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Homebuyers are paying attention to new construction due to more supply and incentives. 
About 693,000 new single-family houses were sold in March, up 8.3% from a year ago.
The median sales price was $430,700, according to the latest report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the spring housing market has been plagued with low supply, high prices and spiking interest rates, would-be homebuyers are focusing on new construction. 
The reason? New homes have more incentives and availability than previously owned ones.

“There’s more opportunity in new construction,” said Nicole Bachaud, a senior economist at Zillow Group.
About 693,000 new single-family houses were sold in March, up 8.3% from a year ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The median sales price was $430,700, the agencies found.
Meanwhile, sales for previously owned homes dropped by 3.7% from March 2023, the National Association of Realtors found.
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Many areas in the U.S. face a low inventory of existing homes as the mortgage rate lock-in effect, or the golden handcuff, keeps “existing owners from becoming sellers,” Bachaud explained.

With 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates sitting above 7%, homeowners who bought at much lower rates in recent years don’t like the prospect of trading in their low rate for a higher one.

Meanwhile, buyers are turning to builders, who are typically more flexible with pricing. Homebuilders offer buyers incentives like rate buy-downs and price cuts. Homebuilders can even pay for closing costs, experts say.
“This has been helping incentivize some potential buyers to turn to the new home sales market,” said Matthew Walsh, assistant director and economist at Moody’s Analytics.

New build price gap narrows

While new builds are still sold for slightly more than existing homes, the price gap has significantly narrowed since the fall.
“Prices are much closer to parity than during any point in the last three decades,” Walsh said.

Over the last six months, the median price for a new home is only about 4% higher than the median price of an existing house. That level is significantly lower than before the pandemic when the median price of a new home was more than 40% higher than an existing house, Walsh explained.

“On the existing side, you have such a tight supply for sale,” he said. “But on the new homes side, you have builders prioritizing transaction volumes over margins.”
In the past, price-sensitive buyers with tighter budgets were limited to the existing homes market. Nowadays, buyers who remain looking might have more options on the new home sales side. More

This season, more than 140,000 taxpayers successfully filed returns using IRS Direct File, a free tax filing pilot from the IRS.
The program fully opened for certain taxpayers in 12 states in early March and saved filers an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees for federal returns.
However, the IRS has not made a decision about the future of Direct File.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel testifies during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the fiscal 2024 IRS budget and the IRS’ 2023 filing season, in the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2023.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

This season, more than 140,000 taxpayers successfully filed returns using IRS Direct File, a free tax filing pilot from the IRS, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS.
The program fully opened for certain taxpayers in 12 states in early March and saved filers an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees for federal returns, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on a press call.

Direct File surveyed more than 15,000 users, around 90% of whom rated their experience as “excellent,” the agencies reported.
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“We have not made a decision about the future of Direct File,” Werfel said, noting the agency still needs to analyze data and get feedback from a “wide variety of stakeholders.”
The IRS plans to release a more detailed report about the Direct File pilot “in the coming days,” he added.

How Direct File could be expanded

The Direct File pilot included Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The pilot only accepted Form W-2 wages, Social Security retirement income, unemployment earnings and interest of $1,500 or less. This excluded filers with contract income reported via Form 1099-NEC, gig economy workers and self-employed filers.
Filers had to claim the standard deduction, which was $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married couples filing jointly for 2023. More

The warming planet is proving costly for many Americans.
U.S. weather and climate disasters cost more than $600 billion between 2018 and 2022 — a record figure, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
In a new series, CNBC will examine what climate change means for your money, from retirement savings to insurance costs to career outlook.

A man stands outside his flooded home after heavy rain in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 13, 2023.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images

The warming planet is already proving expensive.
U.S. weather and climate disasters cost more than $617 billion between 2018 and 2022 — a record figure, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The October report found that around 13% of Americans reported economic hardship over the prior year due to climate change.

