So far, the 2025-26 FAFSA has been available to limited groups of students in a series of beta tests that began on Oct. 1. It will become availableto all students and contributors on or before Dec. 1, the Education Department said. (Typically, all students have access to the coming academic year’s form in October, but last year’s new simplified form wasn’t available until late December after a monthslong delay.)
“I am confident we will able to launch next year’s form by December 1,” James Kvaal, Under Secretary of Education, told CNBC.
Yet there are still “many unresolved problems,” some of which also plagued last year’s college aid application cycle, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
As of Oct. 29, the government’s FAFSA Issues page lists 22 unresolved issues, down from 25 a few weeks ago, he said.
Last year, some high school seniors said complications with the new form weighed heavily on their decisions about college.
“We’ve heard from a lot of students and families that were frustrated,” Kvaal said. “We’ve made a lot of progress resolving those issues and we are now seeing more students able to complete their form.”
Higher education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs are still rising. Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $58,600 in the 2024-25 school year, up from $56,390 a year earlier. At four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $24,920, up from $24,080, the College Board found.
The FAFSA serves as the gateway to all federal aid money, including federal studentloans, work-study and especially grants — which have become the most crucial kind of assistance because they typically do not need to be repaid.
Submitting a FAFSA is also one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will go on to college, according to the National College Attainment Network. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely to enroll in college directly after high school, according to an NCAN study of 2013 data.
Freshman enrollment is down
In part because of issues with the new form, the number of new first-year college students sank 5% this fall compared with last year, according to an analysis of early data by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The declines in first-year student enrollment were most significant at four-year colleges that serve low-income students, the report also found. At four-year colleges where large shares of students receive Pell Grants, first-year student enrollment sank more than 10%.
The steep drop was “shocking,” particularly at schools that serve a high share of lower-income student said Ellie Bruecker, director of research at The Institute for College Access and Success.
“It’s a very big deal to see that level of decline,” she added.
Bruecker also said she expects the Education Department will be able to meet the deadlines that they’ve set for the the 2025-26 form.
But even if all goes well, students are still working within a condensed time frame compared to the typical October FAFSA rollout, which may be to their disadvantage, she added.
“Even if everything goes smoothly this time, we are still working on a shorter time line — it’s cutting off two to three months,” she said. For families and students dependent on financial aid, “that could feel very stressful.”
Images By Tang Ming Tung | Digitalvision | Getty Images
As some Americans struggle to save for retirement, key 401(k) plan changes could soon make preparing easier for certain workers, experts say.
Enacted by Congress in 2022, “Secure 2.0” ushered in sweeping changes to the U.S. retirement system, including several updates to 401(k) plans. Some of these provisions will go into effect in 2025.
Meanwhile, roughly 4 in 10 American workers say they are behind in retirement planning and savings, primarily due to debt, not enough income or getting a late start, according to a CNBC survey, which polled about 6,700 adults in early August.
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Dave Stinnett, Vanguard’s head of strategic retirement consulting, said 401(k) plans are “the primary way most Americans prepare for retirement” and those accountscan work “very, very well” when designed properly.
Here are some key changes for 2025 and what employees need to know.
But there’s an “exciting change” to catch-up contributions for a subset of older workers in 2025, thanks to Secure 2.0, according to certified financial planner Jamie Bosse, senior advisor at CGN Advisors in Manhattan, Kansas.
Starting in 2025, the catch-up contribution limit will jump to $11,250, about a 14% increase, for employees ages 60 to 63. Including the $23,500 limit, these workers can save a total of $34,750 in 2025.
Only 14% of employees maxed out 401(k) plans in 2023, according to Vanguard’s 2024 How America Saves report, based on data from 1,500 qualified plans and nearly 5 million participants.
On top of maxing out contributions, an estimated 15% of workers made catch-up contributions in plans that allowed it during 2023, the same report found.
Shorter wait for part-time workers
Secure 2.0 has also boosted access to 401(k) and 403(b) plans for certain part-time workers.
