Investing

Target date funds have become the most popular investments in workplace retirement plans like a 401(k).
TDFs become more conservative as investors approach retirement.
However, fund managers differ in how they allocate between stocks and bonds. A fund may be too risky or conservative for certain investors.

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Target-date funds are meant as a one-stop shop for your retirement savings. But a key difference between fund brands means they may not be well-suited to all 401(k) investors — especially those close to retirement, financial experts said.
Asset managers tweak the share of stocks, bonds, cash and other TDF holdings, according to an investor’s envisioned retirement year.

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The funds — which have become the most popular funds in 401(k) plans and are generally available in five-year increments — grow more conservative over time. They dial back on stocks and increase bond and cash holdings as an investor approaches retirement.
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However, fund managers differ in how they allocate money between those asset classes.
That means funds — even those with the same target year — may have stock and bond holdings that aren’t well aligned with an investor’s financial plan. In other words, they might be too risky or too conservative.
“It could be way off,” said David Blanchett, managing director and head of retirement research at PGIM, the investment management arm of Prudential Financial. “The idea that everyone in a five-year age cohort should have the same asset allocation, it’s just not correct.”

TDF holdings generally vary more near retirement age

As an illustration, consider a Morningstar analysis of “prominent or distinctive” TDF series with a 2055 retirement year:
Last year, the BlackRock LifePath Index and Dimensional Target Date Retirement Income 2055 funds had 98% and 94% allocated to stocks, respectively, on average. Meanwhile, the John Hancock Preservation Blend and American Funds Target Date Retirement 2055 funds had lower average allocations — 80% and 84%, respectively, Morningstar said.
The dynamic is more pronounced for investors closer to retirement.

Take these examples of 2025 funds: The T. Rowe Price Retirement and Vanguard Target Retirement funds had 56% and 54% in stocks, respectively; the John Hancock and Dimensional series had lower respective stock allocations, of 20% and 31%, according to Morningstar.
“When you’re getting closer to retirement, that’s where [TDFs] can kind of deviate a little bit more,” Megan Pacholok, senior manager research analyst at Morningstar, said of asset allocations.
About 82% of 401(k) plans offered TDFs in 2021, according to most recent data from the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a trade group that represents employers. An average 28% of the 401(k) savings in these plans was held in TDFs — a greater share than any other type of investment fund available, according to PSCA data.

The idea that everyone in a five-year age cohort should have the same asset allocation, it’s just not correct.

David Blanchett
managing director and head of retirement research at PGIM

Of course, TDFs can vary in many ways aside from asset allocation. For example, some are known as “through” funds, which continue to get more conservative throughout retirement; others are “to” funds, whose stock-bond proportions stay steady in retirement.
Further, TDFs may differ in the types of stocks (U.S. versus international) and bonds (“junk” versus Treasurys) that they hold, experts said.
“Even though funds with identical target dates may look the same, they may have very different investment strategies and asset allocations that can affect how risky they are and what they are worth at any given point in time, including when and after you retire,” according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which regulates brokerage firms.

Why asset allocation is more important for retirees

Paying attention to asset allocation is particularly important for investors in or near retirement, Pacholok said. That’s because they generally have larger accounts (relative to young investors) and may not have much, if any, time to recover from investment losses, she said.

That said, TDFs are “a great way to go” for investors who want an “easy button” for retirement savings, Blanchett said. The largest and best-known TDF managers “tend to be relatively similar” in their fund allocations, he said.
Since TDFs are built for the average investor, investors who skew significantly from a typical saver may want to consider building their own portfolios instead of using a target fund, Pacholok said.
“You have to think about how different your circumstance is from the average investor, and whether your deviation is worth the additional time and cost you’d be spending if you weren’t invested in a TDF,” she said. More

Americans with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty, and face significant obstacles when it comes to building emergency savings.
A new proposal on Capitol Hill aims to help lower-income disabled individuals save by providing a federal match in their ABLE accounts.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law 33 years ago to protect people with disabilities from discrimination.
But disabled people still face major hurdles when it comes to building wealth.