More people are likely to experience financial pain as temperatures climb and extreme weather events become more common, experts say.
With each additional degree of warming, the U.S. is expected to take a bigger economic hit, the Fifth National Climate Assessment warns. For example, an increase in global temperatures by 2°F is anticipated to double the financial impact induced by 1°F of warming.
Climate change could cost Americans born in 2024 nearly $500,000, due to higher taxes and pricier housing and food, among many other factors, ICF, a consulting firm, recently found in a report commissioned by Consumer Reports.
“The basic building blocks of our financial lives — housing, insurance, social welfare programs, taxes — will become more expensive or less valuable due to climate change, with lots of consequences for people’s wallets,” said Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

‘Climateflation’ is already affecting prices

‘Household wealth is tied to housing’ — and that’s risky

A destroyed house following Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. 
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Some of the biggest financial risks of climate change come into play with housing, Wagner said.
“Most household wealth is tied to housing, which [is] directly affected by everything from floods to droughts to wildfires,” he said.
At least 3 million Americans already report being displaced by a disaster, one survey by the U.S. Census Bureau found.
“That is tremendously costly for people and businesses,” Urban Institute’s Rumbach said.
Insurance companies are raising their monthly premiums on homeowner policies and rolling back coverage in areas prone to certain disasters to “adjust to climate risk,” he said.
“Florida, Louisiana and California are all facing severe challenges, and I expect these issues will spread to other states in the years ahead,” Rumbach said.

Globally, natural catastrophes cost insurers $108 billion in 2023, which is well above the annual average over the past 10 years of $89 billion, according to Swiss Re Institute. The institute estimates these losses could double within the next decade, as temperatures rise and storms intensify.
These costs are likely to be passed on to consumers, Rumbach said.
Currently, only around 40% of the expenses from natural catastrophes are covered by insurers, meaning the rest falls on governments and individuals, Swiss Re Institute found.

‘Clear interactions’ between climate and health

The warming planet could result in larger medical bills for many Americans.
Health-care costs due to fossil fuel pollution and climate change already exceed $800 billion a year in the U.S., a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council found.
Some of these expenses are a direct result of individual, dangerous disasters.
For example, Hurricane Sandy, which pounded the mid-Atlantic region in 2012, led to more than 12,000 hospital admissions, emergency room visits and outpatient encounters.

Damage is seen in the Breezy Point area of Queens in New York on October 30, 2012 after fire destroyed about 80 homes as a result of Hurricane Sandy which hit the area on October 29.
Stan Honda | AFP | Getty Images

Other health effects of climate change reflect more widespread shifts in global conditions.
“There are clear interactions between heat waves and health conditions,” said Charles Driscoll, a professor at Syracuse University who studies climate change. “For example, heat waves exacerbate cardiovascular events.”
Air pollution, for its part, is associated with respiratory diseases, cancer and nervous system disorders, Driscoll added.

Knock-on effects for taxes, wages, retirement savings

Federal, local and state governments will likely raise taxes as they deal with the higher costs of a hotter planet and more demand for their services.
At the same time, workers may see their wages shrink as businesses and communities are disrupted by storms and heat waves. Within seven years, up to 3.8% of total working hours around the world could be lost due to higher temperatures, according to the International Labour Organization. That amounts to roughly 136 million full-time jobs.
More than 65 million adult workers in the U.S. are in occupations endangered by climate-related health risks, KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, estimated in a July 2023 analysis. These include fields with increased exposure to heat and decreased air quality, including construction and agricultural jobs.
ICF, the consulting firm, warns that global warming could put people’s retirement savings in jeopardy, too.
“Climate change is expected to decrease retirement income by impacting the value of corporate stocks held in retirement portfolios through higher costs to companies, declines in corporate productivity, damages to physical assets and supply chains, reduced resource availability and new costs associated with transitioning to low-carbon solutions,” it wrote.

A new economy in a hotter planet

The Woolsy fire burns a home near Malibu Lake in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. 
Ringo H.W. Chiu | AP

The workforce and education system are changing in anticipation of a hotter planet.
People are switching careers to leave fields threatened by global warming, such as gas and coal, while a small number of colleges are offering a new major: climate change studies.
Schools that offer such majors “are reporting a big increase” in demand, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Meanwhile, the number of jobs in climate science is expected to grow by 6% between 2022 and 2032, compared to an average 3% for all occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found.
“Slowing down and stopping climate change is a challenge, but also an opportunity for tremendous innovation and economic growth,” Urban Institute’s Rumbach said.

