New law is giving more Americans with disabilities access to state-run accounts that allow them to save money without risking their federal disability benefits.

People with disabilities who get need-based public help like Medicaid typically can’t have more than $2,000 to their name and remain eligible for those programs. But ABLE accounts — short for Achieving a Better Life Experience — allow people to save beyond that for disability-related expenses and still qualify for benefits.

Before the new law, only those whose disability developed before age 26 were eligible for ABLE accounts. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act — passed in December — raises that “disability onset” age to 46, allowing more than 6 million more people to qualify beginning in 2026.

Key takeaway: ABLE accounts can let people with disabilities independently save and even crowdfund without losing their public benefits. If your disability began before age 26, you may already qualify. If it began between 26 and 46, you could possibly qualify starting in 2026.  

How ABLE accounts help people with disabilities

The Catch-22 of public disability benefits is that putting some money away to build some financial security could mean losing those benefits, which can be crucial for basic needs and assistive devices.

With an ABLE account, you can …

• Deposit $17,000 per year (or more if the account holder has a job) without losing benefits. You can save up to $100,000 without affecting Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. But you can save into the hundreds of thousands of dollars over time without affecting other kinds of benefits.
• Spend independently on what you need. Qualified expenses can be anything from food, housing and transportation to healthcare, personal support and other things that help quality of life. Some ABLE accounts come with a debit card, or you can use a prepaid card (ABLE Visa Card).
• Crowdfund. Friends, relatives, employers — anyone, including yourself — can contribute to your ABLE account.
• Invest. Some ABLE programs offer a range of optional investment options, much like 529 college savings plans.
• Get tax advantages. Money taken out of an ABLE account is tax-free if used for qualified expenses.

Who can qualify for an ABLE account?

You’ll automatically qualify for an ABLE account if your disability began before age 26 (46 starting in 2026) and you’re already receiving SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance.

Other ABLE eligibility facts

• You don’t have to be an SSI or SSDI recipient. If you meet the disability-age requirement, Social Security’s criteria for certified functional limitations and other conditions, you could qualify for an ABLE account.
• You don’t need to contribute a lot of money. State requirements can vary, but generally the initial deposit can be as little as $25 to $50.

How to get an ABLE account

The ABLE National Resource Center offers a lot of guidance on its site, including FAQs on ABLE accounts and advice on how to get started. You can open and manage most ABLE accounts online. 

Basics to know about signing up

• State residency — Most ABLE plans allow you to enroll no matter what state you live in. This ABLE account state comparison tool can help you identify and compare potential providers.
• ABLE account features vary — It’s a good idea to get familiar with the different types of ABLE account offerings and use the comparison tool and map tool to shop.
• More to know — The ABLE National Resource Center’s ABLE facts and myths page is a great place to start learning more about things like balance limits and how ABLE accounts differ from Special Needs Trusts or Pooled Income Trusts.

Federal Reserve drops the federal funds rate again. What does another Fed rate cut mean for you?

A Credit Karma news explainer

Updated December 18, 2024

Written by: Amy Kalin, Senior Editor, Credit & Debt

The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, decided at its November meeting to cut the federal funds rate rate another quarter of a percentage point — bringing it to a range of 4.25%–4.50%. The Fed’s action follows its move in November to bring rates down a quarter of a percentage point.

Read on to learn how the Fed rate cut could affect your finances.

How could the Fed rate cut affect my finances?

Most rate changes made by the Fed — short for the Federal Reserve and its board members who make up the Federal Open Market Committee — end up affecting consumers. This Fed rate cut could be helpful when it comes to credit cards, mortgages and auto loans — but not so great for savings.  

Credit cards: If you have credit cards, you might see your card APRs drop some, though not immediately. This could help you make headway paying down your debt because more of your payment will go toward your principal balance, and less toward interest. A lower rate also generally means interest won’t pile up on outstanding balances quite as fast. Just note that it can take time after a Fed rate cut to see any interest rate decrease kick in on your account.

