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Your paycheck could be slightly bigger in 2024 due to federal income tax bracket adjustments, experts say.
However, you should still review your federal and state withholdings throughout the year to avoid a surprise tax bill.

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As the new year kicks off, some workers could see a slightly bigger paycheck due to tax bracket changes from the IRS.
The IRS in November unveiled the federal income tax brackets for 2024, with earnings thresholds for each tier adjusting by about 5.4% higher for inflation.

While it’s lower than the tax bracket changes for 2023, “it’s still a pretty handsome increase,” said certified financial planner Roger Stinnett, managing director of wealth planning for First Foundation Advisors in Irvine, California.
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If your wages are similar to last year, the 2024 tax bracket adjustment could result in a small paycheck increase, depending on your withholding, experts say.
Of course, prolonged higher costs can chip away at tax savings.
Annual inflation declined slightly in November, but many Americans are still feeling the pinch of elevated prices for housing, motor vehicle insurance and other day-to-day expenses.

Keep a ‘running total’ of your income

“You always want to keep a running total in your mind of how your income is changing, because it’s complex,” said Stinnett, who is also a certified public accountant.
The federal income tax brackets show how much you owe on each portion of your “taxable income,” which is calculated by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.
For 2024, the standard deduction also increased for inflation, rising to $14,600 for single filers, up from $13,850 in 2023. Married couples filing jointly may claim $29,200, up from $27,700. That change could reduce taxable income for some filers.

Check your paycheck withholding

Your federal and state paycheck withholdings affect how much taxes you pay throughout the year. You can expect a refund when you’ve overpaid or a tax bill when you haven’t paid enough.
Even if your paycheck increased in 2024, “new tax changes could still place you in a lower or higher bracket,” warned CFP Ashton Lawrence, director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina.

It’s important to keep track of tax law and life changes that may affect your situation and adjust your paycheck withholding via Form W-4 with your employer as needed, he said.
Life changes that can affect your taxes may include marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, retirement, buying a home, filing for bankruptcy and more, according to the IRS.
One “quick check” could be last year’s tax return, Stinnett said. If you had a large refund or owed a sizable balance, that may signal it’s time to review your withholding.

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U.S. companies aim to reduce their average raises for workers in 2024.
The job market has cooled from its torrid pace in 2021 and 2022, when businesses increased pay significantly to attract talent.

Ezra Bailey | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Workers are poised to get smaller raises in 2024 — and their annual pay bumps are unlikely to increase again anytime soon amid a cooler job market, labor experts said.
U.S. companies plan to give salary increases of 4%, on average, this year, down from 4.4% in 2023, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson.

Similarly, a Mercer poll indicates companies’ total salary budgets, which include money for all pay increases, such as raises and promotions, will be 3.8% in 2024, on average. That’s down from the 4.1% paid out last year.
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“We certainly think it will continue to come down,” said Lauren Mason, senior principal in Mercer’s career group. “But how much it does is a big open question at this point.”
That said, the current forecast isn’t paltry by recent historical standards. Raises averaged about 3% a year following the 2008 financial crisis, experts said.

How supply and demand affect raises

Supply and demand of labor is the No. 1 driver of company decisions regarding raises, said Lori Wisper, who leads Willis Towers Watson’s work and rewards global solutions unit.

The demand for labor exploded in the spring of 2021 as the U.S. economy reopened from its pandemic-era doldrums. But the labor supply (i.e., available workers) was limited.
Workers had ample opportunity as businesses clamored to fill jobs. Companies raised wages at the fastest pace in decades to compete and attract talent.

During this era, known as the “great resignation,” workers had the luxury of being able to easily quit their jobs and get new ones with much higher pay. Companies also doled out more generous raises to existing workers to retain them.
“We had people changing jobs like wildfire,” Wisper said. “Retention was everything.”
“That might be a once-in-a-lifetime labor market,” she added. “We might not see that again.”
Now, the job market has cooled from its torrid pace in 2021 and 2022. However, data suggests it remains strong relative to pre-pandemic norms.