To help make it easier for disabled individuals with lower incomes to save, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who serves as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, is introducing a new proposal, called the ABLE MATCH Act. The legislation would create a federal dollar-for-dollar match for new and existing ABLE accounts for individuals who earn $28,000 or less per year.
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ABLE accounts, which were established with federal legislation in 2014, allow qualifying individuals to set money aside for disability-related expenses without losing eligibility for federal programs such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income. The tax-advantaged accounts allow for tax-free withdrawals for qualifying expenses, while investment gains may grow on a tax-deferred basis.
The ABLE program has been a “lifeline for thousands of people with disabilities across the nation,” Casey said in a statement.
“However, there are still too many people whose lives would be made easier by the program, but don’t have sufficient funds to open an account,” Casey added.

Proposal would add a 100% federal match

The ABLE MATCH Act would create a federal dollar-for-dollar match for individuals who make $28,000 or less, which would taper off for each dollar earned over that threshold.
That threshold would be adjusted for inflation and for heads of household and married couples.
The bill’s goal is to help boost enrollment in ABLE accounts for people with lower incomes who have disabilities.
The introduction of the proposal is a “really exciting development,” said Thomas Foley, executive director at the National Disability Institute.

There are still too many people whose lives would be made easier by the program, but don’t have sufficient funds to open an account.

Sen. Bob Casey
Democratic senator from Pennsylvania

“This is providing an incentive to a group of people who haven’t been incentivized, and in fact have been dis-incentivized to save for decades,” Foley said.
People with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty compared with people without disabilities, Foley said.
The National Disability Institute’s research has found that people with disabilities need to spend about $28,000 more per year to live lifestyles equivalent to those of people without disabilities, he said.
Those extra costs come from needs such as accessible transportation, living closer to work, or the maintenance of a service dog, for example.

Disabled individuals, particularly those who are younger, may find it difficult to save in an ABLE account due to a lack of disposable income, Foley said.
New legislation passed last year raised the age limit from 26 to 46 for the onset of a disability in order to participate in an ABLE account starting in 2026.
With that change, as many as 14 million people may be eligible to participate in ABLE accounts, Foley said. More

Millions of Americans are experiencing long-term symptoms after coming down with Covid-19.
The symptoms often interfere with the ability to work, leading to financial hardships.
Experts say expanding the social safety net, providing universal paid leave and making workplaces more flexible can help.

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For millions of Americans, a Covid-19 infection has turned into a long, drawn-out health condition with no expiration date.
Those physical symptoms are often accompanied by increased financial uncertainty, according to recent research from the Urban Institute.

Approximately 1 in 5 adults with so-called long Covid symptoms have had problems paying their rent or mortgage, according to the nonprofit research organization. Meanwhile, 1 in 4 had difficulties paying their utility bills, with nearly 10% having had a utility shut off.
More than 4 in 10 adults with long Covid have reported food insecurity, with 1 in 4 reporting very low food security, according to the Urban Institute.
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Those new findings come on top of previous research that shows long Covid patients typically experience income and employment disruptions.
Covid reduced the number of people in the labor force by 500,000, according to 2022 research from economists Gopi Shah Goda and Evan J. Soltas, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, prompting average lost earnings of $9,000.

A rough estimate pegs the size of the population affected by long Covid symptoms at between 7.7 million to 23 million people in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That is based on the idea that up to 30% of those infected with Covid-19 will experience longer lasting symptoms.
Symptoms associated with long Covid include chest pains, cough, cognitive impairment, memory loss, fatigue, shortness of breath and muscle and joint pain.

The vague set of symptoms can leave patients subjected to doubts from the medical community, Meghan O’Rourke, author of the book “The Invisible Kingdom: Reimaging Chronic Illness,” said during a Tuesday panel hosted by the Urban Institute.
O’Rourke herself suffers from long Covid symptoms.
“When tests don’t show clear answers, we’re suddenly turned into unreliable narrators,” O’Rourke said.
The barriers to proper medical care are exacerbated by a lack of support to enable patients to continue to live their lives, put food on the table and try to work, she said.
“We absolutely have to commit to social support, disability aid, for people living with long Covid” and other chronic illnesses, O’Rourke said.
The Urban Institute’s research, and feedback from experts, points to three changes that may help bolster social supports for long Covid sufferers.

