What is Employment At-Will? At-will employment means employers can terminate employees for no reason. Likewise, employees can leave a job without a reason. At-will employment has grown increasingly more popular over time. Employers, for example, can change the terms of employment—such as wages, benefit plans, or paid time off—without notice or consequence. Employees can change jobs without notice if they choose. Although it’s generally best to provide two weeks’ notice, regardless of legal requirements, to protect your reputation with future employers....

There was a time when some folks wouldn’t consider leaving a job with a defined benefit pension, but people change jobs much more frequently than in the past, and the types of benefits employers provide have changed. If a better offer comes along before retirement, it’s up to you to decide what to do with the pension you have accumulated. What’s a Defined Benefit Pension? A defined benefit pension is what most people think of as the traditional, old-school pension that your parents or grandparents had....

As an agent, a broker-dealer helps a customer buy or sell securities. As a dealer, a broker-dealer is one of the parties doing the buying or selling. In either role, broker-dealers are subject to extensive regulation. They are sometimes referred to as “registered broker-dealers” because they must register with the appropriate federal and state authorities. Broker-dealers cannot charge both commissions and a markup on the same transaction. They can act either in their capacity, as a broker/agency or as a dealer/principal, but they can’t simultaneously act as both....

Real estate brokers are given an order to do a BPO by the lender, mortgage company, or loss mitigation company. The broker does either a drive-by BPO or an internal BPO in most cases. However, that’s slowly changing, as the appraisers don’t want to do BPOs anyway, as the work doesn’t pay enough. Some real estate agents who are barely hanging on, though, are happy to make $75 to $150 or so to go out and fill out the lenders’ form for valuation of a property....

Learn how and why companies do stock buybacks, the different types of buybacks, and whether buybacks are good for investors. What Is a Buyback? Individuals and institutions buy shares of stock in a company to see their investment grow through appreciation in the stock price or dividends. Another way for a company to return value to its investors is through stock buybacks. In a stock buyback, a company buys shares of its own stock....

Let’s say you’re in the market for a new lease. You visit the dealership and agree to lease your favorite SUV. The dealer offers you a $2,000 rebate and you put $5,000 down. In this situation, your capitalized cost reduction is $7,000. While a capitalized cost reduction can make your lease more affordable on a monthly basis, the portion of it that is your responsibility will have to paid for upfront....

Central bank freezes are typically used in times of conflict or war. For instance, after the Russia-Ukraine war started in February 2022, the U.S. government enacted a central bank freeze on Russian assets held in the U.S. How Does a Central Bank Freeze Work? Central bank freezes work much like individual bank freezes—but instead of a person not having access to their money, it’s an entire government entity. Imagine for a moment that you keep most of your assets at one bank....

Definition and Examples of Closed-End Funds A closed-end fund is a type of investment company that pools investor contributions together to buy a mix of securities, such as stocks and bonds. The fund’s managers will make investment decisions in accordance with the stated investment objectives of the fund. Like mutual funds, closed-end funds can have a variety of objectives. BlackRock’s Core Bond Trust (BHK) is a closed-end fund that seeks to “provide current income with the potential for capital appreciation....

Alternate name: Health Reimbursement Account, Individual Coverage HRAAcronym: HRA, ICHRA With an HRA, your employer funds, owns, and manages the account. This means the employer has more control over the account compared to other health savings accounts (HSAs). The account manager also has options on how to set it up. For example, some companies allow you to roll over any unused funds from one year to the next, while others don’t....

Many insurance policies, such as long-term care insurance and dental insurance, use these provisions, but lifetime maximum benefits are most often linked to health insurance. The Affordable Care Act Changed Lifetime Limits The ACA, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or “Obamacare,” eliminated lifetime maximum benefit clauses in health care policies for essential services in 2010 when the legislation went into effect. Dental and vision coverages included in health care plans may have maximum yearly benefits and lifetime maximum benefits....

Alternate name: Microtransaction For example, services like Venmo will make micropayments of less than $1 into new user bank accounts to verify ownership. In this case, Venmo simultaneously makes equal withdrawals to negate the transfer, as transfers only serve to verify user identity. Micropayments are also used to distribute royalties, gratuities through online delivery apps like DoorDash, and freelance income through sites like Fiverr and Upwork. Google Ads provides another example of micropayments....

Although MSBs are owned by the people who hold deposits there, these people are neither stockholders nor members. They have no say in how the bank operates or uses its money. They simply earn interest on their accounts in the form of dividends. Acronym: MSBAlternate name: mutual institution; savings bank MSBs aren’t as popular as they once were, but 449 of them still exist today, according to data from the FDIC....

Paydown factors can also help investors understand the performance of the financial assets they’re investing in, such as mortgage-backed securities. Alternate definition: The paydown factor looks at how much a borrower is reducing their loan principal. It can be calculated on a monthly basis and may be included in the monthly loan statements from your lender. For instance, let’s say you recently purchased a home. You want to pay down your principal faster, so you make additional payments toward the principal each month....

Knowing about what makes up a portfolio and its uses will help you build and manage your own. What Is a Portfolio? A portfolio is a broad term that can include any financial asset, like real estate or gold, but it is most often used to refer to the total of all your assets that earn income. An investor’s portfolio, also known as their “holdings,” can include any combination of stocks, bonds, cash and cash equivalents, commodities, and more....

They may hear matters on uncontested and contested estates with wills and estates where no will is present. Not all estate issues end up in probate court. If wills are uncontested, a probate judge’s involvement is minimal. Probate judges earn six-figure salaries and are usually and lawyers by trade. Not all states and counties have probate courts. They’re called “surrogate’s courts” in some jurisdictions. They cover the same legal issues by either name, and the judges assigned to oversee these issues share largely the same roles and responsibilities....

The goal of these inspections is to make sure your property is “decent, safe, and sanitary” for the tenants who will be living there. The inspections are conducted every one to three years, depending on the type of housing. When using housing choice vouchers, units are also inspected before you move in. Who Conducts Section 8 Inspections? These inspections will be conducted by one of the following: A staff member of the Public Housing AuthorityAn outside inspector the PHA has hired...

Learn more about how secured loans work and how they can affect you. Definition and Examples of a Secured Note A secured note is a loan or corporate bond secured by some type of collateral. This collateral makes it a less risky investment. The collateral gives investors a way to recoup their funds. If you are unable to pay back the loan, the lender can put a lien on your collateral until you do....

How tax breaks work depend on if you’re dealing with federal tax credits or deductions when you file your tax return. You may even qualify for both tax deductions and credits, which can significantly lower your tax liability. Tax Credits You may receive the benefits of a tax credit before or after you file your taxes. In some cases, a tax credit will reduce how much you owe. In other scenarios, a tax credit comes in the form of a refund on your tax return....

A traditional IRA’s primary advantage is that it allows you to fully or partially deduct contributions from your taxable income for the year you contribute. This could lower your taxable income in your higher-earning years. The money you put into an IRA, as well as the money it earns, isn’t taxed until you take it out of the account. This is an advantage if your income (and therefore taxes) are lower in retirement....

In business, the duties of vice presidents vary with the organization. When an organization has a CEO and president, the VP is usually third in command. In other organizations, the same person may have the title CEO and president. In these instances, the VP is second in command. Vice president is also a title used to designate the leader of portions of the organization or functions within organizations. These functional areas are often called departments or groups....