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As inflation comes down, retirees will likely see lower Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
To prepare for smaller increases to their monthly checks, there are steps retirees can take to protect their income now.

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High inflation has prompted higher Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
But as the rate of price growth subsides, the annual increases for Social Security may fall in 2025 and beyond, predicts Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group.

In 2024, more than 66 million Americans are getting a 3.2% increase to their monthly Social Security checks. For retirees, the average increase is about $59 per month, according to The Senior Citizens League.
That adjustment is far lower than the 8.7% COLA beneficiaries saw in 2023 or the 5.9% boost in 2022, both of which were the highest in more than 40 years.
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The benefit boost beneficiaries saw in 2024 is still above the 2.6% average over the past 20 years, according to The Senior Citizens League.
But that may be poised to change as the rate of inflation comes down.

Early estimates for the 2025 Social Security COLA

New government data points to a 2.4% Social Security COLA for 2025, The Senior Citizens League estimates, based on new government inflation data released this week.
That estimate is subject to change. The Social Security Administration typically announces the COLA for the following year in October.
The annual adjustment is calculated using third-quarter data from a subset of the consumer price index, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W. As of February, the CPI-W increased 3.1% over the past 12 months.
“This is way early,” Johnson said. “It will change multiple times since the COLA is on the average inflation in the third quarter of the year against the previous year.”
“A lot can happen between now and then,” she said.
In the meantime, experts say there are steps retirees can take to help compensate for the prospect of lower benefit increases.

Make the most of your cash

While inflation is coming down, interest rates savers can earn on their cash are still the highest they’ve been in years.
For retirees who have extra money in their monthly budget, it can be helpful to set those sums aside to help prepare for unexpected expenses that may crop up later, Johnson said.
Online savings accounts are offering higher returns on cash. Certificates of deposit also provide a way to guarantee a certain return over a short- or long-term period even as interest rates come down.

With inflation still elevated, it also helps to limit fixed expenses, as well as try to find ways to cut and save, said Lisa Featherngill, a certified financial planner and director of wealth planning at Comerica Wealth Management in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“We highly suggest that people in retirement do an annual cash flow projection,” Featherngill said.
That can help identify any difference between expected income and expenses.
To make up the difference, retirees may use investment income, if they have it, or find other ways of cutting spending or generating returns on their cash, she said.

Consider other sources of fixed income

For the average American, Social Security replaces about 40% of the income they received while working, said Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, which specializes in annuities and life insurance.
“You’ve got to get that other 60% from somewhere,” LaVigne said.
It helps to invest your savings to grow for the future when you need to withdraw from that money, he said.
Annuities, which provide fixed income in retirement in exchange for a lump-sum investment, can be one way to supplement a retiree’s income, LaVigne said.

Consult with a financial advisor

Before purchasing an annuity or other retirement income strategy, it helps to consult with a professional.
“Having a really good financial advisor is the first step,” Featherngill said.
Many financial advisors are licensed to sell annuities. Ideally, they will not be dedicated to one company’s products and can shop around to find the best deal for you, she said.

Importantly, they can also look at your overall financial situation to evaluate whether an annuity is the right decision for you, or whether other strategies may better help you in retirement.
“The most important thing when you’re choosing a financial advisor is to choose someone who you’re comfortable with,” LaVigne said.
To accomplish that, it helps to talk to several professionals before selecting one.
“You have to interview them for the job,” LaVigne said, and find someone whose style works for you.
Retirees who have lower incomes may be able to find more information from their local senior centers and other community resources, Johnson suggested.

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After years of being ignored, menopause has entered the public conversation.
Celebrities from Drew Barrymore to Naomi Watts have opened up about symptoms and promoted products. Yet despite the increased chatter, there is a long way to go when it comes to treating symptoms — and a lot of opportunities for companies to step in to fill the gap.

In fact, menopause is among the female health conditions with the highest unmet need and has “enormous potential for innovative treatments,” according to a recent McKinsey report.
The management consultant estimates the global market potential to treat symptoms ranges from $120 billion to as much as $350 billion globally.
Menopause occurs when women have gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. While that happens, on average, at around age 51, women can have symptoms for years beforehand in what’s known as perimenopause. Symptoms can also continue in the postmenopausal phase.
Those symptoms include hot flashes, anxiety, weight gain, vaginal dryness, mood changes, sleep problems and changes in skin conditions. More than 450 million women worldwide are affected by menopause and perimenopause symptoms, according to McKinsey.
There is also a big unmet demand for menopause products and services, said Anna Pione, a partner at McKinsey who leads the firm’s research on the future of wellness.

