In an ideal world, everyone would know the number to aim for when planning for retirement.
But that’s pretty hard to figure — it depends on your life circumstances and some moving targets, like what the stock market will do throughout your lifetime.
One potentially helpful gauge is to look at the numbers of current retirees. Following is wide-angle look at average retirement income based on various sources.
Social Security income
The average Social Security income, as of January 2024, is about:
- $1,909 per month among retired workers
- $912 per month among spouses of retired workers
- $1,778 per month among nondisabled widows and widowers receiving survivor benefits
- $926 per month among disabled widows and widowers receiving survivor benefits
Just keep in mind that these are gross totals. In other words, they represent the amount of money that each type of retiree received in Social Security benefits before Medicare premiums or income taxes.
Many retirees’ Medicare Part B premiums are withheld from their Social Security payments, meaning they never see the full amounts. Additionally, roughly half of retirees owe federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits, and some also owe state income taxes on benefits.
Household income
The median total household income for households led by someone age 65 or older was $50,290 in 2022, according to Census Bureau estimates. That’s around $55,000 in 2024 dollars.
After taxes, the median household income for the same group was $47,620 in 2022. Technically, that’s equivalent to around $52,000 in 2024.
Here the Census Bureau defines after-tax income as monetary income after accounting for federal income taxes, state income taxes and FICA taxes. It also accounts for stimulus payments and rebates that households received from the federal government and state governments.
However, such payments and rebates were typically meant to help counteract COVID-19 pandemic-induced financial hardships. So far more households received that type of income in 2022 than might receive it in 2024. So, in all reality, after-tax income for older households in 2024 likely will be even less than $52,000.
Pension income
Pensions are becoming less common, but according to the nonprofit Pension Rights Center, one-third of older Americans have one — whether from a private company, union or government.
The median pension income for people 65 and over varied in 2022, depending on the source:
- Private pensions and annuities: $11,040 (or about $12,111 in 2024 dollars)
- Federal government pensions: $26,380 ($28,939 in 2024)
- State or local government pensions: $24,980 ($27,403 in 2024)
- Military pensions: $24,130 ($26,470 in 2024)
- Veterans benefits: $15,630 ($17,146 in 2024)
Earnings
Many seniors continue to work beyond retirement age, whether they are “retired” or not. Approximately 5.3 million people 65 years old or older earned work income as of the final quarter of 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Their median earnings were:
- $1,055 per week overall
- $1,177 per week among men
- $941 per week among women
These figures include pay, commission and tips, when applicable, prior to taxes and other deductions.
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