Congress just changed 3 retirement rules

Good afternoon, and happy start of September. We're only a day into the new month and already have some stories worth your time today. Midterms are just over two months away, and if the headlines are any indication, retirement and Social Security are going to be part of that conversation.

On The Money Today:

Let's get into it.

Social Security's trust fund reserves have declined every year since peaking in 2020 — down 12% and counting. Read our first story to see what's actually changing behind the scenes, and what it means for your check.

Dave Ramsey says the mistake isn't how much you're saving. It's what you're expecting Social Security to cover once the paychecks stop. He lays out three moves that can close the gap, no matter how close you are to retirement. None of them require a windfall, just a different starting assumption.

Why it matters: Social Security typically replaces only about 40% of your pre-retirement income, according to the SSA, so treating it as your whole plan instead of a safety net can leave a real gap when the paychecks stop.

Inflation fears and market jitters have pushed gold back into the headlines, and it's not just hype — investors are moving real money into it. Like most Americans, you may be rightly worried about the economy, rising inflation and the value of your hard-earned savings, and Newport Gold has built its business helping people plan for exactly that risk.

Physical gold and silver have long served as a hedge against both — and for many, a precious metals IRA is one way to protect retirement savings from what's coming. Newport Gold’s free guide covers everything you need to know, whether you're a first-time buyer or already own precious metals.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio isn't warning about a risky stock or a volatile crypto bet. He's pointing at something sitting in almost every American's bank account, and he says it's guaranteed to lose value the longer you hold it. Even the interest you earn on it can end up taxed away.

Why it matters: According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, $100 today buys what just $11.74 did in 1970, so cash sitting in a low-yield account isn't just missing gains, it's steadily losing real value.

Congress didn't hold a press conference for any of these changes. One rewrites how much the Social Security Administration can withhold from your check over old debts. Another reshapes the numbers for millions of teachers, firefighters and police officers. A third quietly buys you extra years before the IRS forces withdrawals on its own schedule.

Why it matters: If you're under 62, the RMD age is moving from 73 to 75 by 2033, giving you extra years to plan Roth conversions before the IRS forces withdrawals on its schedule, not yours.

The correct answer is B) 1970s - Oil price shocks and loose monetary policy drove inflation to nearly 14% by 1980, the worst sustained stretch the US has seen in the past century. It remains the benchmark economists point to whenever today's inflation gets compared to "the bad old days," and the Fed spent years afterward hiking rates aggressively just to stamp it out.