such as health care and public defenders,” she said.
Mayotte’s website, FreeStudentLoanAdvice.org, has a database of these programs, she said.
Meanwhile, after the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, his administration began working on a revised relief plan. The administration could roll out that “Plan B” program before November, and as many as 10 million people could benefit, according to one estimate.

Track qualifying payments, required steps

The loan forgiveness programs can be confusing and many borrowers have run into walls trying to access the relief to which they’re entitled. Given those difficulties, once you know the student loan forgiveness plan you’re pursuing, experts recommend keeping a record of the requirements you’ve met along the way.
For example, borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program are required to make 120 qualifying payments. They should be able to get a history of their payments at StudentAid.gov by looking into their loan details, Mayotte said. They can also ask their servicer for a complete history.

There have also been many policy updates of late for borrowers, almost all of which are positive.
“The changes implemented under the Biden administration will get borrowers closer to forgiveness,” Rubin said. “Especially borrowers who have been in repayment for some time.”
The Education Department has been reviewing the accounts of borrowers in income-driven repayment plans, and in some cases giving people credit on their forgiveness timeline for periods that didn’t qualify previously. For example, some past deferments or forbearances may now count.
If a borrower has multiple loans, meanwhile, they can apply for consolidation — which combines federal student loans into one new loan — and get credit going back as far as their first loan payment on the oldest of their original loans in that bundle. The deadline for consolidating and getting credit under the income-driven repayment plan recount is April 30.
If a borrower believes there is an issue with their payment count, they can talk to their loan servicer or submit a complaint with the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid unit, Rubin said.

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House Republicans have released a new proposal to raise the Social Security retirement age.
Democrats have called for requiring the wealthy to pay more taxes so benefits can be enhanced.
Here’s what current and future beneficiaries need to know about those proposals.

South_agency | E+ | Getty Images

House Republicans unveiled a plan this week that calls for raising the Social Security retirement age. Meanwhile, Democrats and advocates for the program are ramping up their calls to tax the rich to enhance benefits.
“On the right, there is a line in the sand against tax increases,” said Emerson Sprick, associate director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“And on the left, there’s this idea that we’re going to address this problem and not touch benefits,” he said.
Both Social Security and Medicare face looming insolvency dates, while the number of seniors who rely on those programs is projected to grow.
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The trust funds that Social Security relies on to pay benefits may run out in the next decade. For retirees, that may amount to a 23% benefit cut. For the average dual-income couple, that would result in a $17,400 benefit cut, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated.
Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund, which covers Medicare Part A, may face insolvency in 2031.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office is now projecting public debt will grow to 166% of gross domestic product by 2054, up from about 97% as of fiscal year 2023.

This week, the Republican Study Committee, a large group of conservative House Republicans, released a 2025 budget proposal including significant reforms for Social Security and Medicare.
President Joe Biden, in his own recent budget proposal, also outlined broad changes he hopes can be made to those programs.
Changes that are enacted to Social Security and Medicare will have to be bipartisan.
“Any kind of durable policy with a realistic chance of getting through Congress is going to have to include aspects from both of these budgets,” Sprick said.

Republican budget calls for raising retirement age

The Republican Study Committee budget calls for “Making Social Security Solvent Again.”
The reforms would be gradually phased in and “affect no senior in or near retirement,” according to the plan. Ultimately, the goal for the changes is to make Social Security’s retirement trust fund “sustainably solvent.”
Republicans’ budget proposal calls for “modest adjustments” to the retirement age to reflect longer life expectancies, though it did not specify how high the age could go up. Social Security’s full retirement age — when beneficiaries may receive 100% of the benefits they’ve earned — is currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
The plan also calls for reducing full retirement age benefits for high-income earners, while also limiting and phasing out “auxiliary benefits” for those beneficiaries’ spouses and dependents. The budget did not specify the income thresholds to which those changes would apply.
“There is a lot of willingness and openness on the Republican side of the aisle to reduce Social Security benefits for high earners,” Sprick said.
The Republican budget proposal would restructure Medicare so beneficiaries receive premium support subsidies, which they may use to pay for either through federal traditional Medicare or private Medicare Advantage plans. The amount of the subsidies would be based on a benchmark that would be chosen after testing several options, according to the plan.

Biden’s proposal opposes benefit cuts

Biden’s budget outlines the ways in which the president wants to address the looming funding shortages both Social Security and Medicare currently face.
“No benefit cuts,” the budget states regarding Social Security. Efforts to privatize the program are also off the table.
To help shore up Social Security’s shortfall, Biden’s budget calls for the “highest-income Americans to pay their fair share.”
“Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes,” Biden said during his State of the Union address earlier this month.

The president’s budget proposal also calls for improving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for retirees and individuals with disabilities who “face the greatest challenges making ends meet.”
Biden’s budget also aims to shore up Medicare in keeping with changes he has previously proposed. That includes raising the Medicare tax rate on both earned and unearned income from 3.8% to 5% for those earning more than $400,000.

