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The IRS has increased the health savings account, or HSA, contribution limit for 2025 to $4,300 for self-only coverage, and $8,550 for family plans.
You must have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan to qualify for contributions.
There are three tax breaks for HSAs: an upfront deduction for contributions, tax-free growth and no levies on withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

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The IRS has unveiled the 2025 contribution limits for health savings accounts, which are triple-tax advantaged for medical expenses.
The new HSA contribution limit for 2025 will be $4,300 for self-only health coverage, up from $4,150 in 2024, based on inflation adjustments, the IRS announced Thursday.

The contribution limit will also increase for savers with family coverage. In 2025, those with family plans can deposit up to $8,550 into HSAs, which is up from $8,300 in 2024.
The IRS will release the 2025 catch-up contribution for savers age 55 and older later this year. It currently stands at $1,000 for 2024, unchanged from 2023.
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You must have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan to make HSA contributions. The IRS defines “high-deductible” as at least $1,650 for self-only plans or $3,300 for family coverage for 2025.
HSAs offer three tax benefits. There’s an upfront deduction for contributions, investments grow tax-free and there are no levies for withdrawals used for qualified medical expenses.
However, only 19% of HSA participants invest their balance, meaning the vast majority forgo growth by leaving savings in cash, according to a 2023 survey from the Plan Sponsor Council of America.

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Although the overall outlook is positive, some employers are cutting back on new college graduate hires, and salaries are likely to fall short of expectations.
But even as the job market cools for soon-to-be grads, job seekers are more discriminating in their searches.
Many young adults only want jobs with at least some remote flexibility, according to one report.

A City College of New York graduate takes a selfie during the school’s commencement ceremony.
Mike Segar | Reuters

Newly minted college graduates should feel pretty good about their job prospects.
The U.S. economy just notched another month of job gains, and although the unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, “the streak below 4% has continued for 27 consecutive months,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst.  

“The fact remains that the job market has remained more robust and resilient than had been expected,” he added.
Still, those entering the workforce may be in for a few shocks.

Hiring outlook and salary projections

“Oftentimes, college graduates come out with this expectation they will get an executive job making $100,000 a year, and that’s not realistic,” according to Ivan Misner, founder of business networking organization BNI.com.
Starting salaries align with last year’s, but there will still likely be a disconnect between what new grads are hoping for and what they’ll get, Misner said. Recent college graduates earn a little more than $62,000 a year, on average, according to ZipRecruiter.
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Some employers are scaling back on their hiring plans altogether. Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.
The report found that the decline follows a historic hiring boom in the aftermath of the pandemic, suggesting that this year’s drop is a return to “normal” hiring plans. 

Work-life balance expectations

The class of 2024 now believes employers have the upper hand in the job market, at least compared with last year, as more candidates compete for fewer positions, according to Monster’s 2024 State of the Graduate report.
And yet, there are a few things that young adults entering the job market aren’t willing to compromise on, especially on work-life balance.
Graduates are prioritizing flexible hours and mental health support, Monster found. Most want a hybrid schedule, with 60% saying they would not even apply to a company that requires a five-day-a-week return-to-office mandate.
“This year’s graduating seniors were in high school during the pandemic — they’ve only known having multiple options,” said Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi. “To them, this is not even the new normal. This is normal.”
But going forward, those just starting might have few remote options. Full-time workers between the ages of 20 and 24 are less likely to be fully remote compared with other age groups, due in part to seniority level, according to another new grad hiring report by payroll provider Gusto.

Where new grads get the best bang for their buck

Companies with remote work opportunities will allow job seekers to cast a wider net, Salemi said.
“In terms of the quality and quantity, they can pursue jobs beyond the constraints of a particular zip code,” Salemi said.
And when it comes to location, opportunities and pay can vary greatly.
After years of high inflation, new grads must also contend with elevated food, transportation and housing costs, depending on where they go.

Buildings in Manhattan, New York
Stockbym | Istock | Getty Images

New York City has the highest rate of new grad hiring but also comes out on top as the least affordable city for those just entering the workforce, according to Gusto’s report.
New York’s average starting salary of $64,134 could feel like just $28,479 when adjusted for the Big Apple’s high cost of living, Gusto’s report said.
Alternatively, salaries in Austin, Texas, stretched the furthest in a comparison of the country’s major cities. There, the cost of living is 1% lower than the national average, and the average new grad earns $57,418, on average.
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Many Americans are finding retirement isn’t living up to their expectations.
Yet experts are divided as to whether a retirement savings crisis is brewing.