1. Expand safety net and increase benefits

Long Covid patients in need of assistance may turn to a host of programs for help: Social Security disability insurance, or SSDI; Supplemental Security Income, or SSI; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF; Medicaid; and rental and utility assistance programs.
But accessing those benefits is not always easy. Applicants for Social Security disability benefits face long waits, while applicants for housing assistance may also be put on lengthy waiting lists.
“When people can’t afford to meet their basic needs, they have much greater difficulty recovering from illness and are at much greater risk of poor health,” said Michael Karpman, principal research associate at the Urban Institute.

Even if you get on those benefits, it is very difficult to meet your basic needs.

Lisa McCorkell
co-founder of Patient Led Research Collaborative

Steps may be taken to broaden eligibility for these programs, the Urban Institute’s research suggests — by streamlining application processes; expanding eligibility to non-citizens and reducing policies such as asset limits and work requirements; and expanding the professionals who can provide medical documentation.
Additionally, many people may not know they may be eligible for benefits, which may be remedied by more funding for community-based organizations to provide additional outreach and enrollment assistance.
Further, the size of benefits like Supplemental Security Income may be increased so beneficiaries may live better quality lives.
“Even if you get on those benefits, it is very difficult to meet your basic needs with that level of income,” said Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of Patient Led Research Collaborative. “It is really just not enough money in order to survive.”

2. Make paid leave accessible

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The U.S. is one of the few developed countries without paid sick or family and medical leave policies.
Efforts to put a federal plan in place have thus far stalled on Capitol Hill.
Having access to universal paid leave would help ensure people infected with Covid-19 do not spread it and can rest while recovering, Urban Institute’s research found. Moreover, people who develop long Covid may have a longer amount of time before they have to return to work.
Such a policy may help people with lower incomes, who often do not have access to paid sick days, the most, according to the research.

3. Add flexibility to workplaces

Employers offering reasonable accommodations such as flexible schedules, frequent breaks or the ability to work from home may help people with long Covid stay employed, according to the Urban Institute.
More than a year after contracting Covid, about 18% of those with long Covid still hadn’t returned to work, recent study by the New York State Insurance Fund found.
Meanwhile, 40% returned to work within 60 days, the research found. But they still required medical attention, prompting the need for accommodations like reduced hours.

Altogether, the changes may help patients who are suffering from other conditions, in addition to long Covid, the experts noted during Tuesday’s panel.
There should be more medical centers that deal with autoimmune diseases and infection associated chronic illnesses, just as we have cancer centers, O’Rourke suggested.
“Many of the policy changes we need are not unique to long Covid,” McCorkell said. “We need a more robust social safety net in place for all disabled people.” More

Prices for used electric vehicles fell by almost 30% since June 2022. At the same time, new EV prices also fell nearly 20% from their peak of $66,390.
However, prices are still relatively high. “It’s not a consumer-friendly market right now,” said Joseph Yoon, a consumer insight analyst for car shopping guide Edmunds.

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Prices for both used and new electric vehicles have dropped substantially from a year ago. But don’t rush to buy: Costs are still relatively high.
“It’s not a consumer-friendly market right now,” said Joseph Yoon, a consumer insight analyst for car shopping guide Edmunds.

Prices for used electric vehicles fell by almost 30% in June, according to a recent study by iSeeCars, which analyzed more than 1.8 million cars from June 2022 to June 2023 to identify which models have the largest price drops. New EV prices also fell nearly 20% from their peak of $66,390 in June of last year due to inventory growth, found a study by Kelly Blue Book.

But those big drops represent a return to normal. A year ago, demand for electric vehicles due to high gas prices from the war in Ukraine sent prices on an upward swing. Now, more sector competition, higher inventory and incentives are pushing prices back down.
Yet, there are reasons for interested car shoppers to be cautious. Costs of new EVs are still high, experts say, and there can be risks buying a used EV.

