February 2021 Short Bits

BANK ACCOUNT USAGE

A recent study by the FDIC found that 95% of American households had a bank or credit union account in 2019. From 2017 – 2019, 1.5 million new households opened accounts and the use of mobile banking to access accounts has more than doubled since 2017. Roughly 73% of American households used bank credit, such as credit cards, personal loans, or lines of credit in 2019.

LOST HEALTH INSURANCE

According to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, nearly 7.7 million workers lost their employer-sponsored insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women and young workers made up most of the losses. Fifty-five percent of the job losses were incurred by women and workers younger than 54 bore the brunt of the losses. Not only were employees impacted but dependents covered by the employer-sponsored plan also lost coverage. An estimated 6.9 million dependents lost insurance coverage.

IDENTITY THEFT AND THE IRS

The Taxpayer First Act requires the IRS to notify parents when it detects an unauthorized use of a dependent’s Social Security number. However, in 2019, Treasury inspectors found that the IRS didn’t send letters to parents of 133,864 dependents that its computers identified as employment-related identity theft victims.

$1 AND $5

According to the Federal Reserve, a $1 bill has an estimated life span of 6.6 years. The first $1 note was issued in 1862. The current design of the $5 bill entered circulation in 2008. It has a slightly shorter life span of 4.7 years and in 2019, a total of $15.3 billion in $5 bills was in circulation. Each bank note is made of a blend of 25% linen and 75% cotton and weighs approximately 1 gram.