What does a retirement budget need that a working budget does not?
It has to follow income from several sources and costs that arrive once or twice a year. While you worked, one paycheck came in with tax already withheld, and most bills were monthly. In retirement the money comes from Social Security, perhaps a pension or annuity, and withdrawals you decide on yourself. Tax is withheld only if you ask for it. Medicare premiums come out of Social Security before it reaches your bank. Property tax, insurance renewals and the big trip each arrive as one large bill.
A budget built for a paycheck handles all of this badly. This template is organised the other way round: income by source, before tax; fixed monthly bills with Medicare and income tax listed as bills of their own; variable spending; and a separate block for annual and irregular bills, entered at the yearly amount and spread over twelve months. The Summary tab then answers the question most retirees are really asking: how much of what we spend do Social Security and the pension cover, and how much has to come from the portfolio?
None of this needs special software. A spreadsheet you own, in your own Google account, does the job and costs nothing, and you can see every formula.
How should Social Security, pensions and withdrawals go in?
Enter each at the gross amount, before anything is deducted, and list the deductions as bills. Your Social Security benefit letter shows the full benefit, then the Medicare premiums taken from it, then the net deposit. If you enter only the deposit, Medicare vanishes from the budget, and so does the reason your deposit changes each January. Benefits rose 2.8% for 2026 (SSA), and the new figure is on the letter in your my Social Security account each December.
Tax is not withheld from Social Security unless you file Form W-4V, and then only at 7%, 10%, 12% or 22% of each payment (IRS Form W-4V). IRA withdrawals paid on demand carry 10% withholding by default, and Form W-4R lets you choose any rate from 0% to 100% (IRS). Whatever you choose, put the total tax for the year in the budget as a monthly bill: withholding, plus any quarterly estimates, divided by twelve.
Withdrawals from IRAs and brokerage accounts are the one income line you control. Enter the monthly amount you plan to move to checking, even if you actually move it quarterly or once a year. The order in which you draw on taxable, tax-deferred and Roth accounts changes the tax bill a great deal; our guide to retirement withdrawal order covers it, and the RMD calculator shows the minimum you must take from 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later.
How do Medicare premiums and IRMAA fit in?
As fixed monthly bills, one line per premium. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month per person (CMS), so a married couple both on Medicare pays $405.80 a month before any supplement or drug plan. The template has separate lines for Part B, an IRMAA surcharge, a Medigap or Medicare Advantage premium, and Part D.
IRMAA, the income-related surcharge, applies when modified adjusted gross income on your tax return from two years earlier was above $109,000 single or $218,000 joint: 2026 premiums are set by 2024 income. At the first tier the Part B premium rises to $284.10 a month per person, and a Part D surcharge is added too (CMS). A large Roth conversion, a home sale or a year of heavy capital gains can therefore raise premiums two years later. Budget for that the year you take the income, not the year the letter arrives. If your income fell because you stopped working, Form SSA-44 asks Social Security to use the more recent year. Our guide to Medicare enrollment and IRMAA sets out every tier.
Out-of-pocket health costs belong in variable spending: dental, vision and hearing aids, which Original Medicare largely does not cover, plus copays and the Part B deductible. If you carry long-term-care insurance, the premium usually goes in the annual block. Our healthcare cost estimator projects these costs further ahead.
Why enter the annual bills at their yearly amount?
Because that is the figure on the bill, and because the monthly budget only balances if their share is set aside every month. In the pre-filled example the annual block totals $47,950, or $3,996 a month. That is more than the couple's entire variable spending, and it is the part of a retirement budget most often left out.
| Bill | Why it is easy to miss |
|---|---|
| Property tax | Often paid in one or two installments, or once through a mortgage escrow that ended when the loan did |
| Home, auto and umbrella insurance | Renewals come once a year, and premiums have risen fast in many states |
| Long-term-care insurance | Often billed annually, and older policies can see premium increases |
| Estimated tax payments | Due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 if withholding does not cover the year (IRS) |
| Travel, gifts and family help | Irregular, large, and the spending retirees most want to protect |
| Home repairs and a car fund | A roof or a replacement car is certain; only the year is not |
The Bill Calendar tab places each bill in the month it is due and tracks the balance of your spending account through the year. In the example, June's travel and November's property tax are the two months the account falls; everything else refills it. If your lowest month goes below zero, move money from the portfolio ahead of it rather than selling in a hurry. Some retirees take their whole IRA withdrawal in December with enough tax withheld to cover the year: withholding counts as if paid evenly through the year, so it can replace quarterly estimates (IRS Publication 505).
What does the budget tell you about your withdrawals?
It turns spending into a withdrawal rate you can test. Spending for the year, less Social Security and pensions, is what the portfolio has to cover. In the example that gap is $35,780, or 2.0% of a $1,800,000 portfolio, while the couple plans to withdraw 3.0% and bank the difference. Those two numbers are the honest inputs to the question every retiree asks: is this sustainable?
Take the gap figure to the retirement withdrawal calculator to see how long the portfolio lasts across many market paths, or to how much you need to retire if you are still some years away. The money set aside each month is for the cash reserve that carries you through a market fall without selling; the cash reserve calculator sizes it in years of withdrawals.
Is a budget in Google Sheets private?
Your copy is as private as the rest of your Google account. It lives in your Drive, under your login, and there is no link back to us: we never see what you type. The real protection is the account itself, so turn on 2-Step Verification and use a strong password you do not use anywhere else.
Keep the budget to amounts. Do not put account numbers, passwords, your Social Security number or answers to security questions in the sheet, especially one you share. Treat unexpected emails that ask you to “re-share” or “verify” a financial document as suspect; our guide to investment scam red flags covers the patterns aimed at retirees. Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you choose someone to be notified, and to receive chosen files, if your account goes unused for a period you set, which is worth setting up alongside the rest of your estate plan.
Google Sheets or Excel: which version should you use?
Use Google Sheets if you want to share the budget or open it on a tablet or phone; use Excel if you prefer the file on your own computer and nowhere else. The layout and formulas are identical, and the Excel file also opens in LibreOffice Calc and Apple Numbers. You can switch later: File, Download, Microsoft Excel turns a Sheets copy into an .xlsx, and an .xlsx uploaded to Drive opens in Sheets.
How often should you update it?
A short check once a month and a proper reset each January. Monthly, compare actual spending with the budget for the two or three categories that drift, usually dining, travel and help for family. Each January, enter the new Social Security amounts from the benefit letter, the new Medicare premiums, any IRMAA notice, the year's required minimum distribution, and the new property tax and insurance bills. Then make a copy of the file for the new year, so last year's actual spending stays on record. After two or three years you will have the most useful number in retirement planning: what you really spend.