Companies generally must balance two competing priorities when choosing how to boost pay, experts said. That means being conservative enough so as not to overextend one’s budget — in which case future layoffs are likely — but generous enough that the company remains competitive and doesn’t lose workers due to poor pay.
The former dynamic was on display in 2022 and 2023 when some of the nation’s biggest technology firms announced mass layoffs. Some of those represented an unwinding of overzealous hiring early during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Companies don’t often increase their average raises, making 2022 “notable” when it breached 4%, Wisper said. For multinational companies, going from 3% to 4% on average might represent tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, she added.
Of course, annual raises exceeded 4% — and even approached 5% — before the 2008 financial crisis, but then declined after the economic downturn, she said.  Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlined recent errors by student loan servicers, and the U.S. Department of Education announced it would withhold payments to three companies.
“Today’s actions make clear that the Biden-Harris Administration will not give student loan servicers a free pass for poor performance and missteps that jeopardize borrowers,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2022.
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

When student loan servicers make errors by cutting corners or sidestepping the law, it can “pose serious risks to individuals and the economy,” said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.
Chopra’s comments are part of an “issue spotlight” released by the bureau Friday, outlining a number of problems borrowers faced when their payments resumed in October after the pandemic-era pause of more than three years expired.

Borrowers experienced long phone hold times with their servicers, significant delays in the processing of their repayment applications, and inaccurate and untimely billing statements, the bureau found.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it would withhold payments to three student loan servicers as part of its efforts to hold the companies accountable.
The federal government contracts with different companies to service its student loans, and pays the servicers a total of more than $1 billion a year to do so, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
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Aidvantage, EdFinancial and Nelnet “all failed to meet contractual obligations to send timely billing statements to a combined total of 758,000 borrowers for the first month of repayment,” the department said.

As a result, it is withholding $2 million from Aidvantage, $161,000 from EdFinancial and $13,000 from Nelnet, it said, based on the number of borrowers affected by each company’s errors.
“Today’s actions make clear that the Biden-Harris Administration will not give student loan servicers a free pass for poor performance and missteps that jeopardize borrowers,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Affected borrowers will be placed in an administrative forbearance until the issues are resolved, the department said. In the meantime, they shouldn’t owe any payments and will not face interest charges.
The Education Department said in October that it held back $7.2 million from Mohela for failing to send timely billing statements to 2.5 million borrowers. As a result of Mohela’s errors, more than 800,000 borrowers became delinquent on their loans, the department said.
Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers, blamed the errors on a lack of resources and notice from the government.
“Time and effort spent by Federal Student Aid and the CFPB on their press strategy would be better put to use in trying to solve the actual problems by coordinating on advocating for more resources and executing better operational planning by the government,” Buchanan said.
Outstanding education debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.7 trillion, burdening Americans more than credit card or auto debt. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the ’90s, to $30,000 from $10,000. Around 7% of student loan borrowers are now more than $100,000 in debt.

Wait times with servicers exceeded an hour, CFPB finds

During the last two weeks of October 2023, the average student loan borrower who called their servicer waited 73 minutes to speak to a live agent, the CFPB found. “One consumer reportedly waited 565 minutes to speak with a customer service representative,” it added.
As a result of the struggles to reach their servicers, borrowers are at risk of missing their payments and not learning of their options, it warned.
Borrowers have also run into walls trying to enroll in income-driven repayment plans, it said. These plans aim to make repayment more affordable for loan holders by capping their monthly bill at a share of their discretionary income.
By the end of October, the bureau found, “over 450,000 income-driven repayment applications had been pending with a servicer for more than 30 days.”
“Across all servicers,” it said, “each employee tasked with processing income-driven repayment applications had on average 1,335 outstanding applications.”
Incorrect and untimely bills were another issue borrowers experienced, including “inflated monthly payment amounts” and “premature due dates.”
More than 21,000 people were billed “very high” and “potentially incorrect” amounts, CNBC reported in November. One borrower was told they owed $108,895.19 for the month. More

High earners and all 401(k) savers have new maximum thresholds for 2024.
If your goal is to save the most money possible toward retirement this year, these tips can help.

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To live your best life in retirement, it helps to make the most contributions while you’re working.
Employees who participate in 401(k) plans can put up to $23,000 in pretax or post-tax Roth contributions in 2024.

But there’s another limit, $69,000, including employee and employer contributions, that may let workers set aside even more. If the 401(k) plan allows for it, workers may add post-tax contributions beyond the $23,000 limit for 2024 up to $69,000, provided their salary is more than that threshold.
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That goes up to as much as $76,500 when including a $7,500 catch-up contribution for savers age 50 and older.
“If you want to save more for retirement, the best place to do it is to start with, does your plan allow for after-tax contributions?” said David Blanchett, a certified financial planner and head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions.

How a Roth may help you ‘save more effectively’

To maximize your post-tax savings, you may do an annual in-plan rollover to a Roth, he said, provided your employer offers this option.

“Then, if you wanted to save more effectively, you could then save your regular deferrals as Roth as well,” Blanchett said.
Having 100% Roth retirement savings could be a “smart move” for someone interested in maximizing retirement savings, he said.