Menopause is “underserved, underfunded, underpaid attention to,” she said. “That would apply to women’s health in general, and then specifically and acutely to menopause in particular.”

‘Exciting’ developments

Hormone therapy was the typical menopause treatment for decades. However, it got a bad rap in 2002 after a Women’s Health Initiative study found estrogen plus progestin therapy increased a woman’s risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
“A lot of women bailed off hormone therapy for their own fear, or because their doctors were afraid, or some combination thereof,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health and medical director of the nonprofit Menopause Society.
From 2002 to 2009, hormone therapy claims were reduced by more than 70%, a 2012 study showed.
“It left a lot of women without any management at all,” Faubion said.
However, research now shows that the benefits may outweigh the risks for women under age 60, or less than 10 years out of their menopause diagnosis.
“Our knowledge has changed,” said Dr. Karen Adams, a Stanford University professor and director of the school’s menopause and healthy aging program. “It is really very exciting, but women are left shaking the trees trying to find someone who can help them.”

Investing in the theme

There are not many publicly-listed companies in the space. The largest U.S. name is Pfizer, which has a number of products in its portfolio. They include Duavee and Premarin, hormone therapy treatments for hot flashes and the prevention of osteoporosis.

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Pfizer year to date

Then, there is tiny Biote, which has a market cap just north of $400 million. The company, which went public in May 2022 through a SPAC deal, makes customized bioidentical hormone pellets to address hormone imbalances.
Hormone treatment in general is an area of focus that is “really bubbling up to the surface,” said Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala, who has a buy rating on Biote.
Menopause is the largest part of its market, he said. Biote uses blood tests to customize its hormone pellets, which are inserted into the body subcutaneously.
“It gives you that consistent amount of delivery, and … there’s no concern about compliance and if you’ll remember a day or forget a day,” he said. “What it means in the end is that you feel better.”

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Biote year to date

Meanwhile, Dare Bioscience, which has an even smaller market cap of about $47 million, has a hormone therapy in the pipeline. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on women’s health, has an intravaginal ring hormone therapy that is set to progress to a single Phase 3 study.
There is also a race to find non-hormone treatments.
Last May, the Food and Drug Administration approved Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma’s Veozah, also known as fezolinetant, to treat hot flashes.
Bayer also has a drug in its pipeline called elinzanetant. The German company said in January that therapy reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes and improved sleep in two late-stage trials. The results of a third phase 3 study is expected in coming months, Bayer said. It will then submit for approval.
In addition, late-clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Vistagen Therapeutics, with a market cap of about $100 million, has a trial underway for a hormone-free nasal spray to treat hot flashes.
In the non-drug category, fertility benefits manager Progyny recently announced it was expanding into menopause coverage by partnering with private companies Gennev and Midi Health.
“The fact that they are focusing on menopause as one of the next legs of the stool is an indicator of the potential opportunity there,” said Sasha Kelemen, the head of women’s health investment banking at Leerink Partners.

Private innovation

Still, much of the innovation in menopause is happening in the private space.
“Menopause is inevitable, like death and taxes, and all women will go through this,” Kelemen said. “We just don’t have a lot of public women’s health companies yet, and hopefully that will change.”
In 2022, Kelemen orchestrated a deal for Unified Women’s Healthcare to buy Gennev, the Progyny partner that’s a digital menopause care delivery platform. Kelemen would not disclose the financial terms.
Midi Health, the other Progyny partner that’s a virtual care clinic specializing in perimenopause and menopause, is another company attracting investor dollars. In September, Alphabet’s venture capital arm, Google Ventures, led a $25 million Series A funding round for the company, bringing its total funding to $40 million.
Still, women’s health has long been underfunded, and menopause is getting just a small slice of that pie.
“The dollars don’t match the conversation that’s happening,” Kelemen said. “While it’s growing, it’s still growing too slowly and definitely not in any way proportionate to the potential impact and the need of the actual population” that needs to be served.
That said, Kelemen is optimistic funding will continue to increase. She’s also bullish on consolidation in the space and the potential for new innovations.
“Because it is a hormonal change for a 10-, 15-, 20-year period, the needs of women will change,” she said. “There’s opportunity for multiple platforms to succeed.” More

The White House touted its actions to reduce the expenses burdening students, including moving to end origination fees on student loans.
The “reforms would save students and borrowers billions in unnecessary fees and improve the college and loan repayment experience,” a statement from the Biden administration said.

