Major changes to your SS are coming

Good afternoon. Most retirement assumptions have an expiration date — and a lot of them are expiring right now. Today's issue is about knowing where you actually stand before the numbers change on you.

On The Money Today:

Let's get into it.

In the 1970s, the average American set aside 12 cents of every dollar they earned. Today, that number is closer to 4 cents — and it's not because people stopped caring about saving. The cost of living has done the climbing that wages and savings never could. That gap is what today's first story is really about.

A record share of Americans say their finances are getting worse this year, the worst stretch since the Great Recession. Three simple questions reveal whether you're actually holding steadier ground than most people realize, no spreadsheet required.

Why it matters: A Gallup survey found 59% of Americans have at least some retirement savings, but only 39% of those under 30 do, so even a modest nest egg started early puts you ahead of most of your peers, not just your generation.

Groceries, utilities, insurance — the bills keep climbing and most bank accounts aren't doing anything to help. Most banking apps bury the good stuff behind tiers, fees, and rewards programs nobody actually uses. Spruce, a mobile banking app from H&R Block, keeps it simple: no monthly fees, no minimum balance, no credit check.

Set up $500 in qualifying direct deposits within 45 days of opening and a $100 bonus lands straight in your account. No fine print, no hoops, no rewards tier you'll spend six months trying to figure out. Just a straightforward bonus for doing something you were probably going to do anyway.

Private equity firms buy companies using borrowed money, and thousands of those deals are stuck unsold right now, some for nearly a decade. The White House wants that same risky, hard-to-sell asset class packed into the retirement account you can't afford to gamble with.

Why it matters: A 2026 bipartisan survey found 65% of U.S. voters want stricter guardrails on private equity, and Morningstar analysts warn the fees involved could quietly eat into returns before workers ever see the "diversification" benefit the White House is promising.

Trump vowed to preserve Social Security exactly as it is, but three of its core numbers reset automatically every year no matter what he promises: a bigger cost-of-living raise, a higher earnings cap for retirees still working, and a bigger tax bill for six-figure earners. None of it needs a new law or a signature, just the calendar turning to 2027.

Why it matters: The income ceiling subject to Social Security payroll tax is on track to rise from $184,500 to about $190,200, so anyone earning above that amount will owe tax on a larger slice of their paycheck next year. None of these three numbers becomes official until this fall, so anyone planning around them right now is working from estimates, not the final figures.

The correct answer is D) 56%. More than half of Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than they have set aside in savings, according to Bankrate's 2026 Emergency Savings Report, meaning one unplanned bill is often the difference between staying afloat and going into debt.