What’s behind falling prices on new EVs

About 300,000 electric vehicles were sold in the second quarter of this year — a record — as new models were introduced with a wider price range, said Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive. 
Tesla has been cutting its prices to stay competitive, especially with its high inventory of unsold vehicles, she said. Its price cuts helped lower the average cost to $53,438 last June, she added.

However, other manufacturers’ models, like the GM Motors Chevrolet Bolt EV – which sells for about $30,000 – also factored into the decline of the average price, given the sticker price is unusually cheap for the sector. Additionally, companies like Hyundai and Kia lowered the prices of some models to qualify for the EV $7,500 tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Ford Motor also slashed the price for its F-150 Lightning EV pickup truck by $10,000, lowering the starting price of its cheapest version to $50,000.
The manufacturer and dealer incentives for EVs are also far higher than incentives for regular gas cars, said Krebs. 
“There’s a lot of ways to incentivize, it’s not just purely getting the price down at the dealership,” she said. 
Yet these cars are still expensive, and they’re not the car for everybody, said Yoon. While smaller models like Chevrolet Bolt EV cost less and qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, many car shoppers are looking for SUVs, either compact or with three rows.

“EVs of that size are still very expensive,” Yoon added. “We’re not quite there yet in terms of having options across the board for everybody.” 
It’s hard to know what these lower prices on new EVs will mean in the long run, especially as more used ones become available, said Krebs.”We’ve never had a used EV market; it’s only beginning to develop,” said Krebs. “It may end up expanding the EV market by making EVs accessible and more affordable to people.
“We just don’t know; this is all new territory.”

How to shop for a used EV

There is a tax credit for used electric vehicles worth up to $25,000, but only a handful of used EVs have depreciated to cost under the ceiling price. Those cars are now 5 to 7 years old and considered a completely different generation. 
To that point, car shoppers looking into used electric vehicles should be cautious about their battery life and utility, experts say. For instance, while the latest EV models are doing 250 to 400 miles a charge, used EVs may only go up to 150 miles per charge.

“That’s a huge kind of inconvenience that you also have to consider,” said Yoon, especially considering it can take 45 minutes to recharge.
There’s no determined way to tell the value or the longevity of a used EV battery like gas engines and experts are unaware of what the long-term running costs may be. While it’s hard to gauge battery life, make sure you take a test drive and get a professional inspection.

Plug-in hybrids, leased EVs may be smart options

As new and used electric vehicle prices still seem high, here are two alternatives shoppers should look into if they want to switch to electric transportation.
“Considering plug-in hybrid vehicles is a great place to start,” said Yoon. 
You snag all the benefits of an electric vehicle without the entire financial splurge. Leasing an EV is also another option to consider, he added. 

Considering plug-in hybrid vehicles is a great place to start.

Joseph Yoon
consumer insight analyst for Edmunds

“The best thing to do right now is leasing an EV if you have the money and the means to do it,” he said. 
This is considered a loophole where buyers can bypass requirements you would have otherwise needed to meet in order to qualify for the $7,500 tax incentive. 
A lease is considered a commercial transaction because the automaker’s financing company is letting you borrow the vehicle. Therefore, the transaction qualifies for the full $7,500 benefit and you may get it as a discount to your negotiating price, said Yoon. 
“The only caveat there is that [dealers] don’t have to give you that $7,500,” he added. Make sure the dealer either will give you the benefit or specifically look into dealers advertising the offer. More

Motor vehicle repair prices have increased about 20% in the past year, according to the June 2023 consumer price index.
There are many reasons for the trend, including long-term and pandemic-era dynamics.
Among them are better technology, higher labor costs, more crashes and ongoing issues with supply chains for parts.

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Car repair costs are up almost 20% in the past year, according to the consumer price index — more than six times the national inflation rate and among the largest annual price increases of any household good or service.
So, what’s driving up prices?