President Joe Biden announces the cancellation of an additional $1.2 billion in student loan debt for about 153,000 borrowers, at meeting with community at Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, CA.
Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

The White House is talking up its actions to reduce the expenses burdening students, including moving to end origination fees on student loans.
The “reforms would save students and borrowers billions in unnecessary fees and improve the college and loan repayment experience,” according to a statement from the Biden administration released on Friday.

While most private lenders have done away with student loan origination fees, the federal government still charges them. Federal student loan borrowers can face expenses of 1% to 4% of their total borrowing amount. President Joe Biden’s 2025 budget, released earlier this week, calls for the end of these fees.
The White House said on Friday it considers these expenses to be “junk fees,” defined as “hidden costs or surprise fees that companies and institutions include on customer or student bills, increasing their costs.”
Consumer advocates praised Biden’s efforts.
“By eliminating origination fees on federal student loans, borrowers should be able to borrow less to cover their costs,” said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit.
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Around 7 million undergraduate, graduate and parent student loan borrowers pay origination fees, which the White House described as “nothing more than a tax imposed on students by the government, costing consumers more than $1 billion annually.”
A typical teacher or nurse taking out federal loans for undergraduate and graduate degrees will pay $1,000 or more over the life of their loan because of these fees, the White House said in Friday’s statement.
“Parents often fare even worse, with the average parent borrower paying out an additional $2,800 or more,” it said.
Ultimately, the elimination of these fees would require an act of Congress, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
But, he said: “There is bipartisan support for such a change.”

End to college bank fees, textbook charges

The White House on Friday also said that the U.S. Department of Education is undergoing negotiated rulemaking to curb the “harmful fees” on college accounts charged by certain banks. For example, the department is looking to ban financial institutions that contract with colleges from charging insufficient fund and closure fees.
Between 2021 and 2022, financial institutions generated more than $17.3 million in revenue from more than 650,000 student bank accounts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found. These banks may hit students with overdraft fees as high as $36, among other charges, even as many other financial institutions have ended such practices.
Account holders at historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and Hispanic-servicing institutions paid especially high fees, on average, according to the CFPB.

The Education Department is also looking to end automatic billing on tuition for textbooks, the White House said.
“Competitive markets provide consumers choice and value, but automatic charges for textbooks and course materials leave students with little ability to meaningfully shop around for better prices or to utilize free and open-source textbooks,” the Biden administration said.
In addition, it is considering requiring colleges to return any unused financial aid funds for meal plans to students. More

Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

The average woman lives roughly six years longer than men, to about 79 years old.
That longevity makes guaranteed income sources such as Social Security especially important, according to one expert.
Women also tend to save less money for retirement than men, putting them in a tougher financial position.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Choosing when to claim Social Security is a decision that can carry big financial stakes for all older Americans, but it’s especially important for women.
“It all comes down to longevity,” Mary Beth Franklin, a certified financial planner and Social Security expert, said Thursday at Financial Advisor Magazine’s annual Invest in Women conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Women tend to live longer than men and tend to spend more years in retirement than men,” Franklin said.

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The age at which one claims Social Security affects the size of their monthly benefits.
There’s a financial incentive to wait. People who claim before their “full retirement age” see their benefits permanently reduced. Someone who claims this year, upon turning 62 years old, would have a benefit about 30% lower than if they waited until their full retirement age of 67, according to the Social Security Administration.
Beneficiaries get an 8% guaranteed increase in their Social Security checks for every year they defer beyond their full retirement age, up to 70 years old. This is due to something called “delayed retirement credits.”
For example, someone who claims at 70 would get 124% of their full benefit at age 67.

That income is guaranteed for life.

Why Social Security is ‘crucial’ for women

Guaranteed income such as Social Security is “crucial” for women, Franklin said.
Women live almost six years longer than men, on average, to age 79 versus 73½ years old, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That life expectancy gap has widened. It was 4.8 years as recently as 2010.
This means women must spread their income over a longer time in retirement, raising the odds they’ll run out of money.
Women also often put aside less savings relative to men, both because their average earnings at work are lower and they may have taken time off to care for kids or an aging parent, for example, Franklin said.