Climate change leads to droughts, which lead to crop failures, which cause food price spikes.

Gernot Wagner
a climate economist at Columbia Business School

In this new series, CNBC will examine what climate change means for your money, from retirement savings to insurance costs to career outlook.
We start with a story by reporter Greg Iacurci on how people continue to build in and move to Miami, despite the city being, in the words of one expert, “ground zero” for global warming. This dynamic is playing out across the country, and could worsen the financial pain ahead.
Has climate change left you with bigger or new bills? Tell us about your experience by emailing me at annie.nova@nbcuni.com. More

As wage growth outpaces inflation, Americans have reason to be more optimistic about long-term goals like retirement.
But many still fear that uncertainties like a higher cost of living or U.S. government changes to the retirement system may throw them off track.

Viewstock | View Stock | Getty Images

Last year, Americans’ confidence that they would have enough money to live comfortably in retirement fell the most since the global financial crisis.
New research shows both workers’ and retirees’ confidence has not recovered. But some signs of optimism have emerged, particularly as wage growth now outpaces inflation growth, according to the Employees Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research.

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The more than 2,500 Americans surveyed said certain factors are most likely to throw them off course — for example, an increasing cost of living that will make it harder to save and the U.S. government making significant changes to the retirement system.
The latter worry comes as both retirees and workers expect to rely on three sources of income in their golden years: Social Security, workplace retirement savings plans and personal retirement savings or investments, the research found.
While 88% of workers expect Social Security will be a source of retirement income, almost all of today’s retirees, 91%, say they depend on those benefit checks.

Changes to Social Security benefits may be on the horizon, as the program’s trust funds face depletion dates in the next decade that make benefit cuts of at least 20% inevitable if Congress does not take action. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trust fund that covers Part A hospital insurance is due to run out even sooner.

Other factors, like changes in tax breaks to employment-based retirement savings or individual retirement accounts, could also upend retirement planning if they were put in place, noted Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI.
“That can really change the dynamics of what would happen in retirement and how people plan for retirement,” Copeland said.
Social Security is always a top issue in polls AARP conducts of its members, Nancy LeaMond, the interest group’s executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said during a Wednesday press briefing.
“In light of that, and the importance of Social Security, we are asking every candidate for federal office this cycle what his or her position is on Social Security,” LeaMond said.

New survey results released by the AARP this week paint a less optimistic outlook for Americans ages 50 and up, with 20% indicating they have no retirement savings. Moreover, 61% say they worry they will not have enough money in retirement.
The nonprofit organization, which represents Americans 50 and up, is also pushing for lawmakers’ positions on family caregiving, which tends to contribute to women’s economic insecurity in retirement, LeaMond said.
AARP is also backing other legislative proposals to improve retirement security by providing Americans who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans with retirement savings accounts or automatic IRAs.  
While Congress has also taken action to address retirement security through recent legislation, the effects may be limited for people who are close to retirement, Copeland noted. That includes changes that make it possible for savers in their 60s to make additional catch-up contributions and a match for low-income workers.
“There wasn’t a great deal that’s really change the dynamic for people near retirement,” Copeland said.

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YOUR GUIDE TO NAVIGATING YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

Restricted stock units, or RSUs, are a type of equity compensation that grants company stock to employees over a set schedule.
RSUs have become more common over the past two decades, and most public companies now offer RSUs to at least mid-level employees, according to the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals.
However, employees need a comprehensive strategy for RSUs, experts say.

Enes Evren

When you receive equity compensation from an employer, it typically requires a comprehensive financial plan — and restricted stock units are no exception.
In 2000, only 20% of public companies granted restricted stock or restricted stock units, primarily for senior executives or higher, according to the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals.

That percentage, however, has jumped to 94%, and most public companies now extend grants to at least middle managers, the organization’s most recent survey from 2021 found.
From a tax perspective, “it’s very similar to a cash bonus,” said certified financial planner Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, chief financial planning officer for Zenith Wealth Partners in New York.
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However, once the shares vest, you’ll have to decide whether to sell or continue holding company stock, she said.
That could hinge on several factors, including your short- and long-term financial goals, how much company stock you already own and how you feel about the company’s growth potential.

