How much Social Security do middle-class retirees get?
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Social Security is an important piece of the retirement puzzle, particularly for middle-class retirees who count on the safety net to supplement their post-career income.
But if you see Social Security as an income centerpiece, not just icing on the cake, a closer look at the numbers may prompt you to think again.
U.S. Census Bureau data from 2022 shows the national middle-class income range is between $49,271 and $147,828 — a span heavily influenced by location and cost-of-living considerations.
Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees — here's how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis
Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10)
The Bureau says the median household income in the U.S. that year was $74,580. A 55-year-old earning that amount today and planning to take Social Security at age 62 would get an estimated monthly benefit of about $1,869 a month — or $22,428 a year. (This figure was reached using the AARP's Social Security calculator.)
Presuming the retiree has no savings and would rely on Social Security alone, that's dangerously near the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2024 poverty line ($15,060) for one person.
Social Security benefits vary greatly but generally depend on how long one is willing to defer their benefit. Planning for a retirement that doesn't count on Social Security, some argue, makes sense given persistent questions about the safety net's sustainability.
Getting the most from Social Security comes down to strategy, forethought and planning — along with a decent understanding of how the system works. Here are several strategies middle-class retirees can employ to increase their benefits:
While starting your Social Security draw early may make sense in some scenarios, the most effective way to increase your monthly check is to delay the benefit.
While retirees can start receiving benefits as early as age 62, doing so results in a reduced monthly benefit. Each year you wait, up until age 70, significantly increases the benefit amount.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
Social Security benefits can be taxable depending on the retiree's total income. It's essential to understand how other sources of income, such as pensions or investment withdrawals, impact the taxability of Social Security benefits. Proper tax planning can help minimize Uncle Sam's share of your money.
With Vanguard, you can connect with a personal advisor who can help assess how you're doing so far and make sure you've got the right portfolio to meet your goals on time.
Vanguard's hybrid advisory system combines advice from professional advisers and automated portfolio management to make sure your investments are working to achieve your financial goals.
All you have to do is fill out a brief questionnaire about your financial goals, and Vanguard's advisers will help you set a tailored plan, and stick to it.
Once you're set, you can sit back as Vanguard's advisors manage your portfolio. Because they're fiduciaries, they don't earn commissions, so you can trust that the advice you're getting is unbiased.
While maximizing Social Security is important, it should be part of a broader retirement strategy. Middle-class retirees should also consider other sources of income, such as part-time work, rental income and investments to supplement their Social Security benefits.
Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense — and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now
Both residential and commercial real estate have long been solid choices for investors looking to diversify and add stability to their portfolios — especially while saving for retirement. Since having a place to live is essential, real estate remains a stable, relevant asset.
New investing platforms are making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market.
For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.
With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 12% to 18%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.
First National Realty Partners specializes in grocery-anchored commercial real estate properties with historically strong return potential.
FNRP has developed relationships with the nation's largest essential-needs brands, including Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods, and provides insights into the best properties both on- and off-market.
Access to this $22.5 trillion asset class has traditionally been limited to elite investors — until now. Here's how to become the landlord of Walmart or Whole Foods without lifting a finger
Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead
Are you rich enough to join the top 1%? Here's the net worth you need to rank among America's wealthiest — plus a few strategies to build that first-class portfolio
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
E&E News
22 minutes ago
- E&E News
Trump's coal frenzy clashes with market realities
President Donald Trump's mad dash to unleash more mining and burning of 'beautiful clean coal' across the U.S. is running face-first into unfavorable market realities. The president has vowed to reverse Biden-era policies, rev up U.S. mining, and keep aging coal-fired power plants alive. But hundreds of miners have been laid off in states like West Virginia in recent weeks, prices remain low and a growing number of small, metallurgical coal producers across the U.S. continue to declare bankruptcy. Last week, Core Natural Resources laid off 200 miners in West Virginia at a metallurgical coal mine. The announcement arrived after Coronado Global Resources laid off workers at its coal mine in the state. Miners were also laid off at Alpha Metallurgical Resources' mine in Boone County last year. At the same time, companies like Corsa Coal Corp. and Coking Coal, LLC, have declared bankruptcy, and some say the industry will continue to face turbulence. Advertisement 'I wouldn't be surprised if we see several other producers either go out of the market or … you'll see substantial cutbacks, layoffs,' Randall Atkins, founder of Kentucky-based Ramaco Resources, which mines both coal and rare earths, told POLITICO's E&E News. 'There are plenty of others that are not in good shape. There are more companies out there that are teetering.'
