Key Insights from 24/7 Wall St. A larger Social Security benefit takes the pressure off your savings. Think about your desired retirement lifestyle and plan for one-off expenses. Use a time-tested withdrawal rate to figure out what nest egg to aim for.

The timing of filing for Social Security benefits is one of the most important decisions senior Americans must make. But few think about the implications filing early or late in life has on widowed spouses,

And while a strong stock market may have raised that number since that data was collected, the reality is that many retirees today have minimal savings given their life expectancies. For this reason,

Social Security is not a retirement fund—it's a transfer program, taking income from the payrolls of current workers and giving it to retirees. Generally, these retirees are already wealthier than the workers subsidizing them.