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Just 4% of today’s retirees said they are “living the dream,” according to a new survey from asset management company Schroders.
And just as many — 4% — said they are “living the nightmare.”

Most of the respondents fall somewhere in between — 44% said they are comfortable; 34% said they are not great, but not bad; and 15% said they are struggling, according to the rounded results.
“The real picture of retirement is far from the dreams Americans had hoped and worked so hard for,” said Deb Boyden, head of U.S. defined contribution at Schroders.
The survey, conducted in March and April, included 2,000 adults, with almost 500 retirees. The results come as inflation is still higher than usual and rising prices have made it more challenging for retirees to make their money last.
The top concern, cited by 89% of respondents, is inflation lessening the value of their assets.
That’s followed by higher-than-expected health-care costs, with 85%; a major market downturn that may significantly reduce their assets, 76%; not knowing how to best draw down income, 69%; and outliving their assets, 68%.

Is a retirement crisis brewing?

Image Source | Getty Images

The Schroders survey results come as more experts are pointing to a potential retirement crisis.
“The retirement savings crisis in the United States is no longer looming: it is here, now,” said a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security.
Americans may face a shortfall in their golden years, as many workers still lack access to employer retirement savings plans and typical retirement savings are short of matching workers’ pre-retirement standard of living, the research found.
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One factor to blame is the decline of the availability of private-sector defined-benefit pension plans, according to NIRS, which has shifted the responsibility for saving for retirement from employers to workers.
Today’s retirees are more likely to use their own pension plan or a spouse’s pension plan for income rather than their own workplace savings account, the Schroders survey found.
It’s less likely that future retirees will have pension income to rely on, because fewer of them have pensions now than today’s retirees do, and it’s more likely that they’ll be financially vulnerable if they have insufficient savings, Boyden said.

Not everyone agrees there is an emergency

Some experts are skeptical there is a retirement savings crisis at all.
“You have this narrative of how the retirement system is doing, and yet all of the best data really do tell you the opposite,” said Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who worked on Social Security reform under President George W. Bush.
For many Americans, much of the confusion around retirement comes down to how much to save.
Americans think they need $1.46 million on average to retire comfortably, recent research from Northwestern Mutual found.
Likewise, one-third of workers who calculated how much money they will need in retirement estimated $1.5 million or more, the Employee Benefit Research Institute recently found. Yet a third of workers have less than $50,000 in savings and investments, and 14% of workers have less than $1,000, EBRI found.

Biggs has sought to debunk the idea that retirees must have massive sums set aside, using Federal Reserve survey data as evidence.
In the Fed’s survey, of seniors with $50,000 to $99,999 in savings, 86% said they were either living comfortably or doing okay. Of seniors with more than $10,000 in retirement savings, 93% said they were doing okay or living comfortably.
“If we’re going to have a retirement crisis, why don’t we have one already?” Biggs said in an interview.

What individuals can do to address uncertainty

New projections released this week confirmed Social Security’s and Medicare’s trust funds are still on the brink of insolvency.
Within the next decade, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will have to come together to find a solution to prevent a benefit shortfall.
Whether a retirement crisis exists may be the subject of heated debate between Democrats, who want to make benefits more generous, and Republicans, who want to limit the size of the programs to reduce government spending.

Less than half of respondents in the Schroders survey — 44% — said they’ve saved enough for retirement; 32% said they don’t have enough saved; and 24% are unsure.
Experts say there are a couple of ways people can try to address those uncertainties.
By delaying Social Security benefits past the initial claiming age of 62, they can access higher benefits. If there are future benefit cuts, that would be applied to a higher benefit amount.
It also helps to save more, even as higher costs make that more challenging.
Compound interest — interest accumulating on interest — can help even small sums grow substantially over time. More

If you’re eyeing a Roth individual retirement account conversion, you could save on taxes by leveraging a “sweet spot,” according to experts.
Converting early in retirement while your income is lower could lower your upfront tax bill.
But you need to be mindful of income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAA, for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums.

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If you’re weighing a Roth individual retirement account conversion, you could save on taxes by leveraging a limited window of time, experts say.
Roth conversions transfer pretax or nondeductible IRA money to a Roth IRA, which kickstarts future tax-free growth. The trade-off is upfront taxes due on the converted balance.

The decision to convert a pretax balance hinges on several factors. But converting early in retirement — while your income is lower — could reduce your upfront tax bill.
After you stop working, but before you start required withdrawals from retirement accounts, is “the sweet spot” for Roth conversions, according to JoAnn May, a Berwyn, Illinois-based certified financial planner at Forest Asset Management. She is also a certified public accountant.
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If your income drops after retiring, “there are some nice years in there for conversions,” May said.
Plus, many investors want to leverage lower income tax brackets through 2025 before provisions could sunset from former President Donald Trump’s signature tax overhaul, she said.

