Short answer
The useful answer is annual spending minus reliable income, carried across time.
No single source names one retirement number for everyone. CFPB frames retirement as a comparison of income choices, BLS publishes spending benchmarks, SSA points people to personal benefit estimates, and IRS rules shape how much of the money is taxable.
Start here
What you actually came to find out
Plain answers first. Sources stay below for checking details.
What am I really solving for?
The gap between what life costs and what reliable income covers. Savings only need to carry the gap, not every dollar of spending.
What does it mean?
There is no one national retirement number. Your number changes with spending, Social Security, taxes, health costs, and how long the plan needs to last.
What does it mean for my money?
A $3,000 monthly gap is $36,000 a year before taxes. That is the bill your savings have to keep paying.
What does it mean for my time?
The same savings can look strong for 10 years and thin for 30. The runway matters as much as the balance.
Start with spending
Monthly life
BLS spending tables give public benchmarks, but the household budget is the number that drives the plan.
Source trail: BLS
Add reliable income
SSA plus pensions
SSA says benefit amounts depend on earnings history and claiming age, so a personal estimate matters more than a national average.
Source trail: SSA.gov, SSA Monthly Statistical Snapshot
Price taxes
After-tax money
IRS rules decide how retirement withdrawals and Social Security benefits show up on a federal return.
Source trail: IRS: Publication 915: Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, IRS: Tax Inflation Adjustments
Test the gap
Years of runway
Morningstar withdrawal research treats spending, time horizon, inflation, and asset mix as linked assumptions.
Source trail: Morningstar
A neutral way to read the question is this: start with spending, subtract reliable income, then test whether savings can carry the gap through the years the household wants to plan for.
Find your state
Find your state retirement number.
Pick a state to see cost level, property tax, sales tax, Social Security tax, and a state page built for that place.
Selected state
Alabama
Alabama has a state tax layer in this summary, so the page keeps income type, Social Security treatment, property tax, and sales tax together.
Cost index
88.8
Property tax
0.4%
Sales tax
9.5%
Social Security
Not taxed
All state pages
Neutral landscape
The shape of the question
The first fork is spending. BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey tables are useful public benchmarks, but they do not replace a household budget.
Source trail: BLS
The second fork is reliable income. SSA says Social Security depends on personal earnings history and claiming age, so the official estimator is the better starting point than an average.
The third fork is taxes. IRS Publication 915 covers Social Security taxation, and IRS tax-year adjustments set federal bracket and deduction context.
Source trail: IRS: Publication 915: Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, IRS: Tax Inflation Adjustments
The fourth fork is withdrawal pace. Morningstar treats safe withdrawal rates as assumptions that change with the portfolio, inflation, and retirement length.
Source trail: Morningstar
Curator core
What the authorities say
These sources are here for the reader who wants to check the work. The plain-English answer stays above them.
Source 01
CFPB
Planning for Retirement
CFPB retirement resources help consumers compare retirement timing, Social Security, and income choices.
Source framing
CFPB frames retirement decisions as consumer choices that can be compared before action.
Strongest for: neutral consumer planning context
Read at CFPBSource 02
BLS
Consumer Expenditure Surveys Tables
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey tables show spending patterns by age and household type.
Source framing
BLS publishes spending tables that can be used as public benchmarks, not personal budgets.
Strongest for: retirement spending benchmarks
Read at BLSSource 03
SSA.gov
Retirement Estimator
SSA explains how workers can estimate future benefits using their own earnings record.
Source framing
SSA points people to personal estimates because benefits depend on earnings history and claiming age.
Strongest for: personal Social Security estimates
Read at SSA.govSource 04
SSA Monthly Statistical Snapshot
Monthly Statistical Snapshot
SSA publishes current average monthly benefit amounts in its statistical snapshot.
Source framing
SSA snapshots show current average benefits, which are benchmarks rather than personal estimates.
Strongest for: current Social Security benefit benchmarks
Read at SSA Monthly Statistical SnapshotSource 05
IRS
Publication 915: Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
Publication 915 explains the federal combined-income test for taxable Social Security benefits.
