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Damircudic | E+ | Getty ImagesCash may seem like a safe parking space for your money. But holding too much can hurt savers over the long term — especially if it comes at the expense of owning stocks, the growth engine of a portfolio. “Cash can feel safe, but it doesn’t grow your wealth,” Gargi Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist, Americas, at BlackRock, an asset manager, wrote this month in an investment commentary.Why? While cash is insulated from the whipsawing nature of stocks, it’s at risk due to a more insidious threat: inflation. More from Financial Advisor Playbook:Here’s a look…

Even as the U.S. economy adds jobs, there are fewer employment prospects for college graduates just starting out, as those armed with a newly minted diploma are facing one of the toughest job markets in a decade, studies show.”Right now is a really difficult time to find a job,” Cory Stahle, senior economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, told CNBC.By many measures, the labor market is still relatively strong. The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the overall unemployment rate edged up to 4.4%, and for younger workers, ages 16 to 24, unemployment was…

Analysts anticipate growth for the tech sector supported by rising AI-related capital expenditures.AFP via Getty ImagesSince I first appeared on CNBC decades ago to discuss technology stocks, I have learned: When a company grows faster than investors expect and raises its growth forecast, its stock price usually goes up. That’s what we’re likely to see in 2026 with the AI chip designer Nvidia; another company called Iren, which is a former bitcoin miner turned AI cloud services provider; and quantum computing service provider IonQ. Here’s why buying shares of these growth stocks could help your portfolio — and the associated…

Daniel Gray and his husband, Douglas, and their dog.Courtesy: Daniel GrayOn Oct. 23, the day after Daniel Gray’s 56th birthday, he received an email that made him feel like he was dreaming: The U.S. Department of Education would forgive his more than $170,000 student loan balance.”I could not believe it,” Gray said. “This is the first time I’ve been without debt since I’m 18.”Yet the relief should not have been so surprising. Gray began paying his student loan debt in the 1990s and was eligible for the loan cancellation under the terms of his income-driven repayment plan. IDR plans lead…

Ascentxmedia | E+ | Getty ImagesAbout 75 million Americans will see a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment to their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits in 2026.The increase is expected to add $56 per month on average to Social Security retirement benefits, according to the Social Security Administration.But other changes — particularly a new tax deduction for seniors and rates for Medicare Part B premiums — will affect the final amount retirees see in their monthly checks starting in January.The Social Security Administration is will send beneficiaries a one-page statement starting in early December with “exact dates and dollar amounts” of…

Kathrin Ziegler | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesRoth individual retirement account conversions are a popular strategy to reduce pretax balances and kickstart tax-free growth. But the converted balance boosts your income, which could have unexpected consequences amid new laws enacted via President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”For some investors, more earnings could trigger a “tax torpedo,” or an artificially higher rate, due to the phaseouts, or benefit reductions, for some of Trump’s new tax breaks, experts say.If that happens, the “tax cost” of the Roth conversion could be higher than your marginal tax rate — the bracket that applies to your…

Thasunda Brown DuckettCNBCFears of an AI stock bubble have many investors watching — and some worrying — about its impact on their retirement accounts. TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett, who heads one of the nation’s largest retirement plan providers, says that shouldn’t be retail investors’ greatest concern.When eyeing the AI-driven market gains, “I think the real question is not knowing if it’s going to burst or boom. It’s about making sure you’ll be prepared for retirement,” Brown Duckett said in an interview on the sidelines of TIAA’s FutureWise conference in Washington, DC, earlier this week.  The focus of investors saving for retirement…

Tim Robberts | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesAnyone who owns a health savings account is probably familiar with its generous tax advantages. If you’re nearing age 65, though, it’s worth making sure you’re aware of some key rules.HSAs come with a triple tax benefit: Your contributions are made pre-tax, any growth is untaxed and withdrawals are tax-free as long as they are used for qualifying medical expenses. And while these accounts are more prevalent among younger generations, a growing number of people are reaching retirement with one in tow. “More retirees are sitting on meaningful HSA balances without a clear plan for…

Companies are replacing entry-level jobs with artificial intelligence — and, in the process, are upending the traditional route to career advancement for many young, white-collar workers, according to labor and AI experts.Typically, new entrants to the job market do grunt work with relatively low stakes — think research or data entry jobs, for example. They acquire skills over years while working alongside more seasoned colleagues, ultimately becoming experts themselves and climbing into managerial roles. This “expert-novice” approach to skill-building has existed for 160,000 years, said Matt Beane, author of “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age…

D-keine | E+ | Getty ImagesLosing a spouse can be devastating, and survivors often face a costly surprise — higher future taxes. But couples can plan ahead to reduce the burden, experts say.The issue, known as the “survivor’s penalty,” happens when shifting from married filing jointly to single filer, which can lead to higher tax rates, depending on the couple. Single filers have less generous tax brackets, a smaller standard deduction and lower thresholds for other tax breaks.It’s one of the “most overlooked and financially damaging tax events,” said certified financial planner Gregory Furer, CEO and founder of Beratung Advisors…