President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan would provide a third round of federal stimulus checks to millions of Americans. Yet a new agreement between Mr. Biden and moderate Democratic Senators would limit the number of households that would qualify for the $1,400 checks, cutting off millions of other Americans who had been hoping for the stimulus money. […]

Millions of “financially vulnerable” Americans have grown even more vulnerable during COVID-19, with lower-income households more likely to have experienced declines in their financial well-being, according to new data released Thursday.

Food insecurity and fear of eviction pervasive among those hardest hit financially by pandemic with many borrowing money or cutting back on healthcare visits and medication

The founder and CEO of the Financial Health Network discusses COVID’s impact on communities of color, Financial Health Network’s projects for 2021, and her take on CFI’s strategic priorities. Read the Interview >>

For Americans, there are two major types of financial shocks to worry about if you fall ill with coronavirus: income loss and medical costs, Rob Levy, vice president of the Financial Health Network, tells CNBC Make It.   Read the Article >>

This year marked an unprecedented time in many ways, including for the financial health of American households. And with so many competing headlines, it can seem nearly impossible to make sense of it all. Read the Article >>

The Financial Health Network, the nation’s authority on financial health, this week released the “Knowing Better, Doing Better: Building an Effective Financial Health Benefits Strategy” report in partnership with Morgan Stanley at Work, showing 86 per cent say they are aware of their employees’ financial health challenges, with 85 per cent of companies planning to maintain or increase […]

You might think the deck is stacked against Andi Gibbs. A 25-year-old nursing assistant at a hospital system in North Carolina, Gibbs is a young, Black woman working in a caregiving profession — she has nearly all the characteristics of the people who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Read the Article >>

Shipping giant joins other companies offering rainy day funds in 401(k) plans Read the Article >>

‘Without knowing when the next round of stimulus and relief measures will arrive, many people continued to keep their expenses low’ Read the Article >>

Ideas to narrow financial disparities between Black and white people in America Read the Article >>

Recent research highlights the ongoing struggle many Americans have when it comes to financial health—underscoring the need for more financial innovation to meet these needs. Read the Article >>

Last year’s savings rates of 2% and higher have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean high-yield savings accounts disappeared. “There are high-yield savings accounts out there, but it’s all relative,” says Mike Schenk, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association.   Read the Article >>

Americans say they’re saving money. Retail spending is up. Low interest rates have sparked the housing market and the stock market has rebounded from its initial pandemic dive.   Read the Article >>

Despite some recent good news about dwindling household debt, the financial health of U.S. consumers is rapidly deteriorating — and families with children are faring the worst. Read the Article >>

When COVID-19 hit our economy, workplaces were focused on reacting and responding (often in real time) to address and mitigate the fallout to their business and workforce. The toll on both has been substantial. Every workplace and every worker has been impacted, and industries like retail and hospitality and low- and moderate-income workers have borne […]

Optimism is high among workers that they can return to their pre-pandemic jobs, but economists warn over 40 percent of job losses could become permanent. Read the Article >>

Half the country has been personally economically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and overwhelming numbers of Americans do not think schools, restaurants or sporting events with large crowds should reopen until there is further testing, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.   Read the Article >>

Many of the millions of restaurant, hotel and store workers affected by shutdowns are expected to fall behind on rent and other bills. Read the Article >>

While millions of Americans are counting the days until their stimulus checks arrive, many fear that the one-time $1,200 payment won’t go very far.   Read the Article >>

With the first direct payments to U.S. adults from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act set to hit bank accounts this week, 35% of U.S. adults intend to use the money primarily to pay bills. Another 16% say they will purchase essential items like food or gas with the money. Twenty-nine percent […]

“Once again, the greatest burdens will be shouldered by the most vulnerable among us, when instead we should be doing everything to give them a leg up,” Jennifer Tescher, president and CEO of Financial Health Network, a non-profit authority on consumer financial health, said in a note. Read the Article >>

As the economic shutdown pares tenants’ incomes, April payments have been reduced, deferred or withheld. Some landlords see their property at risk. Read the Article >>

A message appeared this week on the Notify NYC text feed, New York City’s official source of information about emergency alerts and city services; it was squeezed in between an update on how students can pick up grab-and-go meals at the entrance of their local school and the latest advice on containing the virus:   Read the […]

The Treasury reversed guidance that would have required millions of Social Security recipients to file returns, but many other low-income people will have to submit them. Read the Article >>

According to The Financial Health Network, only one-third of Americans went into the COVID-19 crisis financially healthy. Their paper, “A Country Without a Cushion” (PDF), probes six factors producing this situation: insufficient insurance, income loss, inadequate workplace safeguards, constrained household finances, digital divide and disparate impacts.   Read the Article >>

In all likelihood, the federal government will be sending out tens of millions of paper checks in the coming weeks and months to those who qualify for aid under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.   Read the Article >>

“The requirements of social distancing will impact the vast majority of workers, resulting in layoffs, furloughs and hour reductions,” Says Rob Levy, vice president of the Financial Health Network.   Read the Article >>

The American economy is in a race against time.   Read the Article >>

As the COVID-19 pandemic (commonly called coronavirus) unfolds, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is issuing a number of common-sense recommendations – including one to stay home if you’re sick. Because the disease spreads primarily from person-to-person contact, remaining out of close personal contact with others not only allows the sick person to recover, it […]

The people who can least afford to lose their jobs are the ones who’ll be hit the fastest and the hardest by the coronavirus recession.   Read the Article >>

In a pandemic, a chief people officer can make or break a company. Read the Article >>

Banks are offering a plethora of financial hardship assistance programs to those affected by COVID-19.   Read the Article >>

Early US cases of COVID-19 indicate treatment for the virus will require hospitalization for many affected adults of all ages. Data from China show a median hospital stay of 12 days, and recent projections (PDF) estimate an 8-day stay if critical care is not required and a 16-day stay, including 10 days in the intensive care unit (ICU), for […]

“The answer can’t be to do nothing,” said John Thompson, chief program officer of the Financial Health Network, a nonprofit focused on financial innovation.   Read the Article >>

The U.S. economic outlook darkens daily, with millions facing unemployment and businesses in a steep decline.   Read the Article >>

As the novel coronavirus spreads throughout the U.S., banks are adding extra benefits for employees working in branches as well as those pulled away from work to deal with illness and caregiving responsibilities.   Read the Article >>

Seventy-one percent of American households are considered financially unhealthy, and the global coronavirus pandemic is now crashing headlong into our years-in-the-making financial health epidemic, resulting in a mutually reinforcing downward spiral. Read the Article >>

In Washington, the focus has now turned to the economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, with experts and politicians proposing their preferred policy tools — ranging from tax cuts to corporate bailouts to direct payments of cash. Each is worth debating, but the focus is misplaced. This is not an economic crisis; it is a health-care crisis. […]

The virus will bankrupt more people than it kills” predicted Jennifer Tescher, CEO of the Financial Health Network. “Missing even one paycheck can have a domino effect for families, leaving a trail of missed mortgage or rent payments, utility shut-offs, unpaid bills.” Read the Article >>

The signs began appearing around Seattle in the windows of Dick’s Drive-In, the city’s iconic burger chain: “In an abundance of caution, we ask you to please pay with credit or debit card if possible rather than cash.” Read the Article >>

Earlier this week, my organization made the decision to cancel our upcoming annual conference, the EMERGE Financial Health Forum, due to the risks posed by the coronavirus.   Read the Article >>

As concerns about the spread of COVID-19 continue, questions are also arising about the financial preparedness of Americans in the case of an unexpected emergency, such as needing to stay home from work for an extended period.   Read the Article >>