Educational PurposeThis worksheet helps individuals and couples estimate and manage monthly expenses during retirement. Complete it before retirement and review at least annually or after a significant change in income, health, housing, or family responsibilities.
1. Retirement Budget Information
Name or household
Month and year
Retirement status
- Preparing for retirement
- Partially retired
- Fully retired
- Reviewing an existing retirement plan
People included in this budget
Next review date
2. Expected Monthly Retirement Income
Record income expected during the month.
| Income source | Expected | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security — Adult 1 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Social Security — Adult 2 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Pension — Adult 1 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Pension — Adult 2 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Annuity income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Retirement-account withdrawals | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Investment income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Rental income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Business income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Part-time employment | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total monthly income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Income expected to continue for life
Income that may change or end
3. Housing Expenses
| Housing expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Rent or mortgage | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Property taxes | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Homeowners or renters insurance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Homeowners association fees | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Electricity | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Water, sewer, or trash | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Gas | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Internet and telephone | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Home maintenance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Lawn or household assistance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total housing expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Housing cost expected to change in retirement
4. Food and Household Expenses
| Expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Household supplies | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Personal-care items | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Dining out or takeout | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Meal delivery or assistance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total food and household expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
5. Healthcare Expenses
Include expenses not fully covered by insurance.
| Healthcare expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Medicare premiums | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Medicare supplement or Advantage plan | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Prescription-drug coverage | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other health-insurance premiums | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Copayments and deductibles | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Prescriptions | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Dental care | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Vision and hearing care | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Medical equipment or supplies | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Therapy or rehabilitation | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Long-term-care expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total healthcare expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Healthcare expense most likely to increase
6. Transportation Expenses
| Expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle payment | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Auto insurance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Fuel | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Maintenance and repairs | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Registration and inspection | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Parking or tolls | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Public transportation | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Rideshare or transportation assistance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total transportation expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
7. Insurance and Protection Expenses
| Expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Life insurance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Long-term-care insurance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Umbrella or liability insurance | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Property insurance not listed above | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other coverage | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total protection expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
8. Debt Payments
| Debt | Minimum | Extra | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage or home-equity debt | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Credit card 1 | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Credit card 2 | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Vehicle loan | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Medical debt | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Personal loan | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total debt payments | $ ______ | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Debt expected to be paid off first
Expected payoff date
9. Taxes
Retirement income may still be subject to federal, state, or local taxes.
| Tax expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income-tax withholding | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| State income-tax withholding | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Estimated tax payments | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Property taxes not included above | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other taxes | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total tax expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Tax question requiring professional review
10. Family Responsibilities and Giving
| Expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Support for adult children | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Support for grandchildren | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Support for aging relatives | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Gifts and celebrations | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Charitable or religious giving | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other family obligations | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total family and giving expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Monthly limit for family support
11. Lifestyle and Flexible Spending
| Expense | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Travel | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Entertainment | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Hobbies | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Clubs or memberships | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Clothing | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Hair, beauty, or grooming | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Personal spending — Adult 1 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Personal spending — Adult 2 | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total lifestyle spending | $ ______ | $ ______ |
12. Savings and Reserves
Retirement does not eliminate the need to prepare for future expenses.
| Savings purpose | Planned contribution | Actual contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency reserve | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Home-repair fund | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Vehicle-replacement fund | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Healthcare reserve | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Travel fund | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Family-support reserve | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Tax reserve | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total savings and reserves | $ ______ | $ ______ |
13. Annual and Irregular Expenses
Divide annual expenses by 12 to estimate the monthly amount that should be reserved.
| Annual or irregular expense | Annual amount | Monthly reserve |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Insurance premiums | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Home repairs | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Vehicle repairs or registration | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Medical or dental expenses | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Travel | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Holidays and gifts | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Professional or legal services | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Other | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total monthly reserve needed | $ ______ | $ ______ |
14. Monthly Retirement Budget Summary
| Category | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Total retirement income | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Housing | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Food and household | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Healthcare | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Transportation | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Insurance and protection | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Debt payments | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Taxes | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Family support and giving | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Lifestyle spending | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Savings and reserves | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Irregular-expense reserve | $ ______ | $ ______ |
| Total expenses and reserves | $ ______ | $ ______ |
Planned monthly result (total planned income − total planned expenses and reserves)
Actual monthly result (total actual income − total actual expenses and reserves)
15. Essential-Income Review
Total essential monthly expenses (housing, food, healthcare, transportation, insurance, taxes, minimum debt, necessary family)
Dependable monthly income (Social Security, pensions, contractual annuity income)
Essential-income gap (essential expenses − dependable income)
Are essential expenses fully covered?
- Yes
- No
- Partly
- More information is needed
16. When the Budget Shows a Gap
- Reduce flexible spending
- Reduce family-support commitments
- Pay off debt before retirement
- Delay retirement
- Work part-time
- Adjust retirement-account withdrawals
- Delay certain retirement benefits
- Review guaranteed-income options
- Downsize housing
- Increase savings before retirement
- Use planned reserves
- Other
Amount that must be addressed
First adjustment to investigate
17. When the Budget Shows a Surplus
- Emergency savings
- Healthcare reserve
- Home or vehicle repairs
- Future inflation protection
- Debt reduction
- Travel or family goals
- Investments
- Charitable giving
- Other
Planned use of the surplus
Amount
18. Inflation Review
Mark the expenses most likely to rise.
- Housing
- Property taxes
- Utilities
- Food
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Transportation
- Family support
- Long-term care
- Other
Current estimated monthly expenses
Estimated expenses after applying a future increase
Income sources expected to increase
Income sources expected to remain level
19. Survivor Budget Review
Estimate the budget after the death of one spouse or partner.
Monthly income while both are living
Estimated monthly income after the first death
Monthly expenses expected to continue
Expenses expected to decrease
Survivor monthly gap or surplus
Income source most likely to stop or decrease
Action needed to strengthen survivor security
20. End-of-Month Review
Did actual income match the plan?
- Yes
- No
- Mostly
Which expense exceeded the budget?
Why?
- Estimate was too low
- Price increased
- Emergency occurred
- Spending was not tracked
- Irregular expense was overlooked
- Other
Which expense was lower than expected?
Did we withdraw more from retirement accounts than planned?
- No
- Yes (amount)
Did we use emergency savings?
- No
- Yes (amount)
One adjustment for next month
Monthly Retirement Budget Checklist
Confirm that you have:
- Listed all expected income
- Separated dependable and variable income
- Estimated essential expenses
- Included healthcare costs
- Included taxes
- Included debt payments
- Included family responsibilities
- Planned flexible spending
- Reserved for annual expenses
- Maintained emergency savings
- Calculated the monthly gap or surplus
- Reviewed inflation concerns
- Considered survivor income
- Compared planned and actual spending
- Identified one adjustment for the next month
The TrueWealth Takeaway™
A retirement budget connects income with the life that income must support. A useful plan accounts for more than routine bills — it also prepares for healthcare, taxes, inflation, home and vehicle repairs, family responsibilities, survivor needs, and unexpected expenses.
— The TrueWealth Perspective™
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Educational Disclaimer: This material is provided for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, insurance, legal, tax, or investment advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult qualified professionals before making financial or insurance decisions.