Average Retirement Income Statistics (2026)

The most cited measure is the median household income of householders 65 and older, which the Census Bureau put at $59,680 in 2025. That is the middle household: half had more and half had less. The figure rose 3.1% from 2024 after adjusting for inflation and covers 41.9 million households. For comparison, the median for all US households was $87,460, so the typical older household had about 68% of the overall median (a Walnut calculation).

Divided by 12, $59,680 works out to about $4,973 a month before taxes (a Walnut calculation). It is total money income from every source the Census counts: Social Security, pensions, retirement account withdrawals reported as income, wages, and interest, dividend and rental income. It does not count the value of a paid-off home or savings that have not been withdrawn.

The Census measure is a household figure. A single retiree is better compared with the personal income of people 65 and older, a median of $34,610 in 2025 among those with any income (Census Bureau, PINC-08).

The mean is much higher than the median. Households headed by someone 65 or older had a mean income of $92,350 in 2025, about 55% above the $59,680 median (a Walnut calculation on Census HINC-02). About 4.2 million older households had income of $200,000 or more, while 1.3 million had less than $5,000.

Income is less equal among older households than across the whole population. The Gini index for 65+ households was 0.509 in 2025, against 0.49 for all households. Income per household member was $51,150, close to the $51,290 for all ages, because older households are smaller.

Other surveys land in a similar range. The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey put average pretax income of households headed by someone 65 or older at $69,497 in 2025 (BLS), and the Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances put median family income at $69,400 for families headed by someone 65 to 74 and $66,800 for those 75 or older (Federal Reserve SCF).

Income falls through retirement. In 2025 the median household income was $71,400 for householders 65 to 69, $66,030 for those 70 to 74 and $50,880 for those 75 and older (Census Bureau, HINC-02). Households headed by someone 55 to 64 had a median of $99,320, so the median at 75 and older is about half the median at 55 to 64 (a Walnut calculation; see the chart and table below).

Part of the drop is work: fewer people in their late 70s still earn wages. Part is household makeup, since more people 75 and older live alone after a spouse dies. The mean shows the same pattern, from $103,000 at 65 to 74 to $78,940 at 75 and older.

In the SCF the gap between the two age groups is smaller. Median family income for families headed by someone 75 or older rose 24% between the 2022 and 2025 surveys, to $66,800, against $69,400 for 65 to 74 (Federal Reserve SCF 2025).

Taxes take less from older households at the median. The Census Bureau's post-tax median household income for householders 65 and older was $56,750 in 2025, up 4.0% from $54,600 in 2024, about $2,930 below the pre-tax median of $59,680. For all households the post-tax median was $76,060, about $11,400 below the pre-tax median (Walnut calculations).

The Census notes that its 2025 tax model includes federal changes such as the new enhanced senior deduction for adults 65 and older (Census Bureau, P60-289). Taxes on Social Security benefits, retirement account withdrawals and required distributions are covered on the required minimum distribution statistics page.

Married couples have far higher incomes than older people living alone. In 2025 the median income of married-couple households headed by someone 65 or older was $93,890, against $35,590 for men living alone and $31,540 for women living alone (Census Bureau, HINC-02).

There are 11.5 million women 65 and older living alone, compared with 6.7 million men. Among people 75 and older, women living alone had a median of $30,240, the lowest of the groups in the table below.

Social Security shows the same split. SSA estimates the average benefit for an aged couple both receiving benefits at $3,355 a month in January 2027, and $2,005 for an aged widow or widower living alone (SSA).

Of the 63.0 million people 65 and older with any income in 2025, the median was $34,610 and the mean $57,870 (Census Bureau, PINC-08). Men had a median of $44,720 and women $28,240, so the typical older man had about 58% more income than the typical older woman (a Walnut calculation).

The gap carries through each source. Men receiving Social Security had a median of $24,570 from it, against $19,020 for women. Men with pension income had a median of $20,530, women $13,860. Women outnumber men among older people with income, 33.9 million to 29.1 million.

Among recipients, the largest typical amounts came from wages ($45,150 for the 12.8 million still earning a salary), federal government pensions ($29,010) and state or local government pensions ($23,920). Retirement account withdrawals reported in the survey were smaller, a median of $10,580.

After inflation, the median income of 65+ households has grown steadily since the Census began the series. It was $21,730 in 1967 in 2025 dollars, $37,740 in 1990, $44,760 in 2010 and $59,680 in 2025 (Census Bureau, Table H-10). The 2025 figure is above the 2019 level of $58,810, so on this measure older households have regained the ground lost to inflation. The 1967 to 2025 rise is about 2.7 times (a Walnut calculation).

Growth stalled for about a decade in the 1990s and dipped after 2019: the median fell from $58,810 in 2019 to $54,930 in 2022 as high inflation outpaced income, then recovered. The series has several methodology breaks, so small year-to-year changes around those breaks are less reliable than the long trend.