Mortgages: The Fed rate drop could keep encouraging mortgage rates downward. If you’re thinking about buying or refinancing, it’s a good time to monitor what lenders are offering — but remember that the Fed is still expected to lower the funds rate more more heading into 2025. Mortgage rates don’t always exactly mirror the Fed’s actions, but decreases in the Fed rate typically mean better offers from lenders.

Auto loans: Auto loan rates might be friendlier following a Fed rate cut, and even a small rate decrease could save you money over the life of an auto loan. But like with mortgages, it’s possible we’ll see auto loan rates further improve if the Fed rate drops more in the coming months.

Savings: The likely downside of a Fed rate cut is that banks typically respond by lowering interest rates on savings accounts, so you’ll earn less on them. A small drop might not make much difference. But with further rate cuts likely, you might want to explore and shop for high-yield savings accounts, CDs or other options to help your savings grow.

Reasons for the Fed rate cuts

Context for the Fed’s actions this fall go back to March 2020. At that time, the Fed cut interest rates to zero and kept it that way for two years to encourage spending and help the economy through the coronavirus pandemic.

By March 2022, the economy was recovering — triggering inflation (rising prices) — so the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points to a level of 0.25–0.50%. It then kept raising the Fed rate a number of times through July 2023 to get inflation under control.

The Fed rate had remained at a range of 5.25%–5.5% since the last increase on July 27, 2023.

The Fed’s move to reduce interest rates reflects its confidence that inflation is in hand now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the year-over-year inflation rate from September 2022 to September 2023 was 3.7%. Heading into its September 2024 meeting, the year-over-year inflation rate had improved to 2.9% — closer to the Fed’s target ideal of 2%.

History of Fed rate changes

The Fed adjusts interest rates to help keep the economy stable.

These adjustments affect how much it costs to borrow money or earn interest on savings. When the economy is hot with a lot of spending happening, the Fed may raise the federal funds rate to slow things down. When it’s slow, they may lower rates to make borrowing cheaper and encourage spending. This helps control inflation and keep the job market steady. 

Heading into the September 2024 FOMC meeting, the effective fed funds rate of 5.33% — even after many rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 — was actually low compared to historical levels. The notoriously high interest rates of the late 1970s and early 1980s make the current Fed fund rate look like nothing.

For example, during the week of July 8, 1981, the effective Fed funds rate reached 19.93%. The corresponding 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate average was 16.79% — reaching a peak of 18.63% the week of Oct. 9, 1981.

After the fed funds rate peaked in the early 1980s, rates were mainly on a decline. The 2022 and 2023 rate hikes were surprising because they came in quick succession, and the increments of increase were larger than usual. Also, Americans had gotten used to years of near-zero interest rates in the wake of the housing crash and Great Recession.

When is the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting?

The next Fed meeting on interest rates will be held January 28–29.

To vote in a U.S. election, the basic requirements are simple.

You have to be …

• A United States citizen
• At least 18 years old on or before Election Day
• Registered to vote by your state’s voter registration deadline

But the processes and restrictions around registering to vote and casting a ballot vary by state. Let’s go over some common questions about requirements to vote so you can be prepared — and have your say in the next election.

• Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to vote?
• Can I vote if I’ll be 18 by Election Day?
• What voter registration deadline do I have to meet?
• Can I vote if I have a felony conviction?
• Other voting requirements and restrictions

Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to vote?

Yes. The first thing to know about voter eligibility is that you must be a citizen of the United States to vote in federal, state or local elections. Non-citizens — even permanent legal residents — may not vote.

Can I vote if I’m a U.S. citizen living in another country?

In most cases, where you live doesn’t matter. If you’re a U.S. citizen but live in another country, you can still vote, even if you don’t maintain residency or own property in the U.S. (To vote in state or local elections, you typically need to maintain residency status in your last state of residence.)

Even if you’ve never lived in the U.S., you may still be able vote (it depends on your state) as long as you’re a U.S. citizen. In that case, you’d likely provide your parents’ last address in the U.S. when you register to vote.