For most people, traditional pretax contributions to retirement plans such as a 401(k) make sense because their tax rates will likely decline once they retire, Blanchett said.
However, Roth investments allow for the potential opportunity for savings by paying taxes at current rather than future rates, which tend to increase, he said.
That helps make Roth savings more valuable. When deferring 6% to traditional pretax retirement savings or 6% to post-tax Roth money, the Roth is actually worth 7% or 8%, Blanchett said.

Few investors max out their 401(k) contributions

Just reaching the $23,000 maximum 401(k) contribution — or $30,500 with the $7,500 catch-up contributions for those age 50 and older — is a feat for most workers.
In 2022, 15% of retirement plan participants saved the highest amount of $20,500 for that year, or $27,000 for those age 50 and older, according to Vanguard research.
Participants who successfully met those maximum thresholds tended to have high incomes, have longer tenures with their employers, are older in age and already have higher balances, according to Tiana Patillo, a CFP and financial advisor manager at Vanguard.

Principal Financial Group, a provider of 401(k) and other retirement plans, has defined “super savers” as those who contribute at least 15% of their pay toward retirement or 90% or more of the maximum allowed.
Beyond having high incomes, this cohort tends to share certain characteristics, according to Chris Littlefield, president of retirement and income solutions at Principal.
As of November, less than 3% of participants in retirement plans serviced by Principal had maxed out their 401(k) contributions for the year.

What workers can learn from ‘super savers’

Investors who do meet those thresholds tend to be very disciplined, have clearly defined goals for their retirement plans, are optimistic and excited about the future and tend to live modestly and below their means, Littlefield said.
When inflation prompted consumer prices to climb, super saver retirement investors still prioritized increasing their retirement contributions, Principal’s research found.
“You want to be fairly disciplined and try to take the emotion out of it, not being scared or overwhelmed,” Littlefield said.
Not all retirement savers can push their contributions to the maximum thresholds allowed. But experts say there are several tips that can help to push their savings levels higher.
1. Start with small steps
“We all need to start somewhere,” Littlefield said.
By setting aside what you can now, you’re giving that money time to compound, or earn returns on both your original principal and returns.
2.  Build in automatic increases
If you’re due to get a raise of 2% to 4% of your base salary from your employer this year, increase your retirement deferral rate ahead of that bump to your paycheck, Littlefield suggested.
Your retirement plan may even allow you to make it so those increases happen automatically, say with a 1% increase to your deferral rate that sets in at the beginning of January.
3. Contribute enough to get your employer match
Many employers will match your contributions up to a certain deferral amount, such as 4% or 6%.
“You don’t want to necessarily miss out on the free money that’s in store from your employer,” Patillo said.
4. Budget wisely to preserve your retirement funds
To make room in your budget to maximize your retirement savings, cut down on any high-interest debts, Patillo recommends.
Also plan to set aside money toward an emergency fund, such as $25 to $50 per paycheck, with the goal of eventually reaching three to six months’ expenses, she said.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation was just the latest upheaval at one of the nation’s top colleges.
For college applicants, the move adds more uncertainty to an admissions process that was already in flux.
Early applications ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline sank 17%.

Harvard University President Claudine Gay’s resignation Tuesday is just the latest upheaval at one of the nation’s top colleges.
For college applicants, the move adds more uncertainty to an admissions process that was already shifting in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action.

“I don’t expect Harvard to lose its crown as one of the most coveted universities,” said Hafeez Lakhani, founder and president of Lakhani Coaching in New York. However, “I’ve seen students really shaken to the core.”

Harvard early admission applications fall 17%

This year’s early admissions cycle, which marked the first in which race was not considered, reflected a changing dynamic.
Early applications ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline — amid multiple incidents of antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas — sank 17%. There were 7,921 early applicants to the Class of 2028, down from 9,553 last year, the Harvard Crimson reported.
Harvard admitted 8.74% of the total pool, an increase of more than 1 percentage point from last year’s 7.56%, notching the highest early action acceptance rate since 2019.
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“Whatever change we see this year, in time, that will probably normalize,” Lakhani predicted.
Indeed, a slightly more favorable acceptance rate could have already prompted more students to apply by the regular decision deadline on Jan. 1, according to Christopher Rim, president and CEO of college consulting firm Command Education.
Gay’s resignation, which came shortly after that deadline and roughly one month after Gay and then-University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill were criticized for answers they gave at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism, could also cause more students to apply next year, he added.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this,” Rim said. “The brand took a huge hit, but I think it’s going to recover ultimately.”

