Here’s How Much You Need Invested to Replace a Social Security Check
Written by
Travis Woods
Edited by
Angela Corry
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To counter the steady accretion of inflation in America, the Social Security Administration (SSI) recently announced a 2.8% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. Per the AARP, this will increase the average retiree’s benefits by approximately $56, increasing the SSA checks from $2,015 to $2,071 monthly (or $24,852 yearly).
For those retirees who do not receive SSI benefits (or for those who do and wish to double their monthly income) that COLA of 2.8% changes how much you have to invest in various ventures in order to now receive payouts of $2,071 monthly. Here’s how much you need to have invested to replace the 2026 Social Security check — and how to calculate it.
Utilizing the 4% Rule
To determine how much you need invested to replace a Social Security check, you can utilize the 4% rule, which states you can withdraw 4% of your investment portfolio yearly throughout retirement. Essentially, you must divide your annual income (in this case, the COLA of $24,852 per year in SSI benefits) by 4%.
That calculus equals $621,300 — meaning that you must have $621,300 invested in order to afford an annual 4% withdrawal throughout your retirement.
Where to Invest
To achieve a minimum investment level of approximately $621,300, you have a variety of options. Low-risk investments include high-yield savings, government bonds and CDs. High-risk opportunities involve stock index funds like S&P 500 ETFs or individual dividend stocks. You could also split the difference with more medium-risk investments such as balanced mutual funds, which include a mix of stocks and bonds.
The Bottom Line
To match the recent Social Security COLA that raises monthly benefits to $2,071 monthly, you much have an investment fund of at least $621,300, which would allow you to withdraw exactly $2,071 per month from your investment accounts.
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