How restricted stock units work

Typically, you’re granted RSUs upon hiring, throughout employment or tied to corporate performance.
“That first grant is typically always the biggest,” Ransom-Cooper said. “The additional ones are going to be those golden handcuffs.”
You acquire the actual shares over a set period or “vesting” schedule. Until you own the shares, you won’t receive dividends or have voting rights.
The vesting schedule could be graded, which delivers shares over specific increments. Alternatively, there could be a cliff, such as one year of employment. In either case, you could forfeit unvested shares by leaving the company early.
After RSUs vest, you can sell shares or continue holding them, similar to other investments. Over time, you could amass a sizable concentration of a single stock, which experts say could be risky.

‘Pick a strategy’ for RSUs and taxes

If you’re granted RSUs, you should plan to incur regular income taxes on the market value of shares as they vest. Your company’s tax withholding may not be enough, experts say.
“Companies have a flat withholding rate” of 22% or 37%, explained Bruce Brumberg, editor-in-chief and co-founder of myStockOptions.com, which covers RSUs and other equity compensation.
“You have to be aware of that and pick a strategy,” he said. If your company only withholds 22% and your tax bracket is higher, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments.

If you sell your shares, the taxes depend on how long you’ve owned the shares. Your purchase date, or “basis,” is the shares’ market value at vesting.
You could pay long-term capital gains for profitable shares — taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% — if you owned the shares for more than one year. But you’ll owe regular income taxes on short-term gains from shares owned for one year or less.
Whether you’re vesting or selling shares, you’ll need to weigh your complete tax situation — and how the additional income could impact things like college financial aid, eligibility for certain tax breaks and more.

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One of Americans’ biggest retirement fears is running out of money.
BlackRock hopes a new strategy to allow for paycheck-like distributions from retirement savings will help.

Patchareeporn Sakoolchai | Moment | Getty Images

BlackRock, the largest asset manager, has launched a new product to help workers access their retirement savings through a regular income stream that mimics a paycheck they receive during their working years.
Experts say that while the new choice could be helpful, its success will be defined by whether consumers actually take advantage of it.

The BlackRock product, LifePath Paycheck, aims to simplify the process of withdrawing funds from lifetime investments. The process is the aftermath of a broad shift from defined benefit plans like pensions to defined contribution plans like 401(k) plans.
“We’re talking about a revolution in retirement,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote of LifePath Paycheck in his recent annual letter to investors.
The strategy provides guaranteed income through a target-date fund, which typically comprises a mix of stocks, bonds and other investments that become more conservative as an investor nears their anticipated retirement age.
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Employees who sign up for LifePath Paycheck through their employer-provided retirement plan will start making allocations to lifetime income starting at age 55. Then, starting at age 59½ and up until the year they turn 72, they may regularly withdraw from that sum.

While they receive that income, the rest of their retirement savings may continue to grow.
A recent BlackRock survey found that 60% of employees worry they may outlive their retirement savings.
In a similar vein, research from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies has found that the greatest retirement fear for workers 50 and up is running out of their savings and investments.
BlackRock said that around 500,000 employees now have access to the strategy through 14 retirement plan sponsors.
For now, the LifePath product is limited to plans offered through employers. But BlackRock would eventually love to make a similar option available through funds for individuals who do not have access to employer plans, Anne Ackerley, head of retirement at BlackRock, said during a Wednesday presentation in New York.

While the development may start in the U.S. first, Fink predicted in his annual letter that it will likely spread to other countries.
“I believe it will one day be the most used investment strategy in defined contribution plans,” Fink wrote.