Parties trade jabs on proposals

Biden’s plan stops short of specifying how he would restore Social Security’s solvency with the proposed combination of tax increases and benefit enhancements. That has prompted House Republicans in their budget proposal to state, “President Biden’s plan would cut benefits by 23% in 2033” in reference to the program’s current projected depletion date.
“We could extend the life of Medicare’s Trust Fund permanently — without cutting benefits — if Congressional Republicans would get on board with the President’s historic budget proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement. “The President’s Budget also clearly states his principles for strengthening Social Security.”
Democrats, on the other hand, have complained the Republican budget proposal would result in $1.5 trillion in benefit cuts, including raising the retirement age.
“Because they know these cuts are unpopular with the American people, the [Republican Study Committee] does not reveal how many years they would raise the age nor how they would ‘phase out’ other benefits,” Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, said in a statement. More

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Establishing a routine is necessary for successful investing and building wealth.
When I think about my clients who have managed to reach financial independence, I’d say they have very defined patterns that help them save and track their finances.
Here’s how to develop habits that will help you achieve financial success.

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We’ve all been told that following a routine is important in many aspects of life — for physical fitness, good eating habits, solid work patterns and so on. But many experts are telling us that establishing a routine is also necessary for successful investing and building wealth.
At an early age, my mom drilled into me that it wasn’t how much I earned, but how much I saved. I’ll add that it’s not just how much we save, but how and when we save — ideally, without overthinking it.

When I think about my clients who have managed to reach financial independence, I’d say they also have very defined patterns that help them save and track their finances. 

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Let’s take a look at what some prominent people have said on the subject and then I’ll share my tips on how you can apply their observations to upping your own personal finance game.

To change a habit, ‘understand its structure’

The advice: In his best-selling book, “The Power of Habit,” Charles Duhigg found people who stick to a daily routine are more likely to make smarter financial decisions.
“Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables,” Duhigg wrote, referring to his observation that building wealth through investing takes time and consistency to develop good habits and see results. 
Another quote, “The key to changing a habit is to understand its structure — to identify the cue, the routine, and the reward — and then alter them,” is Duhigg’s way of noting that it’s important to understand your own spending and saving habits. That helps you identify what triggers you to spend money, establish a routine for saving a certain amount of money from each paycheck and reward yourself for achieving your savings goals. 

“The brain can be reprogrammed. You just have to be deliberate about it,” Duhigg wrote. This can be applied to investing by recognizing that you can change your financial habits and mindset with deliberate effort. By educating yourself about investing, setting specific goals and staying disciplined, you can reprogram your brain to prioritize saving and investing for your future.
My take: Data from Pew Research supports this. Pew found that individuals who establish consistent saving routines are more likely to build wealth over time than those who don’t. The report says that “households benefit from automatic mechanisms to generate savings. Such programs have shown promise for other types of savings and could, with appropriate alteration, offer a valuable platform for building and rebuilding emergency savings.”
Putting your savings and investing on automatic is a small change that may significantly affect your net worth over the long term. Instead of waiting to save, set up automatic savings to your important “goal” accounts. Have money transferred regularly to your emergency fund, your retirement savings, kids’ college savings, paying off credit cards and even for your next dream vacation. 

‘Automatic’ behaviors carry us along

The advice: Wendy Wood, a professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California, is the author of “Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick.” Wood says that habits give us the freedom to focus on other things while our “automatic” behaviors carry us along. 
By establishing routines that support our financial goals, we can free up mental energy to focus on other aspects of our lives. This can be especially important when it comes to investing, which can be complex and stressful. “Small changes to the environment can lead to big changes in behavior,” Wood wrote. Wood also said that “the more we repeat a behavior, the less effort it takes to do it.” The more you invest, the easier it becomes. 

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My take: If you typically invest in individual stocks, consider diversifying your portfolio by also adding mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track a broad market index. By making this a regular habit, you’ll also become more comfortable with the movement of the stock market, diversifying your portfolio and the process of investing and rebalancing. This, in turn, will require less effort over time and reduce investing fears.

Daily actions outweigh ‘once in a while’ moves

The advice: In podcaster Gretchen Rubin’s best-selling book, “Better than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits,” she explores the science of habit formation and gives advice for making positive changes. 
“What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while,” she wrote. That can be applied to investing by consistently contributing to your investment accounts, even if it’s just a small amount each month. 
Another Rubin quote, “Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life,” can be applied to investing by recognizing that building wealth is not just about achieving a certain financial goal, but about creating a more secure financial future for yourself and your loved ones.
My take: Establish routines that support financial goals. Make a choice that you’re going to get serious about saving by committing to establishing good habits — including forming and following a budget, making saving from each paycheck a priority, adding to your investments regularly and paying off credit card debt. 
Set specific financial goals and stick to them and automate as many things as you can, including savings and recurring bills such as insurance and mortgage payments. Meet at least once a year with your financial advisor so you can be sure to stay on track.

5 ways to build habits that improve your finances
You can develop the habits that will help you achieve financial success by consistently following these steps:

Identify the cues, routines, and rewards that drive your financial behavior.
Make small adjustments to your investment strategy.
Set specific goals.
Contribute regularly to your accounts.
Recognize that wealth-building is a long-term process.

— By Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Irvine, California-based Sun Group Wealth Partners. She is a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. More