After a Roth conversion, you’ll owe regular income taxes on the converted amount. But your bracket depends on that year’s taxable income.

Roth conversions can reduce your taxable retirement balance subject to future required minimum distributions. Roth accounts are not subject to RMDs.
A Roth conversion could also eliminate taxes for heirs who later inherit the account. Since 2020, most adult children must deplete inherited accounts within 10 years, known as the “10-year rule,” which can trigger tax issues during peak earning years.  

How Roth conversions affect Medicare premiums

Since Roth conversions can boost income, it can also affect income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAA, for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, May said.
Your IRMAA is based on so-called “modified adjusted gross income,” or MAGI, which is your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest — and there’s a two-year lookback.
“That’s a big piece,” said Ashton Lawrence, CFP and director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina. “No one likes paying excess premiums.”

The standard monthly Medicare Part B premium is $174.70 in 2024. But that could be higher with a 2022 MAGI above $103,000 for individuals or $206,000 for married couples filing jointly.  
MAGI limits are a cliff, and income from a Roth conversion could easily bump you into the next bracket, Lawrence warned.
“The last thing you want is to peak right over that bracket by $1,” he said. “Now your Medicare premiums have just jumped up substantially.”

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The U.S. Department of Education sets annual interest rates on federal student loans once a year.
The percentage is based on the 10-year Treasury note, which has been on the rise while the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates high until inflation comes down.
Federal student loan rates may rise by about 1 percentage point in the 2024-2025 academic year, according to one estimate.

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images

As a result, federal student loan rates may increase in the 2024-2025 academic year, according to an estimate by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. The rate could go up by 1 percentage point.
“This is a fairly big jump,” Kantrowitz said.
Here’s what borrowers need to know.

What will the new rates be?

Who is affected? 

All federal education loans issued on or after July 1, 2024, will be subject to the new rates.
Sorry, families: You can’t try to evade the rate increase by borrowing ahead of that deadline. Loans for the 2024-25 academic year must be taken out after July 1.

Don’t worry about loans you’ve taken out for previous academic years: Most federal student loan rates are fixed, meaning the rates on those existing loans won’t change.
The rate changes apply only to federal student loans. Private loans come with their own — often higher — interest rates.

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About one-third, or 34%, of people have a will, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
About 44% of those who don’t have one say they are procrastinating.
While cumbersome, a will can help streamline the inheritance process for your loved ones.

Shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images

Contemplating your death may not warrant a spot at the top of your priority list — but writing your will should.
About one-third, or 34%, of people recently surveyed have a will, according to the results of a study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Of those who don’t have a will, 44% of respondents said the main reason involves procrastination, according to the results of the survey, which polled 3,047 people aged 25 and up in April 2023.
While setting up your will can be a cumbersome task, it’s important because “it’s not just a question about finances,” said Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research.
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A will can streamline the inheritance process by making sure your wishes are conveyed and your assets are directed to the people and entities of your choice, especially if your state’s intestacy laws do not fit your needs, experts say.
“This is a cornerstone of financial planning,” said Clifford Cornell, a certified financial planner and an associate financial advisor at Bone Fide Wealth in New York.

‘It’s already such an arduous process’

About 79.9% of people said they intend to write a will at some point, according to the Center for Retirement Research report.
Respondents were also asked if they would take advantage of a bank offer to write their will at the same time as signing a mortgage, keeping in mind that they would receive free legal and financial advice throughout the process. Only 71% said yes, according to the results of the study. If the bank were to throw a $500 incentive on top of that aid, 75.6% said they would do it.
Researchers believed it would be opportunistic to draft a will while applying for a mortgage because people are already doing a lot of the work they need: filling out forms, signing documents and taking stock of their assets, Wettstein said.
However, survey respondents saw that workload as a detriment.
“It’s already such an arduous process that they don’t want to add any more red tape,” he said.
The paperwork isn’t the only reason people fail to establish an estate plan.
About 40%, of U.S. adults feel they do not have enough assets to prepare an estate plan or a will, a 21% jump compared with 2022, according to Caring.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study.
That’s a misconception.
“Wills and estate planning are essential for everyone, not just the wealthy,” Patrick Hicks, general counsel of Trust & Will, a digital estate planning and probate platform, said in the Caring.com report.
The Caring.com survey polled 2,481 U.S. adults aged 18 and older in December.

