A $2,500 monthly Social Security check plus $100,000 in retirement savings may sound like enough to create a reasonably comfortable retirement, particularly if the mortgage is already paid off. But those numbers look different once Medicare premiums, property taxes, groceries, utilities, transportation, home repairs, and occasional medical bills start coming out. The good news is that a $2,500 Social Security retirement budget doesn’t automatically require burning through the $100,000 account to cover everyday living expenses. With manageable housing costs and careful withdrawals, that savings can instead function as a combination of monthly income supplement and financial shock absorber. Here’s what the numbers could actually look like for one hypothetical retiree.