Starting in 2024, employers were required to extend plan access to part-time employees who worked at least 500 hours annually for three consecutive years. That threshold drops to two consecutive years in 2025.
“That’s a very good thing for long-term part-time workers” who may have struggled to qualify for 401(k) eligibility, said Stinnett.
That’s a very good thing for long-term part-time workers.
Dave Stinnett
Vanguard’s head of strategic retirement consulting
In March 2023, some 73% of civilian workers had access to workplaceretirement benefits, and 56% of workers participated in these plans, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Coverage is my thing,” said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
“It’s important that people have coverage no matter where they go,” including from full-time to part-time at the same job, she added.
Mandatory auto-enrollment for new 401(k) plans
Another Secure 2.0 change is auto-enrollment for certain 401(k) plans.
Starting in 2025, most 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after Dec. 28, 2022, must include automatic enrollment of eligible employees in the plan with a minimum 3% employee deferral rate.
“It’s unequivocally a positive step to take,” Munnell said. “More people will join, and more people will have savings because of that.”
Automatic enrollment and escalation — gradually increasing the contribution rate annually — are key plan designs to boost savings, Stinnett previously told CNBC.
But those features still may not result in employees saving enough. While experts recommend a 15% savings rate, most plans set a cap on automatic escalation. In 2022, 63% limited automated contributions to 10% or less of annual pay, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America.
Stock traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Many large U.S. companies have seen their stocks swell since the presidential election.
The top 10 performing stocks in the S&P 500 index saw returns of 18% or more since Election Day, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, which analyzed returns based on closing prices from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20.
Two companies — Axon Enterprise (AXON), which provides law-enforcement technology, and Tesla (TSLA), the electric-vehicle maker led by Elon Musk, an advisor to President-elect Donald Trump — saw their stocks gain more than 35%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
By contrast, the S&P 500 gained about 2% over the same period.
‘Usually a bad idea’ to buy on short-term gain
Investors should be cautious about buying individual stocks based on short-term boosts, said Jeremy Goldberg, a certified financial planner, portfolio manager and research analyst at Professional Advisory Services, Inc., which ranked No. 37 on CNBC’s annual Financial Advisor 100 list.
“It’s usually a bad idea,” Goldberg said. “Momentum is a powerful force in the market, but relying solely on short-term price moves as an investment strategy is risky.”
Investors should understand what’s driving the movement and whether the factors pushing up a stock price are sustainable, Goldberg said.
Why did these stocks outperform?
Lofty stock returns were partly driven by Trump administration policy stances expected to benefit certain companies and industries, investment experts said.
Deregulation and a softer view toward mergers and acquisitions are two “key” themes driving bullish sentiment after Trump’s win, said Jacob Manoukian, head of U.S. investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
Relying solely on short-term price moves as an investment strategy is risky.
Jeremy Goldberg
portfolio manager and research analyst at Professional Advisory Services, Inc.
Additionally, U.S. regulators will likely be much less stringent about allowing potential mergers during Trump’s second term, experts said.
Companies in the streaming ecosystem — like Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns the Max streaming service, and Disney+ owner The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) — may be benefactors of looser rules around consolidation, they said.
Rosy earnings and AI
For some stocks, outperformance was tied to rosy quarterly earnings results or guidance that some companies reported around or after Election Day, experts said.
Many such businesses cited artificial intelligence as a growth driver.
For example, Palantir Technologies (PLTR), cited “unprecedented” demand for its AI platform in the third quarter, helping deliver “exceptionally strong” earnings, Treasurer and CFO David Glazer told investors Nov. 4.
Likewise, Axon beat analysts’ estimates in its Nov. 7 earnings results, with officials touting its “AI era plan” and raising earnings guidance, Goldberg said.
Axon and Palantir stocks were up 38% and 22%, respectively, from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Some companies benefited from a combination of policy and earnings, experts said.
Rows of servers fill Data Hall B at Facebook’s Fort Worth Data Center in Texas.
Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Take Vistra Corp. (VST), an energy provider, for example. The company’s stock jumped 27% after Election Day.