Bloomberg
24 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Crypto-Wallet Spat Ends With World Liberty Buying Memecoin
Eric Trump signaled that the tension between the competing factions of Donald Trump's crypto empire has cooled and the family's World Liberty Financial will buy a 'substantial' amount of the memecoin at the center of the dispute. The president's son said in a post on X on Friday that the company responsible for the Trump memecoin isn't moving forward with a digital-wallet offering that has caused a fissure with World Liberty Financial, the crypto company owned in part by the Trump family.
Los Angeles Times
24 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
DOGE employees can search Social Security records, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cleared the way Friday for the DOGE team that had been led by Elon Musk to examine Social Security records that include personal information on most Americans. Acting by a 6-3 vote, the justices granted an appeal from President Trump's lawyers and lifted a court order that had barred a team of DOGE employees of freely examining Social Security records. 'We conclude that, under the present circumstances,' the Social Security Administration, or SSA, 'may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,' the court said in an unsigned order. In a second order, the justices blocked the disclosure of DOGE operations as agency records that could be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The court's three liberals — Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — dissented in both cases 'Today, the court grants 'emergency' relief that allows the Social Security Administration (SSA) to hand DOGE staffers the highly sensitive data of millions of Americans,' Jackson wrote. 'The Government wants to give DOGE unfettered access to this personal, non-anonymized information right now—before the courts have time to assess whether DOGE's access is lawful.' The legal fight turned on the unusual status of the newly created Department of Governmental Efficiency. This was a not true department, but the name given to the team of aggressive outside advisors led by Musk. Were the DOGE team members presidential advisors or outsiders who should be not given access to personal data? While Social Security employees are entrusted with the records containing personal information, it was disputed whether the 11 DOGE team members could be trusted with same material. Musk had said the goal was to find evidence of fraud or misuse of government funds. He and DOGE were sued by labor unions who said the outside analysts were sifting through records with personal information which was protected by the privacy laws. Unless checked, the DOGE team could create highly personal computer profiles of every person, they said. A federal judge in Maryland agreed and issued an order restricting the work of DOGE. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, Obama appointee, barred DOGE staffers from have accessing to the sensitive personal information of millions of Americans. But her order did not restrict the Social Security staff or DOGE employees from using data that did not identify persons or sensitive personal information. In late April, the divided 4th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to set aside the judge's order by a 9-6 vote. Judge Robert King said the 'government has sought to accord the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) immediate and unfettered access to all records of the Social Security Administration ('SSA') — records that include the highly sensitive personal information of essentially everyone in our country.' But Trump Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer appealed to the Supreme Court and said a judge should not 'second guess' how the administration manages the government. He said the district judge had 'enjoined particular agency employees — the 11 members of the Social Security Administration (SSA) DOGE team—from accessing data that other agency employees can unquestionably access, and that the SSA DOGE team will use for purposes that are unquestionably lawful. ... The Executive Branch, not district courts, sets government employees' job responsibilities.' Sauer said the DOGE team were seeking to 'modernize SSA systems and identify improper payments, for instance by reviewing swaths of records and flagging unusual payment patterns or other signs of fraud. The DOGE employees 'are subject to the same strict confidentiality standards as other SSA employees,' he said. Moreover, the plaintiffs 'make no allegation that the SSA DOGE team's access will increase the risk of public disclosure.' He said checking the personal data is crucial. 'For instance, a birth date of 1900 can be telltale evidence that an individual is probably deceased and should not still receive Social Security payments, while 15 names using the same Social Security number may also point to a problem,' he said.
