Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
The average retiree household spends roughly $60,000 annually, with housing (36%), transportation (15%), healthcare (13%) and food (13%) taking the largest shares of the budget. On average, Americans think they need $1.26 million to retire comfortably, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study.\n<\/p>\n Let’s compare that to what retirees in their 60s are actually spending. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household headed by someone age 65 or older spent just over $61,400 in 2024, the most recent year for which figures are available.\n<\/p>\n Using the 4% rule<\/a>, the average retiree would need $1.5 million to sustain that lifestyle. (That is, if you withdrew 4% of your $1.5 million nest egg per year, adjusted for inflation, you’d be able to afford a $60,000 a year lifestyle over a 30-year retirement.)\n<\/p>\n This means the average American’s expectations for how much to save for retirement aren’t enough.\n<\/p>\n Important<\/p>\n Fidelity says retirees typically spend about 55% to 80% of their preretirement income once they leave the workforce.<\/p>\n Where the Money Actually Goes <\/p>\n Housing dominates retirement budgets<\/a>. Including utilities, it accounts for about one-third of total spending for households headed by someone 65 and older. Transportation comes in second at about 15% of the budget, followed by health care, at about 13%. Food also accounts for about 13%. Here’s a fuller breakdown.\n<\/p>\n Why Spending Decreases for Older Adults, but Risks Increase <\/p>\n Financial planner Michael Stein coined the terms “go-go,” “slow-go,” and “no-go” years to describe how retirement spending evolves over time.\n<\/p>\n In your 60s, which are typically your more active years, you’re more likely to spend more on travel, dining out, and leisure. As you age past your 60s, your energy and mobility will likely decline, so you’ll spend less on travel and active hobbies.\n<\/p>\n Researchers have thus identified a familiar pattern: real (inflation<\/a>-adjusted) spending declines every year beginning in early retirement. Research by David Blanchett indicates that this totals to a real spending decline of approximately a quarter (26%) between the ages of 65 and 84.\n<\/p>\n But there’s a critical caveat: these averages don’t account for long-term care<\/a>. Seven out of 10 people turning 65 will need some form of long-term care in their lifetimes, and two in 10 will need it for more than five years. The costs are staggering. As of 2024, a private room in a nursing home costs $10,646 per month, up 9% from 2023. Assisted living costs<\/a> $5,900 per month on average, a 10% jump from 2023.\n<\/p>\n Important<\/p>\n One in four people say they have just one year or less of their annual income saved for retirement.<\/p>\n What This Means for How Much You Can Withdraw <\/p>\n Fears about long-term care costs help explain why so many retirees keep a tighter grip on their savings than financial models suggest. A 2025 study by Blanchett and Michael Finke found that married retirees withdraw just 2.1% of their savings annually\u2014about half what the traditional 4% rule says is safe. (Single retirees withdraw even less: 1.9% of their savings annually.)\n<\/p>\n Almost half (46%) of retirees say they spend less than they could because they’re worried about running out of money, yet 78% say they’re confident they’ll have enough.\n<\/p>\n That disconnect means some retirees could be deferring experiences in their active years\u2014travel, family gatherings, their bucket-list items\u2014while sitting on savings they may never use.\n<\/p>\n
\nInflation<\/a>-adjusted spending typically declines by about 26% between the ages of 65 and 84, but long-term care<\/a> costs remain a major wild card that standard spending data doesn’t capture.<\/p>\n