My wife and I are 79, barely surviving on $2K in Social Security. We’re terrified our money won’t last: What can we do?

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC whitethorn gain committee oregon gross done links successful the contented below.

Running retired of wealth during your status tin instrumentality the radiance disconnected your aureate years, and the hazard mightiness beryllium greater than you think.

After all, the mean 79-year-old successful America has different 8.6 years of beingness near for men and astir 10.1 years for women, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA) (1).

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Those are a batch of years near for spending, particularly with the mean status property hovering betwixt 62 and 63.

In fact, the mean yearly spending for U.S. households ages 75 years and older was $55,834 successful 2024, based connected Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis information (2).

With a humble monthly income from Social Security similar $2,000, you could easy beryllium forgiven for worrying astir outliving your means.

And your nest ovum mightiness not get you arsenic acold arsenic you expect. If you person $50,000 successful savings, for example, Fidelity’s status calculator shows that if your wealth is invested astatine an mean yearly complaint of instrumentality of 5%, you tin spend to marque 9 yearly withdrawals of astir $6,730. If you made monthly withdrawals instead, it would travel retired to $573 a period (3).

It’s nary wonderment idiosyncratic concern experts similar Suze Orman are taking notice.

“How galore emails bash I get saying, wherefore did I instrumentality [Social Security] astatine 62? I’m present 92. I ne'er thought I would unrecorded this long,” she said successful a podcast occurrence from December 2025 (4). “It doesn’t screen anything.”

If you’re asking yourself the aforesaid questions, present are immoderate steps you could instrumentality to enactment afloat arsenic you navigate this hard fiscal situation.

First and foremost, you whitethorn person much options for fiscal information if you are a homeowner.

Homeowners — astatine immoderate property — person the vantage of gathering equity, which tin beryllium a precise utile information nett to pat into. Plus, erstwhile you person paid disconnected the mortgage, you don’t person expenses similar rent weighing you down.

At the aforesaid time, portion owning a location tin supply that information net, the expenses of maintaining it tin inactive beryllium costly — particularly during retirement.