US financial news | Summary news 8 September
Headlines: Friday 8 September 2023
- Employment report: 736,000 people enter job market, unemployment at 3.8%
- Labor force participation rate ticked up to 62.8% in August, highest rate since February 2020
- Job openings fell in July to a more than 2-year low, pointing to slowdown
- Social Security payment increase due to COLA projected to be 3%
- US quarterly growth slower than expected in Q2
- Minimum wage in Florida set to increase in September
- Minimum wage in California and Illinois to go up in 2024
- New requirements to receive SNAP benefits in 2024 to take effect soon
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The SSA uses three main data points to determine how much you will receive in benefits when you claim. One of those is the PIA. Here’s how it works…
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits provide financial assistance to families.
The application period for federal student loans has ended. You need to have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, by the end of June 2023.
The only other option for getting a student loan is a private loan. These can be applied for and ratified within hours if you meet the requirements.
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The COLA represents an increase in Social Security payments. Each month, the Social Security Administration sends different checks, including those for retired workers and survivors (children, spouses, widows, widowers or parents of a deceased beneficiary). These recipients are the people who will benefit from a new cost of living adjustment.
Here is the date on which the amount of the COLA increase will likely be announced.
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President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act into law in June, and one of the most salient points of the measure was the change in work requirements for some recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
As the program currently stands, there are already work requirements in place for most able-bodied adults without dependents, or ABAWD, from the ages of 18 to 49.
The modifications will begin on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2023, although the new policieswill be implemented gradually.will
Apple, the American tech giant, suffered its second big drop in stock price in as many months as news from China threatens to derail the company’s expansion into the world’s biggest market.
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Some Social Security beneficiaries will receive two payments in September.
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The cost of living adjustment will mean an increase in Social Security payments to boost purchasing power.
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Eligibility for unemployment insurance depends on immigration status during two time periods: first, the time the worker applies for and receives benefits, known as the “benefit period”; and second, the time the worker performed the work, known as the “base period.”
Generally speaking, workers must have valid work authorization during the base period, at the time they apply for benefits, as well as for the entire period during which they are receiving benefits.
Under current state and federal systems, undocumented workers are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
Qualifying for unemployment support
They are unemployed for reasons beyond their control;
They meet labor and salary requirements;
They meet their state's requirements for wages earned or time worked during a set period of time called the “base period”; (In most states, these are usually the first four of the last five full calendar quarters before the time the claim is filed.)
They meet additional state requirements.
For workers who have paid into Social Security but become disabled before reaching their full retirement age, a claim with the SSA to receive SSDI can be filed. However, certain eligibility requirements must be met, and two-thirds of applicants see their claims rejected.
The five-year applies to those who are older than thirty-one and requires that they have worked at least five of the ten years before they developed their disability.
The Social Security Administration remains committed to reducing barriers and ensuring people who are eligible for benefits receive them. Our Compassionate Allowances program allows us to reinforce that commitment by expediting the disability application process for people with the most severe disabilities.
The Compassionate Allowances (CAL) program is an expedited way that the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses to identify and process disability claims for individuals with certain severe medical conditions.
On 14 August, 12 new Compassionate Allowances were added to the list.
Every year the Social Security Administration announces a cost-of-living adjustment increase for monthly benefit payments, but when does it take effect?
Mortgages rates drop for a second week, 30-yr fixed rate still over 7%
The weekly average for a 15- year and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped for a second straight week according to data published by Freddie Mac. For the week ending Thursday 7 September the 30yr FRM was 7.12% while the 15yr FRM was 6.52% which is crimping budgets for home shoppers.
American would-be homebuyers are facing a double pinch making finding that dream home, well any home, unaffordable. During the pandemic interest rates dropped to rock-bottom levels which helped fuel a buying frenzy along with other factors. That in turn sent housing prices into the stratosphere.
However, the party came to an end when the Federal Reserve began tightening monetary policy and raising interest rates. While not directly as a result of that but a knock-on effect has been rising mortgage rates. Two weeks ago, the weekly average for a 30-year fixed rate-mortgage hit a 20-year high, surpassing the peak last autumn.
Since millions of Americans locked in ultra-low mortgage rates, they aren’t keen on selling which has further exacerbated the lack of supply in the market and helping to keep prices elevated. The high interest rates on top of the high prices are giving homebuyers a double whammy and limiting how much home they can afford to buy.
The average Social Security payment in 2023 is $1,827, however, depending on a series of factors, you could possibly get much larger payments. Here’s how…
What the experts are saying about credit card debt
We’ve sped way past normal... [growing delinquencies are] very concerning.
People don’t like going into default or delinquency with credit cards — it makes a lot of people feel very nervous and unhappy. It underlines how much some consumers are under pressure, and it’s one of the cracks that’s appearing in the consumer economy.
10-year high for credit card defaults
This yearcredit card delinquencies have hit 3.8%, while 3.6% have defaulted on their car loans, according to credit agency Equifax.
There are 70 million more credit card accounts open now than before the pandemic in 2019 and credit card debt surpassed $1 trillion for the first time ever, this year according to the New York Federal Reserve.
One can retire, with enough money, at any age but if you want to claim Social Security you have to be at least 62.
Happy Friday and welcome to AS USA's live financial blog!
Follow along as we bring you the latest news on SNAP benefits, Social Security updates, and student loan repayment plans.
We'll also be reporting on other financial news affecting US consumers as the job market cools, consumers ramp up spending, and the Federal Reserve prepares to decide if interest rates will be increased once again at their next meeting.