Retirement Income Gap Calculator
Add up your expected Social Security, pension and savings withdrawals, compare the total with your expenses, and see how your spending compares with the national average for households 65 and older.
The average household aged 65 or older spends $5,120 a month, or $61,432 a year, according to the 2024 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, the latest available. That is roughly $1,849 on housing, $795 on transportation, $662 on food, $648 on healthcare and $1,165 on everything else. Enter your own expected income and expenses below to see your gap or surplus, with each category set against these national figures.
Retirement advice often gives one target figure for savings without showing where the money goes. This calculator works from your monthly income and expenses, and shows which spending categories account for any gap.
Your Retirement Income vs. Expenses
Your Monthly Result
Total Income
Total Expenses
Gap / Surplus
Your Expenses vs. the National 65+ Average
| Category | You | National 65+ Avg | Difference |
|---|
Where the benchmarks come from. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey reports household spending by the age of the household's reference person. For 2024, households 65 and older spent $61,432 on average.
| Category (2024, households 65+) | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,193 | $1,849 |
| Transportation | $9,538 | $795 |
| Food | $7,940 | $662 |
| Healthcare | $7,779 | $648 |
| Everything else | $13,982 | $1,165 |
| Total | $61,432 | $5,120 |
Spending falls with age. Households aged 65 to 74 spent $65,354 on average, and households 75 and older spent $55,834. Travel, dining out and other optional spending drop off, while healthcare takes a larger share.
How to read the comparison. An average is not a target. Spending above it in one category may be unavoidable, and spending below it is not always a good sign. The comparison is useful for finding which category accounts for a gap:
- Housing well above average: check property tax relief and energy assistance.
- Healthcare well above average: review your Medicare coverage with the Medicare Cost Calculator, and check Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help.
- Food: check SNAP.
If the result shows a gap. The main options are to raise income or lower a specific cost. Claiming Social Security later raises the benefit for life, which you can test with the break-even calculator. A larger withdrawal from savings should be checked against how long the savings need to last and against your required minimum distributions.
BLS is scheduled to publish the 2025 survey figures on October 29, 2026. We will update the benchmarks after that.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the average household 65+ actually spend per year?
$61,432 a year, or $5,120 a month, according to the 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the latest year available. That is about $22,193 on housing, $9,538 on transportation, $7,940 on food, $7,779 on healthcare and $13,982 on everything else, including entertainment, insurance and clothing.
Does retirement spending stay the same as you age?
No. BLS data shows households aged 65 to 74 spend more on average ($65,354 a year) than households 75 and older ($55,834 a year). Total spending tends to fall with age as travel, dining out and other optional spending decline, while healthcare takes a larger share.
What counts as retirement income for this calculator?
Social Security benefits, pension or annuity payments, planned withdrawals from retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA, and other regular income such as part-time work or rent. Enter a monthly amount for each one that applies.
What should I do if this shows a gap?
Look at which category accounts for it. The options are to claim Social Security later, withdraw more from savings after checking your RMD rules, reduce a specific expense, or check assistance programs for the categories involved, such as property tax relief or utility assistance.
National benchmark figures are from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2024, the latest published, for households with a reference person aged 65 or older. They are averages, not targets. Your costs depend on where you live, your health and how you live. This calculator does not account for taxes on withdrawals, inflation or one-time expenses. It is a starting point for planning and does not replace a retirement income plan from a financial professional.