Retirement Budget
In retirement, the paycheck gets replaced by several smaller streams (Social Security, maybe a pension, withdrawals from savings), and the bills keep coming. This free, simple spreadsheet and printable worksheet puts money coming in next to money going out. Plan a typical month, fill in what actually happened as the year goes, and it shows your monthly surplus or shortfall, year-to-date totals, averages, and how you're tracking against your plan. Expense categories are built for retirement, with healthcare and Medicare lines included. A separate list handles yearly and irregular bills so they don't catch you off guard. It also flags a common mistake: counting your Medicare premium twice when it comes out of your Social Security check.
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What's included
- Spreadsheet (
retirement-budget.xlsx) — works in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. No macros. Not tied to one year: the budget year is a cell you change. - Start Here — steps, color key, tips (gross vs. net Social Security, taxes, withdrawals, links to related trackers), an earnings-test awareness note, and sources.
- Budget — 10 income lines and 41 expense lines in 10 groups (Housing, Healthcare, Food, Transportation, Insurance & taxes, Personal & household, Fun & travel, Family & giving, Debt payments, Savings & set-asides). Planned vs. actual columns, group subtotals, and a surplus/shortfall row.
- Summary — planned vs. actual, months with a shortfall, healthcare share of spending, spending by category, an income-vs-expenses chart, and notes.
- Irregular — 25 rows for yearly or irregular bills; the total feeds the Budget's set-aside line.
- Worked example — a fictional retired couple, January–September.
- Printable PDF companion (3 letter-size pages) — guide and tips, one-month planned/actual worksheet, yearly rollup grid, and irregular-expenses list.
Built with retirement in mind
- Healthcare and Medicare expense lines are included from the start.
- A double-count warning when Social Security is entered as net but a Part B premium is also listed.
- An earnings-test awareness note for people collecting Social Security before full retirement age (2026 limits: $24,480 under FRA all year; $65,160 in the year you reach FRA).
Related free tools: Medicare Costs Tracker · RMD Worksheet · Earnings-Test Tracker · Earnings test calculator.
Disclaimer. RetireTally is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Social Security Administration, Medicare, the IRS, or any government agency. The Retirement Budget is for general information and personal record-keeping only. It is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice, and it doesn't tell you how much you can safely spend or withdraw from savings. Totals are based only on what you enter.
Already signed up? After confirming your email, download from the thanks page, or use these stable links: Excel / Sheets (.xlsx) · Printable PDF.