Retirement Social Security

Here's How Many People Rely Mostly on Social Security in Retirement (How Do You Compare?)

Most retirees depend on Social Security. Do you?

By Josh Koebert , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated May 30, 2026

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According to a recent Senior Citizens League survey, roughly 39% of retirees rely on Social Security for their entire monthly income. That's a staggering 22 million Americans who have no other retirement accounts, at least according to the survey's reporting.

The numbers are a bit more nuanced than what has been reported, but it's still good to see where you stand financially as you head into retirement. Having a solid retirement plan for your income and expenses is one of the best ways to reduce stress as you transition out of full-time work.

Read on to learn why so many older Americans rely solely on Social Security in retirement, and understand how you compare to the average, as well as what steps you can take to improve your retirement accounts.

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Why retirees rely on Social Security as the main source of income

There are a number of reasons why over 22 million retirees have to rely on their Social Security to cover their expenses, and they're all things that could have been preventable with some planning.

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Inadequate savings

Opening an individual retirement account (IRA) is one of those overlooked steps that comes back to bite you in the end. If you haven't been diligent with your savings and investments, you'll be left with very little by the time you retire.

The numbers back this up. According to the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, almost half of American households have no dedicated retirement savings at all. And among those who do have savings, about 58% of workers say their retirement savings are behind where they should be, not a good sign given how expensive retirement has become.

Lack of employer retirement plans

More and more companies have done away with pensions or 401(k) plans for employees, and that makes a big difference. In previous generations, you'd work for the same company for decades, and they would provide outstanding retirement benefits. Now, many Americans are on their own when it comes to planning, constantly changing jobs, and lacking the stability of yesteryear.

The numbers show how widespread the problem is. Only 15% of private sector workers have access to a traditional pension today, down from 38% in the 1980s. Access to any retirement plan is far from guaranteed, with about 56 million private-sector workers having no employer-sponsored plan.

Without a plan at work, research shows workers are 15 times less likely to save for retirement.

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Claiming benefits earlier than suggested

The age at which you decide to take your Social Security benefits has a huge impact on your monthly payment. The longer you wait until age 70, the more you will have, and the number is pretty significant.

Claiming at 62, rather than waiting until your full retirement age of 67, permanently cuts your monthly benefit by up to 30%.

On a $2,000 monthly benefit, that's $600 less every month for the rest of your life, or about $7,200 a year. Wait until 70, and you get the opposite effect: delayed retirement credits add 8% per year past full retirement age, for a total boost of 24% compared to claiming at 67. That same $2,000 monthly benefit at 67 becomes $2,480 at 70, just for waiting.

The difference between claiming at 62 versus 70 can exceed $1,000 a month for someone with the same earnings record.

How much does Social Security really cover?

The average Social Security retirement benefit is $2,071 per month as of early 2026, according to the SSA. The program was built to replace about 40% of pre-retirement income, not a full paycheck.

The problem is that retirement is expensive.

According to 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, households headed by someone aged 70 to 79 spend an average of $5,165 per month, or roughly $62,000 a year. The three biggest expenses are housing at about $21,185 a year, transportation at $10,071, and health care at $7,779.

A $2,071 monthly check amounts to about $24,852 per year. That is less than half of what the average retiree household spends. Housing costs alone would consume most of it.

Health care is where the gap gets harder to ignore. Medicare Part B premiums ran $202.90 per month in 2026, before copays, prescriptions, and anything Medicare does not cover. More than 70% of people who live past 65 will need some form of long-term care, with the median cost of assisted living running about $6,673 a month. That is more than triple the average Social Security check.

What you can do to avoid the same situation

The good news is that the steps to reduce reliance on Social Security are straightforward, and it's never too late to start. If you have a 401(k) available through work, the contribution limit in 2026 is $24,500, and workers aged 50 and older can add another $8,000 on top of that. If your employer does not offer a plan, an IRA is the next best option, with a 2026 limit of $7,500 for those 50 and older.

Even modest contributions made consistently over time can build enough supplemental income to meaningfully close the gap between a Social Security check and what retirement actually costs. The goal does not have to be full financial independence from Social Security. It just has to be enough that one unexpected expense does not derail everything.

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Bottom line

Social Security was never meant to be a complete retirement income, only to stretch your retirement dollars further. It was designed to replace about 40% of what you earned before you stopped working, yet for tens of millions of Americans, it has become their only income.

The reasons are real and, in many cases, structural: jobs without retirement benefits, savings that never materialized, and retirements that began earlier than planned. The urgency is not abstract. According to the 2025 Social Security Trustees Report, the program's trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, at which point incoming payroll tax revenue would cover only 77% of scheduled benefits, triggering an automatic 23% cut.

That means building even a modest cushion now, whether through an IRA, a 401(k), or simply delaying when you claim, is the most direct way to avoid that outcome and give yourself a shot at a stress-free retirement.

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