But if you live in a U.S. territory — Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the North Mariana Islands or the U.S. Virgin Islands — you can’t vote in general presidential elections. You can only vote in presidential primaries. This is despite the fact that most people born in U.S. territories, with the exception of American Samoa, are U.S. citizens. Voter-rights advocates have taken legal action to try to change this.

Can I vote if I’ll be 18 by Election Day?

While the legal voting age in the U.S. is 18, voter registration and pre-registration rules and ages can be different depending on the state. In almost every state, you can register to vote before your 18th birthday as long as you’ll be 18 by Election Day.

In some states (California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Washington, D.C.) you can pre-register by age 16 or 17.

Some states also allow you to vote in a primary election at age 17 if you’ll be 18 by the next general election.

You can find the voter registration and pre-registration age requirements for each state here. 

What voter registration deadline do I have to meet?

All states except North Dakota require you to register to vote. Depending on your state, the registration deadline could be between seven and 30 days before an election. Some states also allow same-day registration, either during early voting periods or on Election Day. With same-day registration, you can register to vote and cast your ballot on the same day.

Note that a state’s voter registration deadlines may differ for in-person, online and mail-in registration. Check out VoteAmerica for a breakdown of every state’s voter registration deadlines.

Can I vote if I have a felony conviction?

In some states, people who have felony convictions may be ineligible to vote. Laws vary by state and fall into four categories.

• In Maine and Vermont, those convicted of a felony never lose their right to vote.
• In 16 states and Washington, D.C., felons lose their ability to vote only while incarcerated.
• In 21 states, felons lose voting rights throughout their sentence and for a period of time afterward — usually while on parole or probation.
• And in 11 other states, felons lose their voting rights for an indefinite period of time and may need a governor’s pardon to get their voting rights restored, may have to wait a certain time period after parole or probation, or may need to take other actions to be able to vote again.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has two charts that detail which states fall into the above categories, plus state policies for restoring voting rights for convicted felons.

Other voting requirements and restrictions

There are a few other voting requirements and restrictions to keep in mind.

Can I vote if I’m homeless?

If you’re homeless, you can still register and vote in all 50 states — but you may face some obstacles.

The good news is that the federal voter registration form and many state voter registration forms provide a space for people to give nontraditional home addresses, like shelters or even specific street corners or parks.

The organization Nonprofit Vote recommends that homeless registrants list a shelter address where they can receive mail as their voting address.

Things can get a little trickier depending on your state’s “duration of residency” and personal identification requirements.

Most states require that you live in the state or county for a minimum number of days before you can vote. This period can last up to 30 days. The nonprofit National Coalition for the Homeless outlines states’ duration of residency requirements in this 2009-10 chart. You can also contact your local elections officials to learn more about duration of residency requirements.

Can people with mental challenges vote?

In 39 states and Washington, D.C., laws allow courts to declare people mentally incompetent to vote — but there is no uniformity or set standard for how judges gauge whether someone has the mental capacity to vote.

To learn more about the laws — if any — in your state, check out this 2016 table of state laws affecting voting rights for the mentally disabled, prepared by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

States that do not have these laws include …

• Colorado
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Maine
• Michigan
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Vermont

Next steps

If you’re still unsure if you’re eligible to vote in the upcoming election, contact your state or local election office. You can also go VoteAmerica and click on your state for a rundown of info, including voter registration deadlines, polling places and many of the eligibility issues we’ve covered here.

You can check your voter registration status online on the VoteAmerica site. To find your record, you’ll need to enter some personal information, including …

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Cellphone number

And if you have questions on Election Day about your ability to vote, you can call the Election Protection Hotline to get help in a number of languages.

• English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
• Spanish: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-888-839-8682)
• Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-US  (1-844-925-5287)
• For Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog or Vietnamese: 1-888-274-8683

To start building credit, begin by establishing some financial accounts in your name and using them to build positive payment history — a track record of paying your bills on time.

