If you're an average earner, Social Security will only replace about 40% of your former income. So if you retire without any savings, you might end up effectively taking a 60% pay cut. At the start of 2023, the average Social Security benefit was $1,827 a month. That's an annual income of a little less than $22,000.
Having no savings means that you will be forced to rely on your Social Security benefit for income in retirement. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 12% of men and 15% of women rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.
Retirees who run out of money may be forced to rely on family members for financial assistance or government programs like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This can be a significant burden on family members and can cause emotional distress for the retiree.
Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.
Top the amount with 401(k) savings, living on $3,000 a month after taxes is possible for a retiree. For those who only have social security benefits to rely on, there are many places where they can retire on their checks both in the USA and around the world.
The average American spends $4,345 per month in retirement, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's $52,141 per year.
Thirty-two percent of working-age Americans – about 58 million people – have no retirement savings, according to a recent analysis by The Penny Hoarder. Younger workers had the lowest savings rate, with nearly half of working-age adults in their 20s having no savings.
Millions of Americans nearing their golden years are still financially unprepared for retirement. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 50% of women and 47% of men between the ages of 55 and 66 have no retirement savings.
We want you to hear us say this: It's never too late to get started saving for retirement. No matter how old you are or how much (or how little) you have saved so far, there's always something you can do.
Is Living on Social Security Alone Possible? You can potentially use Social Security alone to support yourself, but you would need to plan in advance to ensure that your monthly check will cover your necessary expenses at minimum, including your food and housing.
If the combination of Social Security, pensions and prudent draws from your savings is enough to cover the expenses on your retirement budget, then you're pretty much home free. Let your retirement adventures begin!
57% of U.S. adults are uncomfortable with the amount of emergency savings they currently have, as of May 2023 polling. Fewer have no emergency savings. 22% of U.S. adults have no emergency savings at all, the second lowest percentage in 13 years of polling, as of May 2023 polling.
Retirement savings data and statistics
22 percent of Americans haven't contributed to their retirement savings in the past year, according to a recent Bankrate survey.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.
Most American households have at least $1,000 in checking or savings accounts. But only about 12% have more than $100,000 in checking and savings.
Statistics vary, but between 55 percent to 63 percent of Americans are likely living paycheck to paycheck.
About 23% of Americans over age 65 live in poverty, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. That's one of the highest shares among developed nations. U.S. Census data suggests a smaller share of the elderly are poor, and that old-age poverty nationwide has been falling.
Lack of funds was the biggest reason most people said they couldn't save for retirement. Approximately 37% of survey participants said they didn't earn enough money, while 26% said they didn't have a job at all. That's understandably a huge obstacle, but there may be ways to fix the situation.
This is often because people have a tendency to stick with their current situation since it's often easier to keep things as they are than it is to take the steps to make a change.
Housing. Housing expenses—which include mortgage, rent, property tax, insurance, maintenance and repair costs—remained the largest expense for retirees. More specifically, the average retiree household pays an average of $17,454 per year ($1,455 per month) on housing costs, representing over 35% of annual expenditures.
Housing. Housing—which includes mortgage, rent, property tax, insurance, maintenance and repair costs—is the largest expense for retirees.