The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that of the over 46 million Americans receiving Social Security retirement benefits… 21% of married couples and 45% of single persons rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.
Social Security is the sole source of income for about one in five (20 percent) people aged 65 and older. Certain subgroups are particularly reliant on Social Security.
Benefits are only designed to replace 40% of preretirement income. The single biggest reason you can't live on Social Security alone is that you aren't meant to. See, there's a Social Security benefits formula that determines the amount of money you'll receive. ... You get benefits equal to a percentage of those earnings.
And a separate survey conducted by the Pension Rights Center found that 66 percent of retirees currently receive income from these types of financial assets. Pension — Less than one-third (31%) of Americans are retiring with a defined benefit pension plan today.
As such, while you can technically try to retire on Social Security alone, it's not advisable. A far better bet is to amass some level of savings so you have an additional income source to fall back on. If that's not possible, you can plan to work part-time in retirement to boost your monthly earnings.
Consider the Average Social Security Payment
The average Social Security benefit is $1,657 per month in January 2022. The maximum possible Social Security benefit for someone who retires at full retirement age is $3,345 in 2022.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, “older households” – defined as those run by someone 65 and older – spend an average of $45,756 a year, or roughly $3,800 a month.
If you start collecting your benefits at age 65 you could receive approximately $33,773 per year or $2,814 per month. This is 44.7% of your final year's income of $75,629. This is only an estimate. Actual benefits depend on work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security.
In late 2021, the Social Security Administration announced that the average benefit for a retired worker would be increasing by $93, from $1,565 to $1,658, starting in Jan. 2022.
The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $3,345. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $2,364.
As of October 2021 (the most recently available month), the average Social Security check benefit for retired workers was $1,562.66 per month. 2 However, that might not be enough to cover basic living costs, so it's important to learn ways you can receive more.
At age 62: $2,364. At age 65: $2,993. At age 66: $3,240. At age 70: $4,194.
Workers who earn $60,000 per year pay payroll taxes on all of their income because the wage base limit on Social Security taxes is almost twice that amount. Therefore, you'll pay 6.2% of your salary, or $3,720.
The average retirement income for a single person over age 65 is roughly $42,000 per year. That income may come from Social Security, pensions, and other sources. The median income is just over $27,000 per year.
Average 401k Balance at Age 65+ – $471,915; Median – $138,436. The most common age to retire in the U.S. is 62, so it's not surprising to see the average and median 401k balance figures start to decline after age 65.
How much does the average 70-year-old have in savings? According to data from the Federal Reserve, the average amount of retirement savings for 65- to 74-year-olds is just north of $426,000. While it's an interesting data point, your specific retirement savings may be different from someone else's.
The Final Multiple: 10-12 times your annual income at retirement age. If you plan to retire at 67, for instance, and your income is $150,000 per year, then you should have between $1.5 and $1.8 million set aside for retirement.
“Often it is suggested that a retiree take their pre-retirement income and estimate 70% to 80% as a good retirement budget,” Steinke says. If you're still working and your salary is $100,000 a year, you might estimate that you will need $70,000 to $80,000 annually in retirement as a starting point.
The average Social Security benefit was just $1,503 per month in January 2020. ... That means that even if you're not one of those lucky few who have $1 million or more socked away, you can still retire well, so long as you keep your monthly budget under $3,000 a month.
At 65 to 67, depending on the year of your birth, you are at full retirement age and can get full Social Security retirement benefits tax-free.
You can begin collecting your Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but you'll get smaller monthly payments for the rest of your life if you do. Even so, claiming benefits early can be a sensible choice for people in certain circumstances.
The first is that a Social Security benefit is an earned benefit. ... To even be eligible for retirement benefits, you generally need 10 years (40 quarters) of gainful employment. In 2017, you need to earn at least $1,300 in a quarter for it to count as a credit.