The brand took a huge hit, but I think it’s going to recover ultimately.

Christopher Rim
president and CEO of Command Education

Harvard did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
In response to Gay’s resignation, Alan Garber, Harvard’s provost and chief academic officer, who will now serve as the university’s interim president, said in a statement, “I am confident we will overcome challenges we face and build a brighter future for Harvard.”
However, future applicants are increasingly motivated by social justice-related considerations, Lakhani said, and that will continue to drive their decisions about college. “There’s a very sensitive narrative happening,” he said.
“In the short term, it’s a Harvard and Penn problem; in the long term it is a higher education problem,” he said.
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Social Security benefits are an important part of the retirement income stream as people enter the next chapter of their lives.
There is much debate and discussion surrounding the question of when the right time is to claim.
Several considerations can help you maximize your income.

South_agency | E+ | Getty Images

Be aware of when you should opt in

Many people falsely believe that you must start taking Social Security benefits as soon as you retire, but this isn’t the case at all.
Technically, you can start receiving Social Security as early as age 62, despite the currently designated full retirement age of 67.

If you are ill and are uncertain that you’ll live to the break-even age of 80-81, opting into benefits earlier could be a good choice for you.
Starting your benefits at age 62 could also be a helpful option if you really need the cash and don’t have enough saved to support you until full retirement age. However, it might behoove you to wait. Here’s why:
Be aware that your benefit will be permanently reduced if you start claiming Social Security before your full retirement age (66-67), so if you’re able to hold off until then, it’ll be better for you in the long term. If it’s possible to wait even longer, your benefit will continue to increase until age 70, which is really enticing for those in a place to postpone. Every year you wait from 67 to 70, your benefit grows by 8%.

Another reason for waiting to take your benefits is that it may be hard to get the same level of return in the stock market every year.
In fact, if you wait to start collecting Social Security at 70 and live past 80-81 years old, you will actually receive more cash from your Social Security benefits than if you had started taking your benefits at full retirement age.
Your break-even age is determined by what age you begin accepting benefits and how many Social Security checks you receive in your lifetime. If you opt-in early, you may receive more checks over your lifetime, but each check will be less than if you wait until age 70 to start taking benefits. If you wait to age 70, the cash amount will be higher and ultimately you’ll earn more money in a shorter period of time.
Usually by age 81, you will have received more money from Social Security in your lifetime than you would have by starting your benefits earlier.
That said, if you have immediate financial needs or a health condition expected to shorten your lifespan, adjust this guidance to suit your situation.

Know when your spouse should file

Even though many Social Security restrictions were eliminated in 2015, couples can still optimize their benefits in several ways. If both of you are in very good health, it’s typically best for both of you to wait until age 70 to start claiming your own benefits.
However, if you’re concerned that one of you might not live past 80 or 81, consider having the higher earner delay claiming their benefits until age 70, while the other spouse opts to take their benefits sooner.

This strategy works well because survivor benefits work differently than spousal benefits. Even if the higher earner dies before age 70, the living spouse will still receive their partner’s benefit as if they had already begun taking it.
There’s another strategy to consider, if the benefit you’re going to receive as a spouse is higher than your own benefit (meaning you earned less than your spouse or you didn’t work consistently or at all). In this case, you can start claiming Social Security based on your spouse’s earnings as early as age 62, as long as your spouse filed for their own benefit first. This works particularly well when the higher earning worker is a few years older than the spouse and can file at full retirement age or later. Sometimes it makes sense to start claiming before age 70 when it delays a non-working spouse from enjoying those spousal benefits.

Understand your options around divorce and death

If you’re divorced but were married to a higher-earning ex-spouse for at least 10 years, don’t forget that you’re entitled to the spousal benefit on their record — and you don’t even need to contact them to find out that amount.
To claim on their record, you must be at least 62 and still unmarried, but your ex doesn’t have to have filed. In fact, no matter when you file, their benefit won’t be impacted.
If you are divorced and your ex-spouse has passed away, you can still claim survivor benefits on their record as early as age 60. Widows and widowers can also claim survivor benefits at the same age.
One extra benefit to a survivor is that they can first claim the survivor benefits, then switch to their own retirement benefit by age 70 if that amount is higher.