Not having the proper estate planning documents in place can put your loved ones in a difficult situation in a catastrophic event, Cornell explained.
Without a will in place, state intestacy laws determine who gets what. Dying intestate can also create challenges, with the court left to decide on a guardian for minor children or whether to recognize a domestic partner’s ability to inherit.
“If something ever happens to you, it’s going to be an incredibly stressful time for your loved ones as it is,” Cornell said. “It’s great form to have these documents in place.”

‘A great way to get started’

If you have yet to begin a formal estate plan, “a great way to get started” is by naming beneficiaries in certain retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, Cornell said.
You can also name beneficiaries for life insurance policies, certain bank accounts and other assets.
When you designate a beneficiary for such assets, they pass according to those instructions rather than what’s in your will. And it takes just a few minutes to add or update a beneficiary.
Make sure to review those periodically, especially after a life change such as a marriage, divorce or family birth or death.
For major assets, such as a house or vehicle, consider how those assets are titled. There are several forms of joint ownership, and those determine how ownership transfers. Assessing that can help smooth out the inheritance of the property when the time comes, Cornell said.
If a house is not set aside in a will or title, it typically gets divided between heirs depending on a state’s intestacy legislation — and a house is a complicated asset to manage among multiple owners, Wettstein explained.

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More than 34,000 people have left public comments on the Biden administration’s new student loan forgiveness proposal.
Here’s what some of them said.

US President Joe Biden gestures after speaking about student loan debt relief at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, April 8, 2024. 
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

‘I plan on dying with student loan debt’

“I think this is a great idea. I am 52 years old with a lot of student loan debt from years ago. It has quadrupled from what I actually borrowed. I think the interest is ridiculous. With the crazy inflation, how can anyone afford to pay for anything these days? I plan on dying with student loan debt. It is very depressing.”

‘An unjust burden on Americans’

“I call on the Biden administration to stop imposing an unjust burden on Americans who did not go to college or have paid off their student loan debt with yet another unfair plan to carry out massive student loan debt cancellation.
The president will take hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes from hardworking Americans, millions of whom never went to college, to pay for this new student loan cancellation plan. These taxpayers will be forced to pay for the degrees of those who did attend college, including doctors and lawyers who have every ability to pay their debts.
If students want to attend college, then they should work for companies that provide educational assistance. That’s how I attended college and got my BA and MS. The only way people appreciate what they have is if THEY BUST THEIR BUNS EARNING IT.”

‘People will remember who made their lives easier’

“Not only will forgiving all the debt make individuals’ lives easier, but they’ll be able to spend more money in their local economies, which benefits small business[es] and the community as a whole. And at election time, people will remember who made their lives easier.”

‘Rectifying long-standing inequities’

“As an African American millennial from River Rouge, MI, I believe it is crucial to support and approve student loan debt relief proposals. Our community faces distinct generational disparities that necessitate such measures. Historically, African Americans have had limited access to generational wealth. This gap makes it necessary for many of us to rely on financial aid … to pursue higher education.
Despite achieving success in our careers, the heavy yoke of student debt often means we are starting several paces behind, continuously trying to catch up. This reality hinders not only individual financial growth but also our collective ability to invest in our communities.
Approving student loan debt relief is more than a financial reprieve; it is a step towards rectifying long-standing inequities, centuries of compounded interest and empowering a significant segment of our society to achieve true economic participation and security.”

Biden ‘attempting to purchase votes’

“I paid for my undergraduate degree by working throughout my high school and college career. I worked overtime and three part-time jobs when I pursued a graduate degree. College is a personal choice that comes with many adult decisions. There are trade-offs.
It was my choice to go to college and graduate school. Nobody helped me. I earned every credit the hard way.
It is not the federal government’s responsibility to pass those personal decisions off onto our country’s taxpayers. This feels like President Biden and the Democrats are simply attempting to ‘purchase’ votes in a presidential election year.”

‘The sooner the better’

“My generation, especially those of us who came from poor factory families and blue collar workers, were told to go to college, no matter what. We were told that college was our way out, our path to the American Dream. It has become an American Nightmare as we try to navigate Byzantine repayment programs, waiting on hold for hours to try and get a person on the phone at our servicer, and do everything in our power to help our children avoid student debt, no matter the cost.Student loan debt accounts for a huge chunk of my family of 4’s total debt load. We have a mortgage, a car note, and student loans. We do not have credit card debt.
These proposed rule changes will be a huge relief to our family, and the sooner the better.”

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An improving economy has helped modestly improve the outlook for Social Security’s funds.
But experts say the outlook for the program still points to the need for imminent reform.