What to consider when claiming benefits

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Social Security monthly benefits are generally based on age and lifetime earnings history.
“Full retirement age” is the age at which someone becomes eligible for their full Social Security benefit. That age may be between age 66 and 67, depending on when someone was born.
However, Americans can claim benefits as early as age 62.
Doing so locks in a lower monthly benefit for life. The claiming decision isn’t reversible except in a few circumstances, Franklin said.

There may be reasons why it would make sense to claim early: for example, someone who’s in poor health and doesn’t expect to live a long time, or for households that “need the money” now, perhaps due to a job loss, Franklin said.
There are also complex rules for couples regarding spousal and survivor benefits and in circumstances of divorce that may also make it more advantageous to claim early in certain instances, she said.
Importantly, continuing to work after claiming benefits — if before full retirement age — may temporarily reduce your Social Security benefits due to an earnings cap. That cap is $22,320 in 2024.

It all comes down to longevity.

Mary Beth Franklin
certified financial planner and Social Security expert

Another benefit of waiting: Delaying a claim also means a larger annual cost-of-living adjustment, in dollar terms, Franklin said. That’s because the COLA percentage would be applied to a larger base of benefits each year.
Delaying past 70 years old likely wouldn’t yield a financial benefit since delayed retirement credits don’t accrue past that age, Franklin said.  

Don’t claim early out of political fear

It also doesn’t make sense to claim early out of fear Social Security’s trust funds will run dry, Franklin said. Without action from Congress, that’s currently forecast to happen in 2033, at which point roughly 80% of promised benefits will be payable.
“[Congress] will step in, even if it’s at the last minute,” Franklin said.
“If you need the money, go ahead and claim Social Security early,” she added. “But if you’re claiming Social Security out of fear. It’s like selling stocks in the down market,” since you’ve “locked in a loss.”

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April 15 is the federal income tax deadline for most taxpayers, but certain filers in eight states affected by natural disasters have until June 17.
There are several free tax-filing options this season, including Direct File and IRS Free File, among others.
It’s possible you can still reduce your bill with credits and deductions.

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The federal tax deadline is officially one month away for most filers — and experts say there are some key things to know this season.
As of March 1, the IRS received roughly 54 million individual returns, which is less than 40% of the 146 million expected this season, according to the agency.

So far, the average refund is $3,182, up about 5% from the same period last year. Of course, the average may change as more returns flood in.
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April 15 is the federal deadline to file and pay taxes owed for most filers. But parts of eight states affected by natural disasters have until June 17, according to IRS spokesperson Eric Smith.
“You get the extra time, automatically, meaning you don’t need to ask for it,” he said.
Here are three key things to know before the filing deadline:

1. You have several free tax-filing options

This season, taxpayers have several free filing options, including the IRS Direct File pilot, a program directly through the agency, which fully opened on Tuesday to certain taxpayers in 12 states.
You may also opt for IRS Free File, a partnership between the IRS and a nonprofit coalition of eight software partners. For 2023, you can use Free File with an adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less, up from $73,000 in 2022.  
Other free filing options include Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Tax Counseling for the Elderly, MilTax and private company software.

2. See if you can claim a credit that millions ‘overlook’

Nearly 1 in 5 eligible taxpayers miss the earned income tax credit, or EITC, a tax break for low- to moderate-income workers that averaged $2,541 last season, according to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
“This is a lot of money” and millions of Americans “simply overlook it,” he told reporters on a press call in January.For tax year 2023, the EITC is worth up to $7,430 per family with three or more children, up from $6,935 in 2022. Eligible workers between ages 25 and 64 without a qualifying child can receive up to $600.
Some filers may also be eligible for tax credits for buying a vehicle or making home energy improvements in 2023, according to the IRS.