You can also build payment history by paying your student loans or auto loan as promised, becoming an authorized user on a trusted person’s credit card, opening a credit-builder loan, or signing up for a plan that reports certain bill payments to a credit bureau.

Before you get started, a good first step is to check with the three main credit bureaus to see if you have credit reports yet. Even if you’ve never had a credit card, you might already have a credit report with at least one of the main credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion.

You can check your Equifax and TransUnion reports and VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores for free any time on Credit Karma. You can check your Experian credit report (along with Equifax and TransUnion) once a week for free at annnualcreditreport.com.

• Step 1: Establish accounts and build payment history
• Step 2: Keep building your credit over time
• What’s next? Choose your credit-building strategy
• FAQs: How to start building credit

Step 1: Establish accounts and build payment history

Establishing credit begins with opening accounts that report your payment activity to the credit bureaus, so every on-time payment you make works in your favor. The goal isn’t to open as many accounts as possible — it’s to have at least a couple that actively report on-time payments. Consider the five approaches below based on what fits your situation best, and keep in mind you can use more than one strategy.

1. Report bill payments

If you have no credit or a thin credit file, you can jumpstart your credit with bill payment reporting. A bill payment reporting service lets you use the bills you already pay, like rent, utilities or cellphone payments, to establish credit history with at least one credit bureau.

You may also hear this referred to as using “alternative data” to build credit because it doesn’t involve credit cards or traditional loans.

• What to do: Look for a no-cost service that reports the kinds of bills you already pay.
• Tip: Some services let you add historical payment history, which can boost your progress (the longer your payment history, the better).
• FYI: Credit Spark™, Credit Karma’s free bill reporting tool, lets you report up to five eligible billing accounts to TransUnion. You can also potentially add three months of past payments (or more in some cases). Most people see eligible bills added as new accounts on their TransUnion report within seven days.

Bill payment reporting pros and cons

Pros

• No new debt or credit applications required
• May be able to add past payment history
• Results can be quick, with accounts added in just days, in some cases

Cons

• May only report to one bureau
• Not all bills are eligible for reporting
• Some services charge for adding past payment history or reporting to multiple bureaus

2. Become an authorized user on someone else’s card

If you’re not ready for a credit card or don’t want one, you can establish payment history by becoming an authorized user on a trusted family member’s or friend’s credit card.

As an authorized user, you receive a credit card in your name for their account. The credit card company may then start reporting the account’s information to the credit bureaus under your name, too. The result: You can benefit from the primary cardholder’s past and present payment history without taking responsibility for the debt.

Keep in mind that company policies differ, so find out if the card issuer reports authorized users to the credit bureaus. If it doesn’t, becoming an authorized user won’t help you build credit.

And remember that while you’ll benefit if the primary cardholder pays their bills on time and maintains a low credit card balance, your credit could be hurt if they pay late or have a high credit utilization rate. Choose someone you trust who has strong, consistent credit habits.

Authorized user pros and cons

Pros

• No credit application or credit check required on your part
• Can benefit from a long, positive account history immediately
• No debt responsibility — you don’t have to use the card

Cons

• Your credit depends on someone else’s behavior
• Not all card issuers report authorized users to the bureaus
• Can damage your credit if the primary cardholder misses payments or carries high balances

3. Open a credit-builder account

Another way to build credit is by opening a credit-builder account, which is designed specifically for people starting out or rebuilding their credit. There are a couple different types of credit-builder accounts.

With credit-builder loans, instead of receiving funds right away like with traditional loans, your loan amount gets set aside in a savings account until you make monthly payments for a period of time roughly totaling the amount of the loan. As you make payments, the lender reports them to help you build credit. Once you’ve made all your payments, the funds are released to you.

Keep in mind that credit-builder loans may come with an application fee, and you may be charged interest on the loan. But your security deposit may also accrue interest, which might help offset some of the costs.

