Minimum Wage by State

Two states have wage levels below the federal $7.25 minimum

Many legislators and U.S. citizens propose increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour from $7.25, a rate enacted in 2009.

While the federal government has yet to pass a revision, many states and municipalities have independently changed their hourly rates. The minimum wage across the United States ranges from $17 to as low as $5.15, depending on the state.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The minimum wage is the lowest amount an employer can legally pay an hourly worker under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009.
• As of January 2024, the District of Columbia had the highest minimum wage rate of $17.00 per hour for municipalities.

Read more at Investopedia

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

https://youtu.be/y6HkaBkdKdU

The #IRS began accepting tax returns last Tuesday. Taxpayer help has expanded this year with more in-person hours, better service and improved tools. Read: https://ow.ly/bb7k50QvqRN

#IRS has kicked off the 2024 tax filing season. This year, the tax deadline is April 15, 2024, for most people. Gather all information you need to prepare a complete and accurate tax return before you file to reduce errors. See: https://ow.ly/bb7k50QvqRN

The 2024 tax filing season is now underway. #IRS reminds taxpayers the deadline to file a 2023 tax return and pay any tax owed is 4/15/24. Taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts have until 4/17/24, due to the Patriot’s Day and Emancipation Day holidays. https://ow.ly/bb7k50QvqRN

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

What Does It Mean to Be Unbanked?

Millions of U.S. households are unbanked and can take advantage of financial inclusion programs.

Key Takeaways:

• An estimated 5.9 million households in 2021 had no checking or savings accounts with a traditional bank or credit union.
• People with no bank account may face costly fees, limited savings opportunities, and a risk of theft or loss of cash.
• Bank On is a national platform that connects consumers to affordable bank accounts.

Using traditional banking services is crucial to navigate today's world. Still, millions of U.S. households are unbanked, lacking a checking account with a bank or credit union. If you want a bank account and don't have one, underserved banking programs are available, along with financial literacy education to help you manage banking relationships.

People with limited or no bank accounts are considered unbanked or underbanked. Some may have bank accounts but regularly use alternative financial services such as check cashing. Households may go unbanked by choice or out of necessity, and some can't get approved for a checking account due to issues with prior accounts.

Read more at U.S. News

‘No cash accepted’ signs are bad news for unbanked`

More businesses are declining to accept cash. That shut out millions of people who don’t have bank accounts, credit or debit cards from participating in our increasingly cashless economy.

How many people don’t have a bank account? And just how difficult has it become to live without one?

These questions are becoming increasingly important as more businesses refuse to take cash  in cities across the U.S. People without bank accounts are shut out from stores and restaurants that refuse to accept cash.

As it happens, a lot of people are still “unbanked”: roughly 6 million in the U.S., the latest data shows, which is about the population of Wisconsin. And outside of the U.S., more than a billion people don’t have a bank account.

Read more at Chicago Sun Times

Promoting Payments Inclusion: A Toolkit of Considerations: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's report on payments inclusion is a toolkit of policy considerations for improving access to financial services while generating societal benefits through innovation and increased efficiency. The report, "Promoting Payments Inclusion in a Digital Payments Era," marks the fulfillment of the formal commitment of the Special Committee on Payments Inclusion. The Atlanta Fed convened this interdisciplinary committee, comprised of members from the public and private sectors, in 2021 to study payments inclusion. The Atlanta Fed provided support staff.

Released in December 2023, the report suggests steps for policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions to consider as they address payments inclusion. The term "payments inclusion" broadly describes providing options for transacting that promote economic resilience and well-being. Access to safe and efficient financial services is important to achieving upward economic mobility and resilience in the face of economic shocks.

According to the report, the goal of payments inclusion more specifically is:

Read more at Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Why It’s a Good Time for Community Banks to Hire New Talent

Large banks like Citigroup are laying off thousands of workers. Though layoffs are rarely good news, they can create opportunities for community banks and credit unions to recruit top talent.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser announced on January 12 that the bank planned to cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years. The move is expected to boost returns after the bank posted a $1.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The fourth quarter was very clearly disappointing,” Fraser told analysts. “We know that 2024 is critical.”

The Citigroup announcement is a stark example of a trend among Wall Street banks over the past year. With the exception of JPMorgan, the next five largest U.S. banks cut a combined 20,000 positions as of October 2023, according to data analyzed by CNBC.

With thousands of employees on the hunt for new roles, layoffs can be a time of opportunity for smaller institutions seeking top talent — especially for community banks and credit unions who are looking to fill roles right now.

Read more at The Financial Brand

I’m a Bank Teller: Here Are 10 Mistakes You Are Making With Your Banking

With most people living busy lives, juggling work, family and social obligations, things like banking are probably not top of mind.

You probably think about your banking only when you pay bills online or go to the ATM, but this may not be nearly enough consideration to avoid making some costly mistakes. What you don’t know or haven’t paid attention to can eat into your savings or cause financial problems that are better to avoid.

GOBankingRates spoke with Kimberlie McGee, currently a head teller at Addition Financial Credit Union in Florida, and Sherry Dvorak, a teller and manager of Amalgamated Bank of Chicago’s Warrenville branch.

Failing To Review Account Statements

One of the simplest mistakes in banking is an important habit to break: not checking your bank statements, McGee said.

“Not checking statements regularly can lead to missing errors, fraudulent activity or unnecessary fees,” she explained. “Not to mention that paper statements you’re not keeping track of could potentially result in fraud if someone else finds them first.”

Read more at GOBankingRates

Financial Illiteracy: Discover The 10 U.S. States With The Lowest Money Smarts!

Financial illiteracy is a common problem in the United States. According to a study by the National Financial Educators Council, financial illiteracy cost Americans more than $436 billion collectively in 2022. Although most Americans could use a personal finance refresher, residents of certain states have the least amount of financial education, which prevents them from building wealth. Here are the 10 least financially savvy U.S. states. 

1. Arkansas 

Although Arkansas is nicknamed “the land of opportunity,” the state is plagued by financial illiteracy. According to Kiplinger, only 63% of residents have a savings account, CD, or money market account. Studies have also shown that Arkansans struggle to grasp important financial concepts like compound interest. Hopefully, the state’s Financial Education Commission will be able to reverse these troubling trends by promoting financial literacy. 

Read more at SAVINGADVICE

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Do Banks That Outspend Their Peers on Marketing Grow Faster?

In this study of banks with $2 billion to $10 billion of assets, we analyze their investment in marketing against growth in loans, deposits and revenue. Here’s what we found.

A perennial question for marketers is, how much should we be spending?

Community banks have never had the budgetary freedom to spend with reckless abandon, as many fintechs and neobanks did before the capital spigot stopped flowing so freely.

So bank marketers tend to look for benchmarks for their budgets — to see if they are investing less in growth than their peers and to figure out how much they should request at budget-setting time.

This analysis of bank marketing spending — which focuses on banks with assets of $2 billion to $10 billion as of yearend 2022 — aims to help.

Read more at The Financial Brand