Households 75 and older have gained faster in recent decades. Their median rose from $28,690 in 1987 to $50,880 in 2025 in 2025 dollars, about 77%, while the median for 65 to 74 went from $43,520 to $68,800, about 58% (Walnut calculations).

Social Security and retirement plans are the largest source. In the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2025, households headed by someone 65 or older received $33,231 a year on average from Social Security, private and government retirement, 47.8% of their $69,497 pretax income. Wages and salaries supplied 34.7%, interest, dividends and rent 9.9%, and self-employment 5.6% (BLS).

Age shifts the mix. For households headed by someone 65 to 74, retirement income was 39.6% and wages 44.9%. For those 75 and older, retirement income was 62.2% and wages 16.8%. Households headed by someone 65 or older average 0.5 earners: 0.7 at 65 to 74 and 0.3 at 75 and older.

The Federal Reserve's household survey counts how many people have each source. Among adults 60 and older in 2025, 74% had Social Security income in their family, 50% interest, dividends or rental income, 49% a pension and 44% wages or self-employment; 91% had some income other than work (Federal Reserve SHED 2025).

The average Social Security benefit for a retired worker was $2,088.79 a month in September 2026, paid to 55.1 million people, or about $25,065 a year (a Walnut calculation). In December 2025 the average was $2,071, and new retirement awards that year averaged $2,129 (SSA Fast Facts 2026).

Benefits rise 3.6% with the December 2026 payment, received in January 2027. SSA estimates the average retired-worker benefit at $2,170 after the increase, up from $2,095, and the maximum at full retirement age at $4,188 a month, up from $4,152 (SSA). The 2026 increase was 2.8%.

Social Security reached 58.3 million people 65 and older in December 2025. The average retired worker is 74.4 years old, and women are 51% of retired-worker beneficiaries (SSA Fast Facts 2026). COLA history, benefits by type and the trust fund are covered on the Social Security statistics page.

For a large minority, Social Security is most of their income. SSA reports that among beneficiaries 65 and older, 39% of men and 44% of women receive 50% or more of their income from Social Security, and 12% of men and 15% of women rely on it for 90% or more (SSA Fact Sheet). SSA notes these estimates come from research released in 2024 using 2015 data, the newest it has published.

Social Security is about 31% of the total income of people over 65, by the same SSA estimate. In EBRI's 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, 92% of retirees said Social Security is a source of their income and 66% said it is a major source (EBRI, research organization).

The median Social Security income of people 65 and older who receive it was $21,320 in 2025 in the Census survey, against a median total income of $34,610 for everyone 65 and older with income.

About 18.5 million people 65 and older received pension income in 2025, with a median of $16,940 among recipients (Census Bureau, PINC-08). Government pensions paid the most: a median of $29,010 for federal retirees, $23,920 for state and local retirees and $22,740 for military retirees, against $10,910 for company or union pensions.

Few private-sector workers are building pensions. In March 2026, 14% of private industry workers had access to a defined benefit plan and 9% participated, while 70% had access to a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k). Among state and local government workers, 86% had access to a defined benefit plan (BLS, Employee Benefits in the United States). The decline of the private pension is covered on the pension statistics page.

Retirement accounts supply a modest share of income for the retirees who draw on them. In EBRI's 2024 Spending in Retirement Survey of about 3,600 retirees aged 62 to 75, 20% named an IRA and 17% a 401(k)-type plan as a current income source; the median share of income from those accounts was 10% and 15% (EBRI, research organization).

The Census survey misses much of the money retirees draw from pensions and retirement accounts. SSA researchers Irena Dushi and Brad Trenkamp linked the survey to SSA and IRS records for 2015 and found that pensions, including IRA withdrawals, made up 35.9% of the aggregate income of people 65 and older, against 21.7% in the survey alone (SSA Working Paper 116).

With the records added, Social Security's share fell from 34.9% to 29.9%, and the share of beneficiaries relying on it for half or more of their income fell from 52.5% to 39.9%. The share relying on it for 90% or more fell from 25.6% to 13.8%. The 65+ poverty rate dropped from 8.8% to 7.1%.

The same linked data found that 69.0% of people 65 and older had family income from pensions or IRAs in 2015, against 47.2% in the survey alone, and 89.5% from Social Security. The Census figures on this page are the standard published series, so they are likely to understate pension and retirement-account income.

Most older people have some investment income, but for most it is small. In 2025, 44.0 million people 65 and older had interest, dividend or rental income, with a median of $2,077 and a mean of $12,660 among recipients (Census Bureau, PINC-08). The gap between the median and the mean shows how concentrated it is.

In the BLS survey, interest, dividends, rental and other property income averaged $6,894 for households headed by someone 65 or older in 2025, 9.9% of their income, and 13.6% for those 75 and older (BLS). How much retirees have saved to draw on is covered on the retirement savings statistics and 401(k) statistics pages.