It’s a combination of factors, experts said. Some emerged in the pandemic era while others are longer-term trends in the auto market, they said. Here’s a look at six reasons why you’re paying more for car repairs.

1. More technology in cars

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Common car repairs can run consumers $500 to $600 a visit and sometimes “much higher,” according to AAA.
More advanced — and more expensive — technology in vehicles is a big reason for higher repair costs, said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman for AAA Northeast.
Take advanced driver-assistance systems, for example. Such technologies — including auto emergency braking, lane keeping assist or cross-traffic alert systems — have “proliferated” and are available in just about any vehicle, Sinclair said.
Electronic sensors to facilitate these technologies are found in bumpers, fenders and grilles, which are commonly damaged in wrecks, he said.

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Put another way, cars today are like computers that run on gasoline or electricity, said Skyler Chadwick, director of product consulting at Cox Automotive.
Not only are there higher costs associated with fixing broken technology, but the tech also requires more precision and time for auto body work. For example, the thickness of paint on a car bumper must be “just right” so the sensors work properly, Sinclair said.
Consider this: One repair shop proprietor told Sinclair that striking a deer with a vehicle can lead to roughly $1,500 to $2,000 more in repairs today than it did 15 years ago due to these technologies.

2. Ongoing supply-chain issues

It’s not just technology, though: Many car parts have become pricier in the pandemic era due to supply-chain issues, Sinclair said. Those supply-chain issues create shortages of certain components (such as microchips), making it tougher and pricier to replace parts during a repair.
“Supply chain problems we saw in the pandemic essentially continue,” he said.
Major long-term shifts in the auto industry — toward more automation and electric vehicles — also require more chips and put “further strain on an already stretched industry,” according to J.P. Morgan.

3. Longer vehicle ownership

Cars on the road have also gotten gradually older, raising the likelihood of “major repairs” being necessary, Chadwick said.
The average age of passenger cars and trucks in operation increased to 12.2 years in 2022, up from about 10.5 years in 2010, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Pandemic-era shortages for auto parts put upward pressure on average vehicle age. Shortages translated to a lower inventory of new and used cars, and consumers held on to their current cars for a longer time, wrote S&P Global Mobility analysts.
Higher interest rates starting in early 2022 also meant it was more expensive to buy a car, Chadwick said.

4. More car crashes

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The prevalence of car crashes jumped in the pandemic era, experts said.
There were 6.1 million crashes reported to the police in 2021, up from about 5.3 million in 2020, according to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Fatalities have also increased: There were almost 43,000 deaths from motor-vehicle accidents in 2021, according to the NHTSA — the highest tally since 2005 and a 10.5% jump from 2020, the largest annual percentage increase on record. The number of auto deaths in 2022 was similar, though slightly less, at 42,795.
More auto wrecks mean greater demand for mechanics, raising prices for car repairs, Sinclair said.

5. Fewer auto repair technicians

Meanwhile, there’s been a dearth of available mechanics to meet that greater demand, translating to higher labor costs, auto experts said.
In 2021, for example, about 733,000 automotive technicians were employed — a nearly 5% decline from about 770,000 in 2018, the recent high point, according to the latest data from the TechForce Foundation, a nonprofit group advocating for technical careers.

There were about 56,000 unfilled auto-technician positions from 2021 heading into 2022, its data shows.
Auto dealers ranked “service” as the business area suffering most from staffing issues, according to Cox Automotive’s Q2 Dealer Sentiment Index.

6. High-tech service appointments

Many repair shops — particularly at dealerships — have started sharing photos and videos of potential problems with customers, kind of like a telehealth appointment for their car, Chadwick said. That service increases the average repair cost by $260, he said.
“If I can actually take a video and show you your oil pan is leaking really bad … it makes more sense to me as a consumer to get that work done,” he explained.
Overall, revenue generated by each repair order was up 31.8% in June relative to January 2019, according to Cox Automotive data. More

The Biden administration said Tuesday it would forgive $130 million in student loans for borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica in Colorado.
The action affects 7,400 borrowers, whom Biden said “were lied to, ripped off, and saddled with mountains of debt.”
The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s nationwide student loan forgiveness plan in June. Debt payments are slated to resume in October after a pause of more than three years.

President Joe Biden speaks on July 25, 2023.
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The White House on Tuesday forgave $130 million in student debt for 7,400 borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica, a now-defunct institution in Colorado that officials said misled borrowers about their loans and career prospects.
These borrowers “were lied to, ripped off and saddled with mountains of debt,” President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the debt cancellation.

The action affects students who attended the school’s Colorado-based locations between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 1, 2020, the year in which the school closed its campuses, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said. He had petitioned the Biden administration last year to erase CollegeAmerica student debt.
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The U.S. Department of Education found that CollegeAmerica’s parent company — the Center for Excellence in Higher Education — “made widespread misrepresentations about the salaries and employment rates of its graduates, the programs it offered and the terms of a private loan product it offered,” Weiser said in a statement Tuesday.
Biden’s action follows a Supreme Court ruling last month that killed a White House plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student debt per borrower. Loan payments are slated to resume in October after a pause of more than three years.
The White House has approved $14.7 billion in debt relief for 1.1 million student loan borrowers “whose colleges took advantage of them or closed abruptly,” like those at CollegeAmerica, Biden said. The relevant institutions include schools like Corinthian Colleges and DeVry University.

Separately, the administration earlier this month announced $39 billion of debt forgiveness for 804,000 borrowers after a review of debtors in income-driven repayment plans.
In total, the White House has approved $116 billion in debt relief for over 3.4 million Americans, Biden said. More

Getting an employment opportunity is often the first hurdle for people with disabilities.
Some 25% of people say they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity, according to a recent survey from consulting firm BCG, which polled nearly 28,000 employees in 16 countries.
PSEG, based in Newark, New Jersey, is one of a growing number of companies creating awareness campaigns to create safe spaces for employees to disclose a disability.

Getting a foot in the door of a company is often a major hurdle for people with disabilities looking for employment, even 33 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a federal law requiring employers to make “reasonable accommodations” — adjustments or modifications — for qualified job applicants or employees with a “known disability.” 
“A lot of hiring managers typically like to hire people that are similar to them,” noted Rob Koch, who is deaf and now works as a principal in data engineering at Seattle-based tech firm Slalom Build. “So that’s the challenge that we have to overcome.”

How companies can create ‘a culture of inclusion’

Rob Koch speaks to CNBC on Zoom with ASL interpreter, Amelia Fruehsamer.

When a recruiter for Slalom Build asked Koch the type of accommodations he would need to be “successful” in interviews, he requested a sign language interpreter and closed captions for virtual conversations on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The company provided those supports. After several rounds of interviews, he was hired. 
“I am currently moving up the ranks,” Koch said through an interpreter. “But in the corporate world, there’s not a whole lot of deaf and hard of hearing people.”
Yet, employees with disabilities make up a sizeable share of the global workforce, by some estimates. 
Some 25% of people say they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity, according to a recent survey from consulting firm BCG, which polled nearly 28,000 employees in 16 countries. In a July 2023 report by the non-profit Disability:IN, fewer than 5% of U.S. employees voluntarily reported that they have a disability, although the vast majority of their employers (93%) encouraged them to self-identify. 
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“Even though workplaces can focus on creating a culture of inclusion, there’s that internal barrier that people still struggle with, because the world is telling them that disability is shameful, that disability is wrong, that their existence is somehow a mistake,” said Emily Ladau, a disability rights advocate and author of “Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally.”
“And that is really, really difficult to overcome that narrative,” she added.

Overcoming barriers to inclusion

Some employers — like PSEG, an energy company based in Newark, New Jersey — have launched initiatives to encourage people with disabilities to bring their full selves to work. 
PSEG held a year-long campaign to try to build empathy and destigmatize what it means to have a disability. The company had employee leaders talk about their experience living with a disability or caring for someone with a disability, sent around education materials and brought in outside speakers. The aim was to bring understanding and make employees comfortable talking about disabilities. 
“We’d be excluding a huge pool of potential employees if we weren’t focused on that population, and not just bringing them in the door, but making sure they had the resources and the comfort that they need to feel included and want to stay ,” said Steven Fleischer, a human resources executive who leads diversity, equity and inclusion at PSEG. 

After its awareness campaign, PSEG found the percentage of people who identified as disabled in its workplace tripled.
“I think there’s a fear and a stigma that, if I raise my hand, I’m going to be perceived as weak or unable to take on a bigger role or a bigger assignment,” said Fleischer, who helped lead the campaign. “So the work that we did, I think, helped to create that safety and have people feel comfortable raising their hands and saying ‘I’m disabled.'”

Creating opportunities to connect

Research has shown that leaning on employees with disabilities to educate and connect with co-workers can help increase the numbers of people who disclose a disability and request accommodations. Having a senior executive who has a disability or is an ally and giving voice to mid-level leaders with disabilities, as well, can help bring more employees into the fold. 
Still, employees with disabilities may stay silent — fearing stigma or losing out on a job or promotion. But Ladau says that can change. 
“When we shift that narrative and we begin to say, ‘You can identify as having a disability. That is something that you can be proud of. That makes you who you are,’ the number of people who identify in the workplace as disabled is going to grow,” she said.
Koch is also part of a new working group within the Cloud Native Computing Foundation that seeks to encourage more deaf and hard to hearing individuals to participate in open source and become more visible within the community. The group is working on inclusiveness recommendations for open source projects and conferences and provide support and networking opportunities for its members.
“As far as the corporations go, once you’re in the rest is history, really,” said Koch. More

The IRS on Monday halted a decadeslong practice of unannounced visits to homes or businesses to collect unpaid balances for most taxpayers.
The decision comes amid safety concerns from IRS employees and taxpayers, according to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
Effective immediately, the agency will now make initial contact via mailed letters to schedule in-person meetings.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The IRS on Monday ended its controversial practice of unannounced visits to homes or businesses from agency revenue officers for most taxpayers. Part of a broader IRS overhaul, the policy change aims to lessen public confusion and improve safety.
“Starting today, if someone’s ringing your doorbell, it’s extremely unlikely to be an IRS collection employee unless you made an appointment for a home visit,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on a call. “The change reverses a long-standing practice by IRS revenue officers that goes back decades.”

Previously, revenue officers — different from the revenue agents who conduct audits — visited homes and businesses unannounced to recover “substantial tax debt” with a median unpaid balance of $110,000, he said.
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The decision comes amid safety concerns from IRS employees and taxpayers, according to Werfel. “Knocking on someone’s door today is a different scenario than it was 10 or 15 years ago, and there have been significant reports from IRS employees where they have felt unsafe,” he said.
Effective immediately, the agency will now make initial contact via a mailed letter, known as a 725-B, to schedule in-person meetings with taxpayers in most cases. “We have the tools we need to successfully collect revenue without adding stress with unannounced visits,” Werfel said.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees at 34 federal agencies, including IRS workers, said it supports the policy change. “Unfortunately, the hostile rhetoric and false claims about IRS employees have made their work more dangerous in recent years,” Tony Reardon, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union said in a statement. Some Republicans have cited concerns about “new IRS agents” in a push to strip IRS funding.

“The revenue officers we represent will continue to efficiently and effectively carry out their mission of helping taxpayers meet their lawful tax obligations through other means of communication,” Reardon said. 

IRS visits may still occur in ‘extremely limited situations’

While the policy change eliminates most unannounced visits, there are “extremely limited situations” when they could still occur, such as summonses and subpoenas or the seizure of assets. “These activities are just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of visits that have taken place in the past,” Werfel said.
There are typically a few hundred of these types of visits each year, compared to tens of thousands of unannounced visits annually under the old policy, he said.
Previously, unannounced visits were “a routine part of the job” for the agency’s revenue officers, with 100,000 cases assigned each year, Werfel said. But it’s unclear exactly how many unannounced visits occurred annually. More