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Without action, average benefits will decline by $500 by 2032

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A projected Social Security insolvency in 2032 would trigger an automatic 24% benefit cut under current law, reducing monthly retirement benefits by an average of about $500 nationwide.

• Every state would be affected, with estimated average monthly benefit reductions ranging from $459 to $556.

• Retirees in Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Maryland would face the largest average monthly cuts.

No state would escape the effects of a looming Social Security funding crisis, according to a new report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). The report warns that millions of retirees could face substantial benefit reductions if lawmakers fail to address the program's finances before its trust fund is exhausted.

The report, No State Spared: Mapping the Impact of Social Security's Insolvency, examines how a projected insolvency of the Social Security retirement trust fund in 2032 would affect beneficiaries across the country. Under current law, benefits would have to be reduced by an estimated 24% to align payments with incoming payroll tax revenue.

CRFB estimates that the average monthly benefit cut would total about $500 nationwide. The organization notes that amount exceeds what the average retired household spends on groceries in a month.

Why where you live matters

The projected reductions would vary by state, largely reflecting differences in benefit levels. According to the report, average monthly cuts would range from $459 to $556. Connecticut retirees would experience the largest average reduction at $556 per month, followed closely by New Jersey ($554), New Hampshire ($553), Delaware ($549), and Maryland ($541).

Other states facing some of the largest average cuts include Washington, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan,and Utah, each with estimated reductions exceeding $520 per month.

Social Security currently provides retirement benefits to roughly 63 million Americans and serves as a primary source of income for many older households. The report argues that the program's financial challenges are no longer a distant concern, noting that less than seven years remain before projected insolvency.

Call to action

The CRFB, a nonpartisan fiscal policy organization, is urging Congress and the White House to act sooner rather than later. The group warns that delaying reforms could leave policymakers with fewer options and increase the likelihood of abrupt benefit reductions for current and future retirees.

The report includes state-by-state estimates and interactive maps designed to illustrate how insolvency could affect beneficiaries and local economies nationwide. Its central conclusion is that the consequences would not be limited to a handful of states or regions.

No state would be spared from the potentially devastating effects of insolvency, the report concludes, adding that policymakers should enact changes as quickly as possible to avoid across-the-board benefit cuts.

2018 to 2022 Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators are affected

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Ford is recalling nearly 420,000 SUVs because defective seat belt retractors may increase the risk of injury.

• The recall affects certain 2018-2022 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles.

• Ford says dealers will inspect and replace affected seat belt retractors free of charge.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 420,000 SUVs because a defect in the front seat belt system could increase the risk of injury during a crash.

The recall covers approximately 342,283 Ford Expedition and 77,684 Lincoln Navigator vehicles from model years 2018 through 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The affected vehicles are equipped with seat belt pretensioners that may inadvertently lock the driver's or front passenger's seat belt while the engine is running.

NHTSA said the malfunction can prevent the seat belt from extending or retracting properly. Although the primary locking function of the belt remains operational, a seat belt that cannot move freely may fail to restrain occupants as intended during a crash. In some cases, the defect may also cause rapid seat belt retraction that could injure occupants.

What happens next

Ford will instruct dealers to inspect the seat belt retractors and replace them as necessary at no cost to owners. The automaker plans to begin mailing owner notification letters on June 8, with a second notification expected once replacement parts become available, which Ford anticipates will occur in August.

The recall expands and replaces two previous Ford recalls with NHTSA campaign numbers 24V099 and 25V197. Vehicles that were previously inspected or repaired under those recalls will still require the updated repair.

Ford has reported one injury potentially related to the defect, along with two warranty claims and two field reports. No fatalities have been reported.

Owners can contact Ford customer service at 866-436-7332 and reference recall number 26S34. Vehicle owners can also check whether their SUV is affected by entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) at NHTSA's recall website.

Federal data show inventories are 5% below their five-year average

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• U.S. gasoline inventories have been running below seasonal norms, raising concerns as the summer driving season gets underway.

• Lower supplies do not automatically mean higher prices, but they leave the market more vulnerable to refinery outages, storms, or unexpected demand spikes.

• Consumers could see greater price volatility at the pump in the weeks ahead, especially in regions that already face tight fuel supplies.

U.S. gasoline supplies have been shrinking in recent months, a trend that energy analysts say bears watching, as Americans head into the peak summer travel season.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline inventories have spent much of the spring below their five-year average, reflecting a combination of strong demand and tighter supplies. In late May, gasoline stocks had fallen for 15 consecutive weeks and stood roughly 6% below seasonal norms before posting a modest rebound in the latest weekly report.

Even after that increase, inventories remained about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.

The decline has attracted attention because gasoline inventories serve as a cushion against supply disruptions. When stockpiles are low, markets have less flexibility to absorb unexpected events such as refinery outages, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, or spikes in consumer demand.

Record rates of declines

Recent reports have focused on the pace of inventory declines. A Forbes analysis described the drop in U.S. gasoline inventories as occurring at a record pace, raising concerns about refinery capacity and fuel availability during the busy summer driving season.

Gasoline supplies are closely linked to oil supplies, which have also been rapidly declining during the Iran War. ExxonMobil senior vice president Neil Chapman recently warned about global oil inventories, suggesting oil prices could top $150 a barrel before the end of the summer.

Were approaching unheard-of inventory levels, Chapman said at a conference hosted by Bernstein, and reported by the New York Post. You can debate whether thats going to hit those really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then youll see the price shoot up.

