According to one financial planner, married couples increase their living expenses to meet their monthly incomes. These costs include more expensive housing, more expensive furniture, home maintenance, and other nesting expenses. By contrast, single earners, save nearly 5% of their pay each month.
Key Takeaways
You'll need 70% to 90% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyle. Social Security replaces 40% of income, so plan to save more and consider spousal benefits. Couples often have double the retirement income of singles, improving your standard of living.
Pro: As a married couple, you're each eligible to collect your own Social Security benefit or up to 50 percent of your spouse's benefit, whichever is greater. This can be a financial plus if one of you is a higher earner. In addition, a widow or widower is eligible to collect up to 100 percent of the other's benefit.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
The ideal monthly retirement income for a couple differs for everyone. It depends on your personal preferences, past accomplishments, and retirement plans. Some valuable perspective can be found in the 2022 US Census Bureau's median income for couples 65 and over: $76,490 annually or about $6,374 monthly.
If you get Social Security disability or retirement benefits and you marry, your benefit will stay the same. However, other benefits such as SSI, Survivors, Divorced Spouses, and Child's benefits may be affected.
According to the 2020 Census, the yearly average retirement income for couples is less than $101,500. However, it's important to note that the average income and median income are different. Median retirement income for a couple is lower – at only $72,800.
However, your maximum spouse's benefit remains 50% of their full retirement age benefit, not their higher amount including delayed retirement credits. (Your benefit as a surviving spouse would be based on the higher amount.)
Conclusion. Current marriage is associated with longer survival. Among the not married categories, having never been married was the strongest predictor of premature mortality.
Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme
SCSS is arguably the first choice for most retirees.
The average retirement age in the United States is 62, according to a 2024 MassMutual survey. In 1991, it was 57; in 2002, it was 59, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.
Marriage could expose you to each other's creditors, insurance risks (health care, home, and auto), higher income tax rates, and long-term care costs. Marriage could make you financially responsible for your spouse's dependent children.
In most cases, you will get a bigger refund or a lower tax bill if you file jointly with your spouse. There are a few situations in which filing separately can be more advantageous, including when one spouse has significant miscellaneous deductions or medical expenses.
Married men and married women live, on average, two years longer than their unmarried counterparts. One reason for this longevity benefit is the influence of marital partners on healthy behaviors. Study after study shows that married people eat better and are less likely to smoke and drink excessively.
What the average couple gets from Social Security right now. The average monthly retirement benefit as of May 2024 is $1,917 per month. If both spouses qualified for this amount, their household monthly benefits would be $3,834 per month, or about $46,000 per year.
It's recommended that most couples save at least seven to eight times their combined annual income to retire comfortably.
If you've been married multiple times, your current and former spouses could be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your earnings record, subject to certain requirements.
If you become disabled before your full retirement age, you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits. You must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the last 10 years.
Either spouse can maximize their regular Social Security benefit amount by waiting past their full-retirement age to apply, up to age 70. Benefits generally increase 8% each year filing is delayed.
It's Possible To Retire on a $1,500 Monthly Budget
But with a little creativity and flexibility, you may find a new home with everything you want, including a good climate, welcoming community and affordable lifestyle.
With $100,000 you should budget for a retirement income of around $5,000 to $8,000 on top of Social Security, depending on how you have invested your money. Much more than this will likely cause you to run out of money within 25 – 30 years, which is potentially within the lifespan of the average retiree.
According to data from the Social Security Administration, as of January 2024, the average monthly retirement benefit payment was $1,909.01, which comes to about $22,322 per year.