The Daily

Millions of Americans depend on Social Security benefits for
seniors during retirement, but navigating Social Security Administration
(SSA) customer service may be a frustrating experience. On Wednesday, the SSA
announced two significant operational changes designed to help streamline the
customer service experience and make it easier for beneficiaries to access the
help they need.

 » Read more about: Social Security Administration Announces Two Big Changes for Retirees  »

Despite a brief period of heightened volatility in March, it’s shaping up to be another stellar year for Wall Street and investors. The iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.28%) blasted to an all-time high earlier this month, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.42%) and growth-stock-propelled Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.29%) accomplished similar feats in early June.

 » Read more about: Donald Trump pushes for rate cuts amid two concurrent price shocks  »

Most Social Security advice focuses on timing. Claim too early, and you’ll lock
in a permanently reduced benefit. Wait until age 70, and you’ll receive larger
monthly checks.

Yet experts argue that a retirement plan that focuses exclusively on “when to claim” overlooks an
equally important question: How does claiming Social Security affect the rest of
my financial life?

 » Read more about: Financial Advisors Say Most Americans Focus on the Wrong Social Security Question  »

 » Read more about: Costco Has Held Its Hot Dog at $1.50 for Decades. Social Security Tax Thresholds Frozen Since 1984 Haven’t Been So Kind to Retirees.  »

 » Read more about: She Delayed Social Security to 70 for a Bigger Check. Her Husband’s Death at 71 Erased the Payoff.  »

Last year, Social Security celebrated its 90th anniversary, and the average monthly retired-worker benefit surpassed $2,000 for the first time. Making history is commonplace for America’s most important retirement program.

But for the more than 71 million people who took home a traditional Social Security benefit in May — retired workers,

 » Read more about: Social Security's Historic 2027 COLA May Have a Silver Lining for the First Time Since 2023  »

In the last few days, a lot of news piled up, from renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran to memory and storage stocks selling off, leading investors to rotate out of tech stocks. And even more broadly, major indexes like the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.42%) were feeling the pressure.

 » Read more about: If a Stock Market Crash Is Brewing, History Says Investors Who Do This 1 Thing Will Win Out  »

Index funds offer a simple and cost-effective way to build wealth. If they don’t play a significant role in your overall portfolio, you may want to take a closer look at what a good index fund can do for you.

What index funds do

An index fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF),

 » Read more about: What index funds do  »

DHT Holdings (NYSE:DHT) is accelerating design upgrades on its newbuild crude tankers to widen trading eligibility and flexibility. The company plans to integrate certain upgrades earlier than …

 » Read more about: DHT Holdings (DHT) Accelerates Newbuild Upgrades To Widen Tanker Trading Options  »

The US is likely to bear the brunt of a worldwide inflation wave driven by AI, according to new research from Goldman Sachs.

The Wall Street giant crunched the numbers on how the boom in artificial intelligence could stoke higher consumer prices around the world, thanks to supply constraints that have pushed up the prices for key components,

 » Read more about: Goldman Sachs warns the US will bear the brunt of a global AI-induced inflation surge  »