Ellen Kennedy

1 week ago | kiplinger.com | Ellen Kennedy

Starting May 7, 133 Catholic cardinal electors will gather to choose a new pope in a closed-door, age-old conclave ritual. Supporters are pouring into Rome and the Vatican for the event, and speculation on who could be the next pope is fierce. For centuries, popes have been hand-picked from the Catholic Church's most senior officials. The entire process is conducted in secrecy, and only once a cloud of white smoke arises from the Sistine Chapel is the public alerted that a new pope has been chosen.

2 weeks ago | kiplinger.com | Ellen Kennedy

When President Donald Trump took office in January, he pledged a sea change in the way the U.S. manages legal and undocumented immigration. In his first 100 days in office, Trump has delivered the disruption he promised, with immigration down dramatically and many foreign-born nationals rethinking working in the U.S. This effort may affect the ability of older Americans to get the home healthcare help they need, either because it becomes more expensive or because workers are harder to find.

1 month ago | kiplinger.com | Ellen Kennedy

When Donald Trump was campaigning for president, he wasn’t shy about sharing his intent to impose strict tariff policies on trade partners. In early April, he made good on that promise, instituting a 10% universal tariff as well as reciprocal tariffs on more than 60 countries. The stock market responded quickly to Trump's tariffs, with major indexes plunging and see-sawing over multiple days as the crisis worsened.

Feb 3, 2025 | kiplinger.com | Ellen Kennedy

Elon Must isn't just the world's richest person. He's also a man who may now have access to every single taxpayer's personal financial data. On Jan. 31, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including Musk, access to the U.S. Treasury’s federal payment system. This system disburses trillions of dollars each year for programs that include Social Security and Medicare. It’s unclear what happens next.

Jan 15, 2025 | kiplinger.com | Donna Fuscaldo |Ellen Kennedy

Talk of raising the Social Security retirement age is trending, given the Republican election sweep and the program's looming insolvency. That would be bad news for many U.S. workers sticking it out to 67. That’s when you can retire and start collecting your full Social Security benefits. Sure, you can claim at 62, but your payments are reduced. But what if the full retirement age (FRA) were raised to 69, as some politicians and policymakers call for?