If you’re not yet retired, you probably know someone who’s collecting Social Security each month. You may have a relative, neighbor, or former colleague who relies on those benefits to cover their retirement expenses.

But there’s a big mistake retirees commonly make when it comes to Social Security. And if you’re not yet retired, it’s a major blunder you can do your part to avoid.

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Don’t try to retire on Social Security alone

The average retiree on Social Security today collects about $1,920 a month, or about $23,000 per year. But think about what your life in retirement might look like if that’s pretty much all the income you have.

Will you be able to comfortably cover your property taxes on a paid-off home? Will you have enough money to maintain your home?

What about transportation? Will you be able to swing car payments if your current vehicle runs out of steam? Will you be OK to manage your auto insurance premiums if they rise following a minor accident?

Then there’s healthcare to consider. Fidelity says that a 65-year-old person retiring today might spend $165,000 on healthcare throughout retirement, taking various out-of-pocket costs on Medicare into account. If you retire on Social Security alone, you risk having to resort to drastic measures, like skipping medication doses because you can’t afford your prescriptions.

To be clear, relying too heavily on Social Security is something far too many people do already. The Social Security Administration says that among beneficiaries ages 65 and older, 12% of men and 15% of women count on Social Security for 90% or more of their incomes.

A good way to avoid financial struggles in retirement

Not only will Social Security only replace a relatively small portion of your pre-retirement paycheck (generally, about 40% if you earn an average wage), but you might also end up getting less money out of the program if there are benefit cuts in the future. The program’s Trustees project that benefit cuts may occur as early as 2035, which is when Social Security’s combined trust funds are expected to run out of money.

For all these reasons, you don’t want to retire on Social Security alone. And if you make an effort to save for retirement, you shouldn’t have to.

It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money on a monthly basis to end up with a decent-sized nest egg that supplements your Social Security checks nicely. If you have 30 years between now and retirement, try contributing $250 a month to an IRA or 401(k) plan if you have access to one through your employer. The benefit of opting for a 401(k) over an IRA is that there may be an employer match that pads your contributions.

If you save $250 a month over 30 years at an average annual 8% return, which is a little bit below the stock market’s average, you’ll have about $340,000 to work with once your retirement kicks off. If you then withdraw from your savings at a rate of 4% per year, as many financial experts recommend, that will give you a $13,600 supplement to your Social Security income each year. And that buys you a lot more breathing room.

You might think that the biggest Social Security mistake you can make in retirement is signing up for benefits too early. But actually, the biggest mistake is assuming you can live on Social Security alone and making little effort to save because of that.

If you attempt to retire on just Social Security, your senior years may be downright miserable. So it’s best not to put yourself in that situation.

The $22,924 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

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