As you can see, there are still quite a few nuances at play when determining the optimal time to start taking Social Security benefits. Depending on your situation, it may be a better option to begin retirement benefits earlier. On the other hand, delaying retirement benefits might make more financial sense.
Much like your career, retirement isn’t a “one size fits all” life stage.
What’s important is that you make the right decision for your finances and future, and seeking professional guidance is often a very helpful next step.
— Lea Ann Knight, a certified financial planner and co-owner and managing partner at Better Money Decisions More

Starting in 2024, families can roll unused 529 plan funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth individual retirement account, without triggering income taxes or penalties.
However, there are “so many caveats,” according to certified financial planner and enrolled agent John Loyd, owner at The Wealth Planner.

Nancy Ney | Photodisc | Getty Images

The new year has ushered in a big change to 529 college savings plans, which has made the accounts more attractive to some investors. But the adjustment may have unexpected downsides, experts say.
Starting in 2024, families can roll unused 529 plan funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth individual retirement account, without triggering income taxes or penalties, as long as the 529 plan has been open for at least 15 years.

Enacted via Secure 2.0, the change may offer more flexibility, but there are “so many caveats,” said certified financial planner and enrolled agent John Loyd, owner at The Wealth Planner in Fort Worth, Texas.
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The downsides of 529-to-Roth IRA rollovers

The biggest downside of a 529-to-Roth IRA rollover is the conversion counts toward your annual IRA contribution limit, which may stunt future growth across both accounts, according to Loyd.
“You’re reducing one and sliding it over to the other,” he said. “If my kids are pulling money from their 529 to make Roth contributions down the road, Daddy’s not going to be happy.”

If my kids are pulling money from their 529 to make Roth contributions down the road, Daddy’s not going to be happy.

Owner at The Wealth Planner

For 2024, the annual IRA contribution limit is $7,000, with an extra $1,000 for investors age 50 and older. There’s a lifetime cap of $35,000 for 529-to-Roth IRA rollovers, which means it would take five years of $7,000 conversions to reach the limit.

Plus, you can’t roll over the previous five years of 529 contributions and the beneficiary must have enough “earned income,” or wages from a job, to match each year’s conversion, similar to regular Roth IRA contributions, according to CFP Jim Guarino, managing director at Baker Newman Noyes in Woburn, Massachusetts. He is also a certified public accountant.
Generally, it’s better to keep the money growing in a 529 plan and contribute to a Roth IRA separately because you can change 529 plan beneficiaries, Loyd said. “You always want to try to maximize those tax efficiencies,” he added.

Wait until later in 2024 to ‘test the waters’

If you’re planning on a 529-to-Roth IRA conversion in 2024, Guarino suggests waiting until later in the year to “test the waters.” The IRS and states may issue more guidance in the meantime, he said.
For example, it’s unclear whether beneficiary changes restart the clock for the 15-year waiting period or whether states will mirror federal law and allow income tax and penalty-free rollovers.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, beneficiaries started receiving increased benefits for 2024 in December.
Here’s what recipients should know about those payments.

Mark Edward Atkinson | Tetra Images | Getty Images

What to watch for with ‘two check’ months

SSI recipients must comply with strict rules. Individuals have a $2,000 limit on resources they may own such as property, stocks, bonds or bank accounts. For couples, the limit is $3,000.
These thresholds have not changed since 1989.
When two benefit checks are distributed in one calendar month, it can put beneficiaries “dangerously close” to the $2,000 asset limit, especially with standard payments of $943 per month in 2024, according to Kate Vengraitis, supervising attorney at the health and independence and SSI units at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The firm provides free civil legal assistance to low-income Philadelphia residents.
Beneficiaries who still get paper checks are particularly at risk for this issue, she said, which can result in overpayment notices from the Social Security Administration and an automatic 10% withholding from benefit checks.
“There’s not often a thorough investigation about why it happens,” Vengraitis said.
“It can be hard to navigate that, especially without legal support,” she said.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for a bill that would raise the asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples, up from $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.
Experts say the change would eliminate a marriage penalty SSI beneficiaries face, as well as other complications.
“We have employees who don’t want us to increase their salary because if it goes over a certain amount, they can’t get that benefit which they’re entitled to,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said during a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing.
“This definitely should be fixed,” Dimon said.
Eligible SSI beneficiaries are currently allowed to hold $100,000 penalty-free in ABLE accounts, tax advantaged savings programs for people with disabilities.

Schedule of SSI payments for 2024
*Dec. 1, 2023, Dec. 29, 2023
Feb. 1, 2024
March 1
April 1
*May 1, 31
July 1
*Aug. 1, 30
Oct. 1
*Nov. 1, 29
Dec. 31
*Calendar months when two SSI checks are distributed.
**For beneficiaries who receive both SSI and Social Security, SSI is generally paid on the 1st of the month and Social Security is paid on the 3rd.

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