Source framing
IRS uses combined income and filing status to determine whether part of a Social Security benefit is taxable.
Strongest for: federal taxation of Social Security benefits
Read at IRSSource 06
IRS
Tax Inflation Adjustments
The IRS annual inflation adjustment release is the primary source for federal brackets, standard deductions, and selected thresholds.
Source framing
IRS updates tax brackets, standard deductions, and many tax thresholds each year for inflation.
Strongest for: current federal tax-year thresholds
Read at IRSSource 07
Morningstar
The State of Retirement Income
Morningstar retirement income research studies starting withdrawal rates, asset mixes, and planning horizons.
Source framing
Morningstar frames withdrawal rates as assumptions that change with market returns, inflation, time horizon, and asset mix.
Strongest for: safe withdrawal rate research context
Read at MorningstarSource 08
Federal Reserve
Survey of Consumer Finances
The Survey of Consumer Finances reports household balance sheets, retirement accounts, debt, and net worth.
Source framing
The Federal Reserve publishes household finance data that can benchmark savings, debt, and account ownership.
Strongest for: household balance sheet benchmarks
Read at Federal ReservePlain-English forks
The forks people face
Most retirement questions hide a few smaller decisions. These are the practical pieces that change the plan.
What does the household want to spend?
Why it matters: The plan starts with annual spending because that is the bill the retirement assets have to carry.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: Use BLS for a benchmark and the journey for the household number.
What income arrives without selling savings?
Why it matters: Social Security, pensions, and annuities change the gap that savings must cover.
In real life: This changes when checks begin, how large they are, and how much pressure stays on savings in the early years.
What to look at: Use SSA for benefits and PBGC or plan documents for pensions.
How much is taxable?
Why it matters: Traditional account withdrawals, Roth withdrawals, taxable accounts, and Social Security can land differently on a tax return.
In real life: This changes when checks begin, how large they are, and how much pressure stays on savings in the early years.
What to look at: Use IRS Publication 915 and IRS annual tax adjustments.
How long does the road need to run?
Why it matters: A longer retirement makes the same spending level harder to carry.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: Use withdrawal-rate research as context, then test the personal plan.
Common questions
Quick answers
Short, plain answers for the questions people usually have next. The source trail stays available below.
Is there one national retirement number?+
No single official source gives one number that fits everyone. BLS publishes spending benchmarks, SSA publishes benefit tools, and IRS rules affect taxes.
Why does spending come first?+
Spending is the bill the plan has to pay. BLS tables help with a benchmark, but the useful number is the household monthly spending.
Does Social Security lower the number?+
Social Security can reduce how much savings must cover. SSA says benefit amounts depend on earnings history and claiming age.
Do taxes change the retirement number?+
Yes. IRS rules can affect traditional withdrawals, taxable income, and Social Security taxation.
Is the 25 times spending rule enough?+
That shortcut can frame the question, but Morningstar research treats withdrawal rates as sensitive to returns, inflation, time horizon, and asset mix.
Where does home equity fit?+
Home equity can affect housing choices, debt, and later-life flexibility. CFPB treats home-equity products as consumer decisions with costs and obligations.
How this page is curated
The Retirement Atlas does not give financial advice. This page curates named sources selected for authority, clarity, and usefulness. Every source is linked, and pages are reviewed quarterly and any time SSA, IRS, or CMS publish a change that affects the topic.
Read the planner methodologyTrust anchor
Sources used on this page
Every source named above is listed here in one place.
BLS. Consumer Expenditure Surveys Tables
https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htmCFPB. Planning for Retirement
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/retirement/Federal Reserve. Survey of Consumer Finances
https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htmIRS. Publication 915: Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p915IRS. Tax Inflation Adjustments
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-billMorningstar. The State of Retirement Income
https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/state-retirement-incomeSSA Monthly Statistical Snapshot. Monthly Statistical Snapshot
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/SSA.gov. Retirement Estimator
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html
Before you act on this
This plan is educational. It is not personalized financial, tax, or insurance advice. Projections illustrate the math, they do not predict the future. Talk to your own licensed financial professional before acting on any of it.