Investor utilization key to success

Experts say much of the strategy’s success will depend on whether employees opt in.
For sustainable energy company Avangrid, implementing LifePath Paycheck has provided a way to smooth its recent transition from a defined benefit to defined contribution plan, said Paul Visconti, senior director of total health and retirement programs at the company.
“Adding this feature to it really … gives some of the legacy employees some of that comfort they have from the legacy pension plan,” Visconti said.
He added that the company hopes the feature will help attract and retain employees in a competitive industry. Because LifePath Paycheck just went live at Avangrid on Monday, the company does not yet have data on how many employees aged 55 and older may have already signed up. However, the company has been actively educating its 8,000 employees on the offering.
Annuity options in retirement plans will likely become as widely embraced as target-date funds are today, predicted Jason Fichtner, chief economist at the Bipartisan Policy Center and executive director at the Alliance for Lifetime Income’s Retirement Income Institute.
Annuity income helps retirees understand how much they can spend. It also allows them to withstand risks better across their investment portfolio, he said.
Moreover, having income through an annuity may help workers create an income bridge that enables them to delay claiming Social Security retirement benefits, according to research published last year from the Bipartisan Policy Center and BlackRock.
Social Security benefits are a “life annuity” that increases annually with inflation, “a rare feature on the private market,” the research notes. Moreover, every year a retiree delays benefits from their full retirement age — typically 66 or 67 — up to age 70, they get an 8% increase. That’s a guaranteed return that’s hard to match elsewhere.

Social Security is “unequivocally” the first place people should look to make the most of their retirement income, said David Blanchett, managing director and head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions.
“Will it help people to buy this product? It would likely help them to delay claiming Social Security more,” Blanchett said.
It’s up to individuals to actively convert their savings to lifetime income. And few participants tend to take that step, he said.
“Very few people who end up in this product actually receive any kind of paycheck, because they don’t always know what they’re signing up for,” Blanchett said.
While many people like the idea of guaranteed fixed income, they often don’t seek products on their own that will provide that income stream from their retirement plan savings once they retire, said Dan Doonan, executive director at the National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit research and education organization.
The annuity choices consumers face are “incredibly complex,” as they have to take into account who to buy from and assess whether they’re getting a good deal, Doonan said. Having an employer plan that provides these options can help remove those uncertainties and may result in higher utilization, he predicted.
“People are much more likely to do these things when they’re part of the plan they have at the office at work,” Doonan said.
BlackRock’s move will likely push other groups to enhance their retirement plan annuity options, Doonan predicted. “It might look very different in 10 years,” he said.

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Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

A song on Taylor Swift’s new “Tortured Poets Department” album, which goes, “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it’s an art,” is resonating with many women on TikTok.
As of April 25, more than 98,000 short-form video posts on the social media platform featured the lyric from “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” along with a glimpse of the daily grind.

Taylor Swift accepts the Best Pop Vocal Album award for “Midnights” onstage during the 66th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2024.
Kevin Mazur | Getty Images

When Taylor Swift on April 19 surprised the world with “The Tortured Poets Department,” a double album complete with 31 self-composed songs, there was one line on “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” that hit home with her — mostly female — listeners: “I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it’s an art.”
As of April 25, more than 98,000 short-form video posts on TikTok featured the lyric along with a glimpse of the user’s daily grind.

“It resonates with both millennials and Gen Zers, which I think indicates that Gen Z is feeling the same ‘girl-boss’ pressures that millennials famously grew up with,” said Casey Lewis, a social media trend forecaster.

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Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

There’s a reason so many working women, regardless of age, can relate to the 14-time Grammy winner’s lyrics, according to Eve Rodsky, the author of “Fair Play” and an expert in domestic labor and partnership equity.
“We have been gaslighted to believe that having it all means doing it all,” she said. “The good news is that people like Taylor are calling this out.”

‘Maximize every minute’: pressures Taylor sings about

Women are steadily working more, but they continue to pick up a heavier load when it comes to household chores and caregiving responsibilities, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey and analysis of government data.
“I’m a millennial and I grew up like I needed to maximize every minute of the day,” Lewis said. “It’s interesting to see [Taylor] sing about those pressures.”