Vistra is in talks with large data centers — or “hyperscalers” — in Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio to build or upgrade gas and nuclear plants, Stacey Doré, Vistra’s chief strategy and sustainability officer, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call Nov. 7.
Tesla’s stock got an “Elon Musk premium” from Trump’s victory, said Goldberg of Professional Advisory Services.
Musk, Tesla’s CEO, was one of Trump’s top campaign backers. Trump tapped him to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker soared 14% the day after the election and almost 30% by week’s end.
President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk talk ring side during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York.
Chris Unger | Ufc | Getty Images
But Tesla stock has additional tailwinds, experts said.
For one, Trump wants to end a $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Scrapping that policy is expected to hurt Tesla’s EV rivals.
Tesla has also been developing technology for driverless vehicles. In Tesla’s recent earnings call, Musk said he’d use his influence in Trump’s administration to establish a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles.”
The break from the bills is likely a relief to the many federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, known as SAVE. But it may also be causing them anxiety over the fact that they won’t get credit on their timeline to debt forgiveness.
For example, those also enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, who are entitled to loan cancellation after 10 years, have seen their journey toward that relief halted during the forbearance.
“Borrowers are frustrated about the delay toward forgiveness,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “They feel like they’ve been waiting for Godot.”
Here’s what borrowers enrolled in SAVE should know about the delay to debt cancellation.
Delay could stretch on for months
In October, the U.S. Department of Education said that roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers will remain in an interest-free forbearance while the courts decide the fate of the SAVE plan.
A federal court issued an injunction earlier this year preventing the Education Department from implementing parts of the SAVE plan, which the Biden administration had described as the most affordable repayment plan in history. Under SAVE’s terms, many people expected to see their monthly bills cut in half.
The forbearance is supposed to help borrowers who were counting on those lower monthly bills. But unlike the Covid-era pause on federal student loan payments, this forbearance does not bring borrowers closer to debt forgiveness under an income-driven repayment plan or Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Adding to borrowers’ annoyance is that “those enrolled in the SAVE Plan were not given the choice of forbearance,” said Elaine Rubin, director of corporate communications at Edvisors, which helps students navigate college costs and borrowing. If borrowers want to stay in SAVE, they can’t opt out of this pause.
Borrowers enrolled in PSLF are especially concerned, Kantrowitz said. That program requires borrowers to work in public service while they’re repaying their student loans.
“They have been working in a qualifying job, but aren’t making progress toward forgiveness,” he said. “Some borrowers are working a job they hate, but are sticking with it in the expectation of qualifying for forgiveness. Others are close to retirement and don’t want to have to work past their normal retirement age just to get the forgiveness.”
What borrowers can do
Despite the delay toward forgiveness, there are still a few good reasons for borrowers to stay enrolled in SAVE, experts say. During the forbearance, borrowers are excused from payments and interest on their debt does not accrue.
Keep in mind: Even if you make payments under SAVE during the forbearance, your loan servicer will just apply that money toward future payments owed once the pause ends, the Education Department says.
If you’re eager to be back on your way to debt cancellation, you have options.
You may be able switch into another income-driven repayment plan that is still available. Under that new plan, you may have to start making payments again. Yet if you earn under around $20,000 as a single person, your monthly payment could still be $0, and therefore you might not lose anything by switching, Kantrowitz said.
Changing plans might be especially appealing to those who are very close to crossing the finish line to debt forgiveness and just want to see their balance wiped away, experts said. (You’ll likely be placed in a processing forbearance for a period while your loan servicer makes that switch. During that time, you will get credit toward forgiveness.)
The Education Department is also offering those who’ve been working in public service for 10 years the chance to “buy back” certain months in their payment history. This allows borrowers to make payments to cover previous months for which they didn’t get credit. But to be eligible for the option, the purchased months need to bring you to the 120 payments required for loan forgiveness.
“The buyback option might be eliminated under the Trump administration,” Kantrowitz said. “So, if you want to use it, you should use it now.”