SECTION 6 OF 8
The basics
A paycheck may get smaller or stop in retirement. Money for daily life can come from several places: Social Security if you qualify, a pension if you have one, work, and withdrawals from savings or investments.
Social Security retirement benefits depend on your earnings history and when you start them. You can generally start your own retirement benefit as early as 62. Waiting increases the monthly amount up to 70. This is not the same as choosing when to stop work. Official estimates help explain the differences. Savings withdrawals can run down an account, so a balance is not a guaranteed lifelong paycheck.
A simple example
Pat lists estimated monthly income next to estimated monthly expenses. If expenses are higher, the gap is a question to plan for—not an automatic instruction to withdraw a certain amount.
Useful resources
- Social Security: plan for retirement (opens in a new tab)
Learn about benefit estimates and how claiming age affects monthly Social Security payments.
- U.S. Department of Labor: preparing for retirement (opens in a new tab)
An overview of saving, pensions and other retirement considerations.
How this connects
An income amount is only part of the picture. Healthcare costs and taxes help explain how much may be available to spend.
U.S. retirement education · Examples are illustrative. How we create these resources.
From the creator of Friendly’s Financial on YouTube. General education, with no personal financial recommendations.