3. There’s still time to lower your tax bill

After Dec. 31, “the toolbox of options is much smaller” for lowering your tax bill or boosting your refund for that tax year, said certified financial planner and enrolled agent John Loyd, owner at The Wealth Planner in Fort Worth, Texas. But there are still strategies you can employ.One of the first choices is typically pretax individual retirement account contributions, which may offer a deduction, depending on your workplace plan participation and income. Similarly, you could snag a tax break by making contributions to a spousal IRA.
The limit is $6,500 per account (with an additional $1,000 if you’re age 50 or older) and you have until the tax deadline for 2023 contributions. Depending on your income, you could also qualify for the saver’s credit for making those retirement contributions, worth up to 10%, 20% or 50% of your deposit.
There’s also still time for 2023 health savings account contributions, assuming you have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan. HSAs offer triple tax breaks with an upfront deduction, tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals for eligible medical expenses. 
— CNBC’s Sharon Epperson contributed reporting. More

Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

In the 2023 movie “Barbie,” viewers see many Barbies take on multiple roles, from an all-women Supreme Court to journalists, athletes, doctors and scientists.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics broke down how many women were employed in occupations that appeared in the film.
Some professions may surprise you — there are more women in construction than in writing and editing combined.

Margot Robbie as Barbie in a movie from Mattel and Warner Bros.
Mattel | Warner Bros.

In the “Barbie” movie, the narrator says, “Barbie has a great day every day.” It might be because she gets to be what her heart desires.
The film’s Barbies participate in a wide range of roles and professions, from an all-women Supreme Court and president, to lawyers, journalists, athletes, doctors and scientists.

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In real life, women accounted for 374,000 lawyers and another 34,000 judges, magistrates and other judicial workers in 2023, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics detailing occupational data for U.S. women based on Barbieland roles.
In that same year, there were more women in construction and extraction jobs (240,000) than those who were writers and authors (44,000) and editors (46,000) combined, the government agency found.

While women continue to face some obstacles, they are slowly becoming more represented in fields. Both women and the broader economy stand to benefit.
“The group doing best in the economy is college-educated women,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
“Their participation is expanding, their shares [in] leadership is only gradually going up, and the recent changes to the economy, like the shift to remote work, really do stand to benefit women substantially,” she said.

As women’s participation in the labor force has increased over the years, the group continues to face hurdles along the way.

A tight labor market ‘translates to more opportunities’

The employment-to-population ratio for prime-age women, or those between the ages of 25 and 54, is the highest it has been since 2001, according to Alí R. Bustamante, an economist and deputy director of the worker power and economic security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a left-leaning think tank based in New York. 
“We have the tightest labor market for women in the past 20-something years,” Bustamante said. “It’s the strongest it’s been in over a generation and it translates to more opportunities for women [with] the narrowing of employment and pay gaps that are often seen between men and women.”
As of now, women earn just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center.
The narrowed pay gap is due to the strengthened labor market, which has enabled women to transition from lower-paying and feminized occupations into higher-paying jobs they wouldn’t have accessed in the past, said Bustamante. 

Actor Margot Robbie as Barbie.
Source: Warner Brothers Pictures

Equal opportunity and civil rights also provided a legal framework that further lowered the barriers to entry for women, he said.
“As the labor market gets tighter and tighter and tighter, women’s employment rises faster than men’s,” Pollak said. “When unemployment is below 4%, for example, we find that participation rises, and a lot of that participation increases among women,” she said.
When working conditions become attractive, many more women are prepared to enter the job market, a behavior the U.S. saw during the Covid-19 pandemic when remote work was introduced.

Discrimination, culture challenges remain

While women have made strides over the years, workforce challenges are still present.
“Some of them have to do with discrimination, some of them have to do with culture, some of them have to do with the choices that we make in our relationships,” Pollak said.
Other challenges are specific to industries. For example, while construction has seen major federal investments to boost manufacturing in the U.S., women still only make up about 10% of the entire industry’s workforce, Bustamante said.
“To think of just the scale of construction employment and women are still such a marginal piece of that sector,” he said. “It really speaks to these barriers that exist that largely associated with social barriers and discriminatory practices that have largely excluded women in the industry.”

Child care and other household labor continue to fill women’s plates. In marriages where husbands and wives earn about the same, women spend roughly two hours more a week on caregiving than men, and about two and a half hours more on housework, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
“If we want to improve women’s opportunities and have a situation where it actually makes sense for women to work and they’re not punished for working by child care costs, we want to ideally … run an economic policy in such a way that we do things that favor long-term growth and sustainability,” Pollak said.

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The precious metals gold and silver are favorite stores of value for doomsday preppers, along with food and water.
Costco added silver coins for sale as the retail warehouse giant saw sales of gold bars top $100 million in the first fiscal quarter.
“Lots of people are more confident that a massive disaster is impending than that American prosperity will continue,” said John Hay, the editor of “Apocalypse in American Literature and Culture.”

