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How The Average Retiree Survives on $2,400/Month
4 average retirement case studies
Today, I came across an article from Investopedia about the average Social Security benefit at 65. Being interested in personal finance, I decided to read it. While it did provide the average Social Security payments for 65-year-olds, it then took a turn to draw a conclusion that the average 65-year-old retiree only has $2,400/month of income to live on, based on Social Security benefits and 401(k) savings. This article continues to suggest that the average 65-year-old is poorly prepared for retirement and needs to rely on downsizing, relocating, part-time work, and reverse mortgages to survive.
While reading, I started to notice several factors in the article’s case study of the average 65-year-old that made the situation seem far more dire than most retirees likely experience. Therefore, in this article, I aim to break down how the article arrived at its conclusion, identify factors that were overlooked in the article, and present four case studies of how individuals and couples manage to survive on the average social security payment.
Investopedia’s $2,400/Month Budget
The article begins by stating that the average Social Security benefit for 65-year-olds is $1,583/month. The average benefit for men is…