Retirement Social Security

The Average Social Security Benefit Is $2,088 a Month - Here's What It Won't Cover

Social Security benefits could help support you in retirement, but living on them alone is a tall order.

By Maurie Backman , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Oct. 23, 2026

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Social Security is one of the most important senior benefits today. Without those monthly checks, many retirees would struggle to make ends meet.

But the average retiree receiving Social Security collected about $2,088 per month as of August 2026. On an annual basis, that's only about $25,000.

You might think you'll be able to get by in retirement on Social Security alone, but if you're in line for the average benefit today, here are some of the ways you might struggle.

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Housing costs could be a burden

Housing is many Americans' biggest expense, both during their working years and in retirement. If your home is paid off by retirement, you won't have a mortgage payment to worry about. But if you rent, those monthly payments will not go away.

RentCafe puts the average U.S. rent today at $1,773. Obviously, the amount of money you spend on rent will depend on the size and location of your home, among other factors. And it's certainly possible to spend less than $1,773 on rent.

But if your rent is comparable to the average $1,773, and you collect an average $2,088 Social Security benefit, it means your rent may be eating up 85% of your monthly check. That leaves you with a negligible amount of money for your remaining expenses.

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Owning a car could be difficult

Even if you don't have to commute to a job during retirement, you might still need a car to get around. AAA puts the average monthly cost of owning a new car today at about $1,072. Now that figure does account for having a car payment. If your car is paid off, that may not be a cost you have to bear immediately.

But cars don't last forever. You might eventually need to replace your car -- if not this year or next, then possibly the year after. And from there, your vehicle ownership costs might easily eat up about half of your Social Security check if you receive an average benefit.

Paying for Medicare may not be easy

Social Security recipients who are enrolled in Medicare pay for their Part B premiums out of their monthly benefit payments automatically. And most Medicare enrollees don't have to pay a premium for Part A. But your Medicare costs overall might take up a lot of your Social Security check.

This year's standard Part B premium is $202.90. That alone is roughly 10% of the average Social Security check today.

Plus, if you need to use care under Medicare, you'll face coinsurance, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs. A single hospital stay in 2026 could set you back $1,736 for your inpatient deductible, which would eat up the majority of the average Social Security check today.

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Don't retire on Social Security alone

Clearly, retiring on Social Security alone could mean struggling financially throughout retirement. After many years of hard work, you deserve better. That's why your best bet is to try to save for retirement by making consistent contributions to an IRA or 401(k) plan.

If you start socking money away in one of these accounts in your 20s or 30s, you may find that by the time you reach your 60s, you're sitting on plenty of money thanks to compounded growth. Plus, you may not have to do all of that saving alone. If your company offers a match in your 401(k) plan, you might get free money just by making contributions from your own paychecks.

Let's say your company will match 401(k) contributions of up to 5% of your salary, and you earn $60,000 a year. This means that if you contribute $3,000 over the course of a year, or $250 per month, your employer will put in the equivalent.

Now, imagine you get a $3,000 workplace match for 30 years. That's $90,000 right there, not including money you contribute or gains you get in your account by investing your money.

Bottom line

There's nothing wrong with making Social Security part of your retirement plan. You may even end up depending heavily on those benefits.

But there's a difference between needing Social Security and retiring on Social Security alone. If you do the latter, you may end up struggling to cover a number of common and essential expenses.

Rather than put yourself in that situation, do your best to build savings. And if you're nearing retirement and realize a larger nest egg is not in the cards, make choices that allow you to manage mostly on Social Security. That could mean delaying retirement, so you leave your limited savings untouched for longer, working part-time in retirement to supplement your benefits, or moving to a cheaper part of the country so that your Social Security checks are able to go further.

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