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty Images

Among the cans of tuna and flashlights in doomsday preppers’ closets, there is an increasingly popular staple — gold bars.
The recent rise in value of the yellow metal is not just another chapter of favorable economic conditions for the asset, experts say.

People’s interest in gold — and silver, too — reflect deep anxieties about our society and its future.
“People are looking for permanence in a crumbling world,” said Timothy Morton, a philosopher and ecologist.
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To that point: Costco last year began selling 1-ounce gold bars for around $1,900; they sold out within hours. The retail warehousing giant sold more than $100 million of the precious metal in its first fiscal quarter, it said, and has now added silver coins to its shelves, too. Experts say its target audience for these products likely include at least some of the same people who’d consider buying its $6,000 doomsday prep kit, which comes with 600 cans of food.
“Lots of people are more confident that a massive disaster is impending than that American prosperity will continue,” said John Hay, editor of “Apocalypse in American Literature and Culture” and an associate professor at the University of Nevada.

“Tangible goods and products can feel more secure than promises and assurances,” Hay said.

Indeed, one of the chief doomsday fears is that the global economy will collapse, rendering all conventional assets, from government bonds to real estate, worthless, said James Berger, a senior lecturer at Yale University who teaches courses on apocalyptic literature and film.
Gold tends to gain value when people lose faith in banks and money, as it did in the Great Recession. In mid-March, the gold contract for April settled at $2,188.60 per ounce, the highest level since the contract’s creation in 1974.
Even financial advisors and investment experts can sound dire when talking about gold.
William Bernstein, author of “The Four Pillars of Investing,” mostly dismissed the metal as a serious investment, pointing out that it has risen around just 1% a year, on average, over the past century.
Still, Bernstein said in a recent interview with CNBC, that a small allocation to the metal was useful insurance against “an economic catastrophe.”

Gold, nostalgia and the end of the world…

At the heart of people’s apocalyptic fantasies is nostalgia, Berger said.
Many preppers feel “deeply disturbed by the complexity and ambiguity of modern life,” he said.
“Gold represents a traditional, pre-industrial, pre-modern-finance form of wealth and exchange,” Berger said, adding that its “simplicity, solidity and ancient tradition” appealed to people’s desire for a vanished cultural stability.

Hay, who grew up in the Rust Belt, said he’s well aware of the feeling that “the prosperous days belong to the past.”
“In the United States, people are very worried about decline — that the future will be worse than the present,” Hay said.
More than 70% Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a NBC News poll at the end of 2023.

When everything else is going down the tubes, gold is the one thing that’s likely going to do well.

William Bernstein
author of “The Four Pillars of Investing”

“The turn toward gold is like the turn toward authoritarian leaders, toward the ideal of someone who knows what is true and right and who has the courage to return a nation to its former truth and greatness,” Berger said.
“Make America gold again!” he joked, referring to former President Donald Trump’s nostalgic campaign slogan.
Trump has called for returning to the gold standard and, at least at one point, owned up to $200,000 of the metal, reports found.

…and climate change denial?

To be sure, fears over the world’s future are hardly baseless.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently warned of nuclear conflict and “the destruction of civilization” if other countries sent ground troops into Ukraine, where war rages along with in Gaza. Experts are concerned that Trump would try to pull the U.S. out of NATO if he was reelected, which could raise security risks across the globe.

A structure is engulfed in flames as a wildfire called the Highland Fire burns in Aguanga, California, on Oct. 30, 2023.
Ethan Swope | AP

And then there’s climate change.
“People have always been afraid of the end of the world, but what makes this special is that the Earth could in fact return to weather we haven’t seen since the Triassic period,” said Morton, a philosopher and author of the upcoming book, “Hell, In Search of a Christian Ecology.”
Morton describes global warming as a “hyperobject,” an idea that is too big for us to understand, and he believes that the purchases of precious metals feed into denial about climate change.
“Unlike stocks and paper money, we dig them right out of the earth, so they symbolize the way the planet has seemed to us, for thousands of years — that it is for humans to extract value from.”
With the risks of global warming only rising, he said, “people are holding on to these symbols for dear life.”
Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that in mid-March, the gold contract for April settled at the highest level since the contract’s creation in 1974.

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Spring is coming soon — and so is a competitive rental market.
A potential tenant may come across different types of properties available for rent, from straight-forward rental buildings to properties that may come with their own particularities, such as condos and housing cooperatives.
Properties such as condominiums and co-ops tend to carry high upfront fees, while traditional rental buildings are more likely to be under local rent regulation policies.