Credit Karma offers a free Credit Builder plan, which works slightly differently. When you open Credit Builder, Credit Karma opens a line of credit and a locked savings account in your name. Each pay period, you choose how much to save — that amount is transferred from your line of credit to your locked savings account, and you pay off the outstanding balance.

Every payment is reported to all threce credit bureaus. Once you’ve saved $500, that amount is transferred to your Credit Karma Money™ Spend account for you to use. There’s no fixed end date — keep it active as long as you’d like to keep building.

Credit-builder loan pros and cons

Pros

• Structured, fixed payments build consistent payment history over time
• Widely available through credit unions and online lenders
• Funds are released to you in full once the loan is paid off

Cons

• You pay interest throughout the term for the credit-building benefit
• Fixed payment schedule offers little flexibility if your finances change
• Early withdrawal from the locked account may come with penalties

4. Consider a credit card: Secured, student or retail

A credit card can be a practical tool for building credit when you’re starting out, as long as you don’t take on more debt than you can pay off monthly.

Look for cards that don’t charge an annual fee or other fees just to have the card. Avoid carrying a balance so you don’t have to pay expensive interest. Paying off your card in full each month is a great way to build positive payment history, with every payment reported to the credit bureaus.

Here’s a quick breakdown of cards that work well for beginners.

No matter which credit card you apply for, try to use it only to buy what you can afford to pay off right away. Check out our tips for getting and using your first credit card.

5. Make the most of student loans or auto loans

While we don’t recommend taking out loans just to build credit, if you already have a student loan, auto loan or other installment loan, the good news is that you can use it to build positive payment history.

Make your payments on time every month since those payments get reported to the credit bureaus and it helps you build the foundation of a solid credit profile. If you’re ever worried about keeping up with your payments, reach out to your lender or loan servicer as soon as possible. They may be able to offer a deferred payment option or other debt relief so you can protect your credit while getting back on track.

Step 2: Keep building your credit over time

Once you establish your credit foundation, you can work on strengthening it. Building strong credit is an ongoing process that will help you qualify for the best offers on credit cards, loans and a mortgage as your credit profile matures.

Here are some important credit score factors and tips to keep your credit healthy.

• Safeguard your payment history. Payment history is the most influential part of your credit scores across multiple credit scoring models. Set up reminders for due dates. Adding autopay for at least your minimum payments can prevent an unintended missed payment that hurts your scores and stays on your credit reports for seven years.
• Keep credit card debt low. Your credit card utilization — how much of your available credit you’re using — is almost as important as payment history for your credit scores. Experts recommend keeping your utilization at least below 30%, and ideally below 10%.
• Ask for a credit limit increase. If you develop strong payment history, your credit card issuer may grant a request for a higher credit limit. With a higher credit limit, you can lower your credit utilization even more, which can help improve your credit.
• Consider your mix of accounts. Having a mix of credit accounts (cards and loans) can positively affect your credit scores, but it’s a smaller factor. It’s not a good idea to open new credit just to improve your mix. Instead, this usually happens naturally over time as your credit matures.
• Limit new applications. Credit scores also consider your recent applications for new credit. Many new applications in a short period of time can be a red flag to lenders. 
• Monitor your credit reports and scores. Keeping an eye on your credit reports can help you spot any errors or fraud that could lower your credit scores. If you spot an error, you’ll want to dispute it with the credit bureaus to fix as soon as possible.

What’s next? Choose your credit-building strategy

The right credit-building strategy depends on your personal situation. You may not have a trusted relative you can approach about becoming an authorized user, but do you make a monthly cellphone payment you can report to a credit bureau to build payment history? Can you spare $200 to open a secured credit card?

As you continue your credit-building journey, focus on the factors that tend to have the greatest impact:

• Make on-time payments
• Keep credit utilization low
• Maintain a healthy credit history length
• Show a mix of types of credit accounts
• Limit new credit applications to what’s truly necessary

Monitor your progress and check your credit reports regularly to confirm the information on them is accurate. As your credit matures, you may want to try different tactics like taking out a cash back credit card or auto loan.