3 Ways to Supplement Your Social Security Income Before 2026 Ends

3 weeks ago 22

Bram Berkowitz, The Motley Fool

Wed, August 5, 2026 astatine 8:20 AM CDT 4 min read

Each month, Social Security pays retired benefits to tens of millions of Americans, the immense bulk of whom are retirees. While Social Security is simply a captious programme that provides a cardinal root of income, it's seldom a retiree's sole root of income.

In June, the mean monthly payment for retirees was astir $2,084 oregon conscionable implicit $25,000 annually. That's apt not capable to enactment astir people's