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Spring is almost here — and people looking for a new rental face a competitive market.
Asking rent prices in the U.S. jumped to $1,959 in February, according to Zillow Group’s latest Rental Market Report. That’s up just 0.4% from the month prior, but a 3.5% increase from a year ago.

The national rental vacancy rate remained flat at 6.6% by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve.
Vacancies have increased in some cities due to new builds, and more new apartment buildings are expected to hit the rental market in 2024. Yet, some cities have few open apartments. New York City’s vacancy rate recently hit 1.4%, the lowest level since 1968.
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Consumers hunting for a new place may encounter different types of rental properties available on the market, from straight-forward rental buildings to properties that may come with their own particularities, such as condos and housing cooperatives.
“Buildings really determine their own policies for what an owner can do if they decide to rent out the unit and for how long, and what the requirements are for doing that,” said Carlo Romero, a StreetEasy concierge.

That means if you are looking at a rental, you should consider what the application process is like, any fees that are involved and what amenities you will have access to, experts say.

Upfront fees can vary significantly

Properties such as condominiums and co-ops tend to carry high upfront fees, while traditional rental buildings are more likely to be under local rent regulation policies.
“In a condo or co-op building, upfront costs and fees are determined at the building level and they can vary significantly,” Romero said. “An application fee for renting a condo might be several hundred dollars, maybe even a thousand. And there are often move-in fees or move-out fees associated.”
To compare, for a typical rental building, according to New York state law, the application fee is capped at $20, and the security deposit is limited to one month’s rent, Romero said. Wisconsin has a similar cap where the application fee must not exceed $20.
Rhode Island has a new state law that prohibits landlords, rental agents and property managers from charging application fees to rental applicants beyond the actual cost of conducting certain background checks if needed.
In addition to the monthly rent, make sure to inquire about all the additional costs you may be responsible for in a potential unit.

What to know about renting a condo or co-op

Condos and co-op properties are primarily targeted to people who want to buy. They may appear in a rental marketplace platform if the owner decides to put the property up for rent.
There are key differences between condos and co-ops. A condo is a real estate property that one can own within a larger complex. In a co-op, a resident owns a share of the building based on the size of their unit, but does not own that property outright.

If you come across condos or co-ops in your rental search, here are a few things to consider:
1. Condos
In general, condo owners have more flexibility when it comes to renting out their apartments, experts say.
“Having a tenant approved by the condo board tends to be more straightforward than a co-op application,” said Romero, because co-ops can often have more intense processes with their own stipulations, and such rules vary building to building.
Condos tend to be newer buildings and have more amenities available, such as in-unit or in-building laundry, a community pool or an outdoor space.
Most condos involve a homeowners association and require HOA fees. Ask your prospective landlord if you as a tenant would be responsible for such costs or other “common charges.”

For perspective, the average HOA fee for condo owners is $300 to $400 a month, but they can go over $1,000 a month in some markets, according to RubyHome, a luxury real estate site.
In most cases, a tenant who rents a condo has the same privileges as the owner would, said Romero. However, as a potential renter, it’s important to ask before signing the lease if access to such amenities is granted to tenants.
Some buildings in New York, for example, have units available for both condo owners and renters, but condo owners might have access to some amenities that are not available for tenants, said Romero. 
2. Co-ops
If a co-op building allows shareholders to rent their units, the prospective tenant may need to apply to live in the co-op and go through a co-op board approval process.
The application process for a co-op is truly up for consideration by the board of the building, “and they can reject an applicant for any reason,” said Romero. 
Each building may have their own set of requirements. It could require an independent background check with additional fees, experts say.
“A co-op is like a corporation. They have to like you, have you be one of them,” said Frank Dong, a real estate agent with Redfin.
Additionally, co-op buildings may have rules that limit how long a renter can live there, said Romero.

3. Traditional rental buildings
While condos and co-op buildings may have limitations to how long a renter can live there, tenants have more certainty that they can continue renting in traditional rental buildings. In such properties, you don’t typically run the risk of an owner wanting to live in that unit, or face building policies that limit how long you can stay.
Additionally, “the application tends to be a lot more straightforward,” said Romero. You know what the application fee is going to be, you know what the security deposit is going to be and you know how much you’re going to have to pay upfront.

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