In February 2024, the labor force participation rate for women between the ages of 25 and 54 hit 77.7%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s just shy of the June 2023 peak of 77.8%.
And yet, even in cases where women are now breadwinners, the division of labor at home has barely budged, the Pew report found.
“We are expected to wear many hats and achieve the same benchmarks at work, but often without the care infrastructure, employer support, or equitable division of labor in the home to make it happen,” said Heather Boneparth, co-author of The Joint Account, a money newsletter for couples. 
“But we also live in an environment of layoffs and rising costs, so not being productive isn’t really an option,” she added.

We have been gaslighted to believe that having it all means doing it all. The good news is that people like Taylor are calling this out.

Eve Rodsky
author of “Fair Play”

Working women are shouldering more burdens

Members of Gen Z and millennials are the first two generations that grew up alongside the internet, making them uniquely exposed to, and aware of, what’s going on in the economy, experts say.
“Part of that is thanks to the platform TikTok. Even though you’re not reading the news, you’re still seeing how the economy is impacting peers. It gives you a peek into many different worlds,” Lewis said.

At the same time, stress levels for working women have increased with long working hours, contributing to poor mental health, according to Deloitte’s most recent Women at Work report published this year.
Women are shouldering most of the responsibility for child care, domestic tasks, and, increasingly, care for aging parents — even if they’re the primary earner, the Deloitte report found.
This year, half of women who live with a partner and have children at home bear the most responsibility for child care, up from 46% last year. At the same time, 37% of women said they feel like they have to prioritize their partner’s career over their own — another increase from 2023 — in part because their partner earns more but also due to societal or cultural expectations.
“That’s going in the wrong direction,” said Deloitte’s Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Emma Codd, who is also a working mother.
“We need to be able to talk about it,” Codd said, and Taylor Swift’s new track is a good motivator, she added.
Correction: An earlier version of this story inaccurately characterized the labor force participation rate among women aged 25 to 54 in June 2023.

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Borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness have just a few more days to act before an April 30 deadline.
Those who before the deadline request a so-called loan consolidation — which will combine their federal student loans into one new loan — could get their debt canceled sooner than they would have otherwise.
Some people could even see their debt canceled immediately.

Woman doing bookkeeping at home.
Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images

Borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness have just a few more days to act before an April 30 deadline.
Those who ahead of the deadline request a so-called loan consolidation — which will combine their federal student loans into one new loan — could get their debt canceled sooner than they would have otherwise. Some could even see their debt canceled immediately.

Here’s what you should know.

Consolidation can get you closer to loan forgiveness

Income-driven repayment plans, which date back to 1994, set borrowers’ monthly payments based on a share of their discretionary income. Those payments are typically lower than they would be under a standard repayment plan — and, in some cases, they can be zero. Depending on the plan, borrowers can get any remaining debt forgiven after 10, 20 or 25 years.
One complicating factor for borrowers in these programs is that they often have multiple loans that have been taken out at different times, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz in an earlier interview with CNBC.
“They get at least one new loan each year in school, on average,” Kantrowitz said.
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As a result, it’s common for a borrower to be on multiple timelines for forgiveness, one for each of those loans.
For now, the Biden administration temporarily offers borrowers the chance to combine their loans and get credit going back as far as their first loan payment on the oldest of their original loans in that bundle.
This could be a good deal for many, experts say.
For example, say a borrower graduated from college in 2004, took out more loans for a graduate degree in 2018, and is now in repayment under an income-driven plan with a 20-year timeline to forgiveness.
Consolidating before May 1 could lead them to qualify for forgiveness on all those loans, experts say, even though they’d normally need to wait at least another 14 years for full relief.
Usually, a student loan consolidation restarts a borrower’s forgiveness timeline, making it a terrible move for those working toward cancellation.

What to know about consolidating your student loans

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

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

Before consolidating, consider getting a complete payment history of each loan. In doing so, according to experts, you can make sure you’re getting the full credit you’re entitled to.
You should be able to get a history of your payments at StudentAid.gov by looking into your loan details. You can also ask your servicer for a complete record. The payment history counts when your loans first entered repayment, not when the loan was borrowed.
If a borrower believes there is an issue with their payment count, they can talk to their loan servicer or submit a complaint with the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid unit.
You should never have to pay a fee to consolidate your loan, Kantrowitz said. Anyone who tries to get you to do so is likely a scammer, he said.

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