Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
And more of the week's best financial insight

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:
Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
Home expenses put a bigger dent in retirement savings than even health care costs, said Brenden Rearick in Money. The surprising finding comes courtesy of T. Rowe Price, which surveyed 1,300 American households. According to the results, home expenses, “which the company defined as things like home repairs, mortgages, rent, and taxes, contribute to about 25% of the average retiree’s increase in spending.” Health care–related costs made up only about 5%. “Homeownership gets more expensive with each year, even if your house is fully paid off.” T. Rowe Price notes that what seem like small expenses tend to add up as retirees age, with increasing spending on “housekeeping, laundry, household furnishing, and cleaning.”
A pandemic-era magnet for fraud
The IRS is pausing processing for a pandemic-era tax break that has been a major fraud target, said Richard Rubin and Ruth Simon in The Wall Street Journal. The employee retention credit was created in 2020 “to reward businesses and nonprofits for keeping employees on payrolls” amid pandemic shutdowns. Though the active credit expired in 2021, “the window to claim it retroactively by filing amended tax returns is open until 2025.” The agency says a “pop-up industry” of firms that promote the credit to small businesses — for a sizable commission — doesn’t do enough to scrutinize clients’ eligibility. One company, Bottom Line Concepts, has recruited “a vast sales army” of affiliates, including an anti-aging consultant in Florida and a telemarketer in Pakistan, who cold-call businesses offering to help them claim their credits.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Beware of excessive HOA penalties
The power of homeowners associations often goes unchecked, said Sarah Holder in Bloomberg. About 74 million people in the U.S. live in community associations, mostly HOAs, which “create their own regulations, meant to keep behavior polite, aesthetics consistent, and property values high.” But the rules can be “capricious” and penalties for violations steep. In about 20 states, HOAs are allowed to file so-called super liens, which “can get priority over other liens or loans on the property, including a first mortgage.” One Colorado couple, Jose and Lupita Mendoza, say that a series of minor violations, like failing to remove a dead tree, snowballed into the HOA’s foreclosing on their home — despite their never missing a mortgage payment.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
The Alien Enemies Act
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Work life: Caution settles on the job market
Feature The era of job-hopping for bigger raises is coming to an end as workers face shrinking salaries and fewer opportunities to move up
-
Trump tariffs: five scenarios for the world's economy
The Explainer A US recession? A trade war with China? How 'Liberation Day' could realign the globe
-
Saving the post office
Feature The U.S. Postal Service is facing mounting losses and growing calls for privatization. Can it survive?
-
Safe harbor: Gold rises as stocks sink
feature It's a golden age for goldbugs
-
What is the Mar-a-Lago accord?
Talking Point A Maga economic blueprint proposes upending the global financial system. Could it fly?
-
Elon Musk: has he made Tesla toxic?
Talking Point Musk's political antics have given him the 'reverse Midas touch' when it comes to his EV empire
-
Texas vs. Delaware: See you in court
Feature Delaware risks losing its corporate dominance as companies like Tesla and Meta consider reincorporating in Texas
-
Could a private equity deal be the end of Walgreens?
Today's Big Question The pharmacy chain will be taken private in a $10 billion deal