Consumers should brace for volatility

For consumers, the most immediate impact could be increased volatility at the pump. Gasoline prices are determined by several factors, including crude oil prices, refinery operations, taxes, and distribution costs. While crude oil prices have recently fluctuated amid global geopolitical developments, tight gasoline inventories can amplify price increases when markets face supply pressures.

Regional differences are also likely. Areas that rely heavily on imported fuel or have limited refining capacity, such as parts of the West Coast and Northeast, can experience larger price swings when supplies tighten.

Still, there are reasons consumers should not panic. U.S. refineries are operating at high utilization rates, and the latest EIA data showed a 3.4 million-barrel increase in gasoline inventories after weeks of declines. That suggests refiners are responding to seasonal demand and may be able to rebuild stockpiles if operations remain stable.

The key question for motorists is whether refiners can keep pace with summer demand. If inventories continue to recover, gasoline prices could remain relatively stable. If stockpiles resume their decline, however, drivers may face higher prices and greater uncertainty at the pump as the summer travel season reaches its peak.

Harvard study finds cash and debit card users pay $30 billion more than credit card users

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A new Harvard study estimates that credit card interchange fees transfer about $30 billion annually from cash and debit card users to credit card users.

• Researchers found the payment system creates a regressive wealth transfer, with lower- and middle-income households effectively subsidizing rewards earned by higher-income consumers.

• The study concludes that consumer sorting and lower fees negotiated by large merchants reduce the size of the transfer but do not eliminate it.

Paying with cash or a debit card will definitely prevent you from running up an unmanageable credit card bill. Theres nothing wrong with that.

However, a new study from researchers at Harvard University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Georgia State University concludes that America's payment system redistributes roughly $30 billion annually from cash and debit card users to consumers who use rewards credit cards.

The study, "Who Pays for Payments?", examined payment data from approximately one million U.S. merchants and found that interchange fees the charges merchants pay when customers use credit cards are largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.

Because merchants generally do not charge different prices based on payment method, all shoppers help cover the cost of those fees. If you pay with cash or a credit card, you dont get any kind of break. However, shopping with a cashback credit card gives that consumer a slightly lower price.

"All consumers pay higher retail prices, but the users of high-interchange-fee credit cards capture most of the rewards," the authors wrote.

The researchers estimate that the resulting cross-subsidy transfers about $9.2 billion annually from households earning less than $150,000 per year to higher-income households, who are more likely to use rewards credit cards and premium cards with richer benefits.

Loss of purchasing power

According to the study, cash users effectively lose about 96 basis points of purchasing power because of interchange fees, while users of regulated debit cards lose about 47 basis points. By contrast, users of basic and premium rewards credit cards gain approximately 54 basis points in purchasing power through rewards funded by merchant fees.

The researchers compared the impact to a hidden tax. They estimate that interchange fees have an effect similar to increasing sales taxes for cash users by about 16% and for regulated debit card users by about 8%, while effectively reducing sales taxes for credit card users.

However, the study challenges the conventional view that every cash or debit user is equally subsidizing every rewards cardholder. Researchers found that consumers often shop at different types of merchants depending on their preferred payment method. High-income consumers who use premium credit cards tend to shop at merchants frequented by similar customers, reducing the amount of cross-subsidization.

In addition, large merchants such as grocery chains and major retailers often negotiate lower interchange rates or receive sector-specific discounts. Because these merchants are also where shoppers using different payment methods are most likely to overlap, the lower fees reduce the amount of redistribution that occurs.

The study estimates that consumer sorting reduces the annual transfer by about $8.6 billion, while merchant fee discounts provide an additional $1.7 billion benefit to cash and debit users. Together, those factors cut the size of the transfer by roughly 25%, though they do not eliminate it.

The product contains an undeclared peanut allergen

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Synear Foods USA is recalling about 71,603 pounds of frozen pork and crab soup dumplings because the products contain undeclared peanut, a major food allergen.

• The recalled dumplings were distributed to retailers in California, New Jersey, and Washington and were also exported to Canada.

• Federal officials say no illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported, but consumers are urged not to eat the products and to discard them or return them for a refund.

Synear Foods USA is recalling approximately 71,603 pounds of frozen pork and crab soup dumpling products because they contain peanuts,a known allergen that is not listed on the product label. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall on its website.

The company is recalling frozen, not-ready-to-eat pork and crab soup dumplings produced between Oct. 15, 2025, and Feb. 23, 2026. The recall was classified as a Class I recall, the agency's highest-risk category, indicating a reasonable probability that use of the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death in people with peanut allergies.

According to FSIS, the problem was discovered during a routine allergen verification task. Inspectors determined that the products were made with peanut oil, but peanuts were not declared on the finished product labels. The company later determined that a formulation change had led to the labeling error.

The recalled products

The recalled products include 13.23-ounce bags of Synear Supreme Soup Dumpling Pork & Crab bearing best-by dates ranging from Oct. 15, 2026, through Feb. 23, 2027, as well as 375-gram bilingual packages labeled Supreme Soup Dumpling Pork & Crab with best-by dates of Oct. 15, 2026, and Jan. 26, 2027. The products bear establishment number EST. 45942 inside the USDA mark of inspection.

FSIS said the products were shipped to retail locations in California, New Jersey, and Washington and were also exported to Canada.

No confirmed reports of adverse reactions related to consumption of the products have been received. However, consumers with peanut allergies are advised not to consume the dumplings.

FSIS said the products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Synear Foods USA, while anyone concerned about an illness or allergic reaction should contact a healthcare provider.