Map Your Retirement Income Sources With Confidence
Your spending picture is only half the story. This page helps you see which income sources can reliably cover your essentials—and which ones can flex with your lifestyle.
Download the Income Sources Guide (PDF)
Start With Steady Income for Your Essentials
Think of your essential expenses—housing, utilities, basic food, and healthcare—as the non-negotiables of your retirement budget. These are the bills that keep the lights on and your life stable.
The goal is to match those essentials with income sources that are reliable and predictable, such as:
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Social Security – Inflation-adjusted lifetime benefits based on your work history.
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Pensions – Employer-provided monthly income, if available.
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Lifetime or Fixed Annuities – Contracts that can provide guaranteed payments for a set period or for life.
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HECM Tenure Payments (for eligible homeowners) – Reverse mortgage payments that can supplement steady income.
When essential expenses are covered by steady income, market ups and downs feel much less stressful.
Use Flexible Income to Support Your Lifestyle
Discretionary spending—travel, hobbies, dining out, gifts, and “fun money”—doesn’t have to be perfectly level every year. That’s why it often makes sense to use more flexible income sources here:
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Portfolio Withdrawals – Systematic withdrawals from your investment accounts.
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RMDs and Other Tax-Deferred Withdrawals – Required minimum distributions and additional withdrawals, when needed.
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HECM Line of Credit Draws and/or Tenure Payments – Optional draws and pension-like payments that can supplement your portfolio in certain years.
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Part-Time Work or Consulting – Extra income that can be dialed up or down.
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Rental Income – Income from investment property, where cash flow may vary.
These sources can be adjusted over time, giving you room to respond to markets, tax changes, and shifting priorities.
Align Your Income With Your Spending
A sustainable retirement income plan connects three pieces:
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Your spending categories – Essentials vs. discretionary.
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Your income types – Steady vs. flexible sources.
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Your comfort with adjustments – How much you’re willing to trim (or increase) spending when markets move.
When those pieces are aligned:
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Essentials are covered by income you can count on.
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Lifestyle spending is backed by sources that can flex with the markets.
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You have a clear sense of what can change in a difficult year—and what doesn’t have to.
Next Step: Organize Your Own Income Sources
Use the quick-reference guide to list your income sources and decide which expenses they’re best suited to cover. It’s a simple way to see how close you are to the retirement paycheck you want.