Social Security income is vital to the middle-class retiree

Social Security was signed into law 90 years ago, and it has become the cornerstone of retirement security in America. Yet Social Security replaces only a portion of pre-retirement income, averaging some 40%. That’s why most retirees rely on other income sources, including 67-year-old Todd Kneebone.

Todd has some time on his hands these days, and he has been taking electric guitar lessons. In his apartment outside the Twin Cities in Minnesota, he plays a few riffs from Led Zeppelin while his cat, Jasper, quietly looks on. “It's completely fun,” he said. “You know to get some little riff that pleases you, and then to play it over and over.”

Todd has had time to practice since he’s been recovering from a hip replacement. But now that he’s better, he’s job hunting. “Right now, I’m about to start looking for work. We'll hope somebody employs me, 67 years old,” he said.

Like many retirees, Todd had an eclectic career. He worked for some 15 years in restaurants as a chef, and much more. “I've been other forms of restaurant worker, steward and chief bottle washer and bartender,” he chuckled.

While working in restaurants, Todd went to college and eventually got a master’s degree in social work. He had a variety of jobs in that industry, mostly working for nonprofits and for-profits that help people with mental illness. He also owned his own agency for a time.

These days, Todd cobbles together his retirement income. First, he rents out a house in Duluth on Lake Superior, where he used to live. “It's a pretty big place, a two-bedroom house that overlooks the lake,” he said. “It's been a vehicle for me living somewhere else.”

That “somewhere else” is the small apartment he rents in Vadnais Heights, a Twin Cities suburb. He earns enough from his Duluth home to cover the rent on his apartment.

But key to paying the rest of Todd’s bills is his Social Security check of nearly $1,700 a month. “It's half of my income,” said Todd. “So, it's very important.”

All cobbled together, he lives off of less than $30,000 a year. That’s less than half of what he earned before retirement. “It's not much,” he said. “There's no margin for error.”

Little wonder he’s careful with his budget. For instance, he recently eliminated his XM radio subscription. “Certain things get more marginal, when you're running closer to the level of all your necessities,” he said.

Like many retirees who are piecing it together, he’d love to have more breathing room in his budget. But for now, he’s getting by.