About one in five Americans 65 and older is in the labor force. The participation rate was 19.1% in 2025: 33.3% at 65 to 69, 18.8% at 70 to 74 and 8.5% at 75 and older (BLS, CPS Table 3). Men 65 and older participated at 23.1% and women at 15.7%.

Among people who call themselves retired, 16% did some paid work in the previous month in 2025, 11% part time and 4% full time, and 5% said they worked because they needed the money (Federal Reserve SHED 2025). In the Census survey, the 14.6 million people 65 and older with earnings had a median of $42,430 from work.

Workers expect more work than retirees end up doing. In EBRI's 2026 survey, 74% of workers planned to work for pay in retirement, but 31% of retirees said they had. Retirees reported a median retirement age of 62, against an expected 65 for workers (EBRI, research organization).

On average, older households spend most of what they take in. Households headed by someone 65 or older spent $64,445 in 2025 against pretax income of $69,497, a difference of $5,052 before taxes (a Walnut calculation on BLS data). For those 75 and older, spending of $57,959 nearly matched income of $58,124.

Health care takes a bigger share with age: 12.4% of spending for 65+ households and 14.2% at 75 and older, against 7.9% for all households. Housing was 36.4% of spending for 65+ households, even though 78% own their home and 54% of those owners have no mortgage (BLS). For all households, average spending was $81,905 on income of $110,847 (BLS news release). Health care costs are covered on the health care costs in retirement page.

More retirees say they are spending beyond their means. In EBRI's 2024 survey, 31% said their spending was higher than they can afford, up from 27% in 2022 and 17% in 2020, and 59% had three months of emergency savings, down from 69% in 2022 (EBRI, research organization).

Poverty among older Americans fell steeply over the last half century. The official poverty rate for people 65 and older was 28.5% in 1966, 15.7% in 1980 and 9.9% in 2000, and it was 9.8% in 2025, about 6.4 million people (Census Bureau, P60-290). For all ages the official rate was 10.2%.

The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which subtracts out-of-pocket medical spending and counts taxes and benefits, gives a higher figure: 15.4% of people 65 and older in 2025, about 10.0 million people, up from 12.8% in 2019. That is higher than the 13.1% SPM rate for all ages (Census Bureau, P60-290).

Social Security does the most to hold the rate down. Without it, the 65+ SPM poverty rate in 2025 would have been 32.1 percentage points higher. Medical expenses push the rate up by 3.8 points, and SSI, housing subsidies and SNAP each lower it by about 1 point (Census Bureau, Table 5).

Workers expect more income sources than retirees report. In EBRI's 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, 83% of workers expected income from a workplace retirement savings plan, but 45% of retirees had it. 66% of workers expected a traditional pension and 56% of retirees had one (EBRI, research organization).

Social Security is the one source retirees rely on more than workers expect: 92% of retirees against 89% of workers. Confidence has slipped. 73% of retirees felt very or somewhat confident about having enough money to live comfortably, down from 78% in 2025 (EBRI). Long-run trends are on the retirement confidence statistics page.

The Fed's 2025 survey found 83% of adults 60 and older doing at least okay financially, and 71% had savings to cover three months of expenses. Among adults not yet retired, 35% thought their retirement savings were on track, down from 40% in 2021 (Federal Reserve SHED 2025).

The 4% rule comes from a 1994 study by financial planner William Bengen, who found that a first-year withdrawal of 4% of a portfolio, raised for inflation each year after, lasted at least 33 years in every historical period he tested (Bengen, Journal of Financial Planning). On that rule, each $100,000 saved supports about $4,000 of income in the first year (a Walnut calculation).

Morningstar's 2025 retirement income research puts the highest safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9% for a 30-year retirement with fixed inflation-adjusted spending and a 90% chance of money remaining, up from 3.7% a year earlier. Its earlier estimates were 3.3% in 2021, 3.8% in 2022 and 4.0% in 2023, and flexible spending methods raised the starting rate to as much as 5.7% (Morningstar, industry research). The rate covers portfolio withdrawals only, not Social Security.

Annuities turn savings into guaranteed income; 4.2 million people 65 and older reported annuity income in 2025, a median of $8,260 (Census Bureau). Market data is on the annuity statistics page.

The typical older household lives on about $60,000 a year, built mostly on Social Security plus a pension or account withdrawals, and income keeps falling into the late 70s. The range is wide: married couples have about three times the median income of women living alone (a Walnut calculation), and the SPM puts 15.4% of people 65 and older in poverty once medical costs are counted.

For people still saving, the withdrawal research gives a rough link between a balance and an income: about $3,900 to $4,000 a year per $100,000 at the rates above (a Walnut calculation). Walnut, an AI investing app, can read a connected brokerage account to show how retirement investments are doing. These statistics describe what retirees receive; they are not a recommendation on how much anyone should save or withdraw.