What percent of your annual spending comes from Social Security?

[shotgunner]

Taking a look at my personal financial spreadsheets I can see that my Social Security (I took it at 62 and now 67), provides 58 to 60 percent of my annual spending. The remaining spending is covered by interest, dividends and withdrawals representing 1.1% of my portfolio. My portfolio has grown nicely over the last five years as a result. My low withdrawal rate provides me a very secure retirement and the ability to increase my spending to cope with inflation, take a vacation, buy a new vehicle or just plain splurge on something I like. There is endless debate of when to take Social Security and nobody knows what the right choice is because nobody knows how long they will live. I feel good about my choice to take SS early and my current position. Semi-retired at age 51, fully retired at age 58 and starting to wish I had done it even sooner.

 

[Retired Expat]

Trying to decide whether or not to take it early, wait the year and a half to FRA or wait to 70? Therefore it is almost zero of my annual spend and our withdrawal rate is under 1/2 of one percent. I need to spend more!

 

[audreyh1]

We’ve decided to gift our SS income via QCDs. Basically matching our QCDs to our gross SS income for the year. DH turns 70 next year, starts his SS and becomes eligible to make QCDs later in year. This strategy will help particularly tax wise as we each become subject to RMDs. And of course can be re-evaluated each year.

Because we retired very early our SS income is not as large as you folks who have 35+ years earnings in. Never planned on it so it feels like “found money”, yet doesn’t go that far to meet our regular expenses.

As higher earner I also plan to wait until 70 to start SS. I’m 4.5 years behind DH.
(Knocking on wood - don’t want to jinx anything here. )

 

[old medic]

Gross monthly income
DW Paycheck 45%, My Pension 30%, and SS 25%
Taxes, insurance savings currently eats about 60% of DW paycheck. Her take home will nearly double when she starts her pension. Whenever she starts SS our 4 monthly checks should be 20-30% of each other with 0% WR needed.

 

[MichaelB]

Our SS pension barely covers our Medicare premium (with IRMAA). I lived and worked overseas so I didn’t pay during my high earning years, and most of my qualifying years were during high school and college. So, minimum wage and minimum qualifying years means minimum pension.

We knew it would be this way and have no complaint. I’m just happy to have Medicare

 

[Gumby]

My social security comprises about 26% of our annual income. The rest is provided by our two pensions. Our annual spending almost precisely matches our annual income. This year is the first time since we retired in 2019 that we will take a net withdrawal from the portfolio - on the order of 0.2% - caused primarily due to fancy vacations.

 

[Kabowest]

I'm currently 64 and plan to take SS at 65.5, based on being single and what OSS recommends as the optimal strategy - I may delay further however, this is the current plan. At that time I estimate SS to cover ~40% of my spending.

 

[workmyfingerstothebone]

once the wife retires in a few years my SS (age 65) will be about 29% of income, excluding dividends and interest.
currently my SS is 13.5% of income, excluding dividends and interest.

 

[shotgunner]

I'm currently 64 and plan to take SS at 65.5, based on being single and what OSS recommends as the optimal strategy - I may delay further however, this is the current plan. At that time I estimate SS to cover ~40% of my spending.

How much would it cover if you took it now?

 

[shotgunner]

once the wife retires in a few years my SS (age 65) will be about 29% of income, excluding dividends and interest.
currently my SS is 13.5% of income, excluding dividends and interest

There can be a difference between income and what you spend.

 

[VanWinkle]

I took SS at full retirement age and it currently makes up about 75% of my floor income with the other 25% coming from a pension. I seldom pull from my investments due to the floor covering most of my expenses. I need to find a way to "blow that dough".

 

[Kabowest]

How much would it cover if you took it now?

Not a significant difference - around 38ish%. I'm also doing Roth conversions (regardless of what happens at the end of 2025), so there is that. I may further delay to continue reducing my tIRA balance before RMDs.

 

[disneysteve]

I retired early so SS provides 0% currently. I’m not even eligible to collect until 8/26 at the earliest. My wife hits eligibility one year from now in 12/25. I don’t plan to collect until at least FRA and possibly 70 if we are both doing well but it’s way too early to know as we are both 60 now.

 

[REWahoo]

This year SS will represent 37% of income and 45% of spending.

 

[Jerry1]

SS covers about 75% of my spend and my pension covers the rest of my spending.

 

[jebmke]

44% in 2023

 

[jfn111]

SS represents about a third of our spending.

 

[imjustawarrior]

0% currently. We are still way off from SS.

My DW is much younger than I and was a SAHM. I plan to collect at 70. Once we are collecting SS, I project that it will cover 33% of our spending. It may cover up to 50%, but this is still too far off to know very accurately. If the market keeps doing well, our spending will increase and the % covered by SS will decrease.

 

[harllee]

I waited until age 70 to take SS so I get a fairly large SS payment, around 50% of my income/expenses.

 

[Car-Guy]

Interesting question. I don't track my spending well enough to be accurate but if I eliminated "gifting to my DD" and my "hobby expenses" , I'd estimate SS covers ~50% of my living expenses.

 

[MarieIG]

The current plan is for both of us to wait until age 70. I say current because sometimes plans change. There would so much in flux income wise it would be difficult for me to give a reasonably accurate estimate at this time.

 

[ElizabethT]

Zero currently, but at long last, after 12 years of FIRE, we will both soon begin receiving it, woo hoo.

At that point it will make up about 35% of our newly increased spend.

 

[jim584672]

It will completely cover my current expenses once I get to that age.

 

[wmc1000]

Covers 100% of our essential expenditures plus about 50% of our discretionary expenditures

 

[pb4uski]

Currently about 13%. Once I start SS in a year, 77%. We could live off SS if we needed to.