She Fears Her Savings Won’t Last to Her 100th Birthday. Her $2,170 Social Security Check Could Pay $781,200 Over 30 Years Even If Her IRA Runs Dry
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Picture a 70-year-old woman who checks her IRA balance more often than the weather. Her mother lived into her late 90s. Each time she sits down with a calculator, she gets the same answer: if she reaches 100, her savings could run out years before she does.
She has plenty of company. One retirement planner recently claimed that the “No. 1 fear of retirees” is outliving their money. The prospect of another 30 years makes that worry especially real.
Let’s give her a monthly benefit of $2,170. That’s Social Security’s estimated average for retired workers after the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) takes effect. It’s a national average, so her real check could be higher or lower. Even so, that one number changes how her fear looks.
How a $2,170 Check Grows Over Three Decades
At a flat $2,170, she collects $26,040 a year. By age 85, that comes to $390,600. If she reaches 100, it comes to $781,200.
These are simple totals that leave out any raises or deductions. They also set aside life expectancy and the present value of her benefit. They reveal something her IRA statement never will: the longer she lives, the more Social Security pays her.
Why Her Check Keeps Coming After Her IRA Runs Dry
An IRA is a pot of money. Withdrawals, market drops and extra birthdays all shrink it. Social Security retirement benefits generally last for life, whether she lives to 85 or 105. Living longer adds to what she collects.
The payment can also grow. The 2027 COLA is 3.6%, which raises the average retired worker’s check from $2,095 to $2,170.
These raises aren’t promised every year. There was no COLA at all in 2009, 2010, and 2015.
Long-term funding matters too. Social Security’s trustees project that the retirement and survivors trust fund will run out of reserves in 2032, when continuing income would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts. Her $781,200 example assumes no such cut. Even if benefits are cut, payments would continue at a lower level. An IRA that hits zero simply stops paying.
What $2,170 Can Cover, and Where It Falls Short
A check that lasts for life sets a floor under her budget. Several costs take a bite out of it before it lands in her bank account.
Medicare comes first. At the 2026 standard Part B premium of about $203, her $2,170 benefit would leave a deposit of about $1,967, assuming she pays the standard premium.
Taxes come next. Add half of her benefit to all her other income, including IRA withdrawals. If that total tops $25,000 for a single filer, part of her Social Security becomes taxable, potentially reaching 85% of her benefits once income climbs higher. Additional IRA withdrawals can make more of her benefit taxable. A big withdrawal in one year can cost more than it seems.
Inflation works more silently. A research price index that tracks families age 62 and older rose 3.9% over the past year. That’s a bit more than the 3.6% COLA, mostly because housing and medical care make up a bigger share of older households’ spending.
Then there are the large late-life bills: a new roof, a hospital stay with its $1,736 Part A deductible, or months of long-term care, which Medicare mostly doesn’t pay for. Her $2,170 won’t stretch that far. Her savings still need to handle emergencies. Social Security can help cover everyday expenses without forcing her to tap her IRA.
Moves That Ease the Fear of Living Too Long
First, think about the IRA’s job differently. At 70, she has already earned every delayed-claiming bonus, so her monthly check is as big as it will get, apart from COLAs. If that check covers her basic bills, the IRA can become a reserve for surprises and big one-time costs instead of her whole paycheck. Smaller, steadier withdrawals help the money last longer and keep her taxable income from rising.
Second, taking large amounts from savings out of fear can backfire. That can make more of her benefit taxable and leave less for the very years she’s worried about. How she spends in her 70s matters more than most people expect.
She can’t control whether she lives to 85 or 100. Either way, the check keeps coming, and that gives her a steady floor under her budget. Details like a pension, state income taxes or a spouse’s record can change the numbers, so it’s worth running her own figures with her Social Security statement in hand.
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Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