Phoenix Wang | Moment | Getty Images

A new Social Security trustees report released on Monday provides a modest bright spot for the program.
The program’s combined funds are now projected to run out in 2035 — one year later than was previously anticipated. At that time, 83% of benefits will be payable, unless Congress takes action before that date to prevent an across-the-board benefit cut.

The later projected depletion date is due to an improved economy, according to the trustees report. That includes higher labor productivity that enables workers to contribute to the program through payroll taxes.
But experts say that’s where the good news ends, and the revelations from the trustees’ report point to the need for congressional action.
“Unless something changes more of the economy rapidly or dramatically, we’re going to have trust fund depletion in the next 10 years,” Jason Fichtner, chief economist at the Bipartisan Policy Center said during a Tuesday panel hosted by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The trust fund shortfall may be addressed through tax increases, benefit cuts or by taking funds from general revenues, he said.
While the national debt is $34 trillion, Social Security’s unfunded liability is around $22 trillion, Fichtner said. To make the program solvent for 75 years, an upfront sum of $22 trillion would be necessary today.

“That’s a lot of borrowing,” he said.
The longer lawmakers wait, the larger the changes that will be necessary.
Because it is an election year, there likely won’t be action now, said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, in an interview. But Social Security is poised to be an issue in the upcoming House, Senate and presidential campaigns, he said.
Here are some key revelations to note from this year’s Social Security trustees report.
1. Retirement fund depletion date is less than a decade away
While the overall outlook for Social Security’s trust funds improved, the depletion date for the fund used to pay retirement benefits remains unchanged.
In 2033, that fund will be depleted, at which point 79% of benefits will be payable.
As that depletion date gets closer — with it now just nine years away — there are fewer factors that could change that forecast, Fichtner said.
2.  Disability fund is in good shape — for now
A separate trust fund used to pay disability benefits should be able to pay full benefits through 2098 — the last year of the report’s projection period.
The good news is that points to fewer disability benefits being paid from that trust fund, Social Security expert Laura Haltzel, a former research manager at Congressional Research Service, noted during the webinar. Because those individuals are still in the work force, it means they are continuing to contribute to the program, she said.
But that fund is “very, very sensitive to economic conditions,” Fichtner said.
If there is a major recession, many workers who are at the margin may apply for disability benefits, he said. That may affect that trust fund’s solvency.
“I don’t think we should say that [disability insurance] is fine and we’re out in the woods,” Fichtner said. “We need to keep an eye on it.”

3. The insolvency projection has not shifted  
Since 2012, Social Security’s trustees have predicted the insolvency date would be between 2033 and 2035.
As the new trustees’ report projects the combined funds may last to 2035, that has not changed, Haltzel noted.
“The actuarial deficit really has not shifted that much,” Haltzel said.
4.  A declining birth rate may impact the program
Social Security’s trustees have revised the total fertility rate assumption to 1.9 children per woman, down from 2.0, which is the lowest that has ever been assumed, senior Treasury officials noted.
The birth rate is an important part of long-term projections, Linda K. Stone, senior retirement fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries, said in an interview with CNBC.
“It’s going to take 20 years, 18 years for the children being born now to actually be workers and paying taxes into the system,” Stone said.
5.  Immigration may help give the program a boost
Immigration may help bring in more workers to help pay taxes into the program.
“Immigration absolutely can and should be part of what the solution is,” Haltzel said.
Legal immigration is preferred, she said, but the effects of illegal immigration on the program are frequently misunderstood.
Many illegal immigrants tend to adopt a false Social Security number, she said. While they pay into the program through payroll taxes, they are ineligible to actually claim benefits.
“We actually end up benefiting in a very unfortunate way from illegal immigration,” she said.
Immigrants may also have a higher birth rate, Stone said.
“That’s more future workers also entering the system,” she said.
6.  More dramatic changes will be necessary with time
As lawmakers procrastinate when it comes to addressing Social Security, the solutions needed to address the program get more dramatic.
During President Barack Obama’s presidency, eliminating the maximum threshold on taxable earnings would have restored the program’s 75-year solvency, said Fichtner.
Now, a combination of changes would be needed to get the same results. One suggestion that often comes up is raising the retirement age.
“We’ve lost our ‘one and done’ policy options,” Fichtner said.
On Capitol Hill, Social Security tends to become a partisan battle, Richtman said. But most Americans want to see the benefits they’ve earned preserved.
Voters should ask candidates where they stand on the issue, Richtman said.
“Everybody’s for Social Security in theory. But what are your positions on making sure that it continues and is improved?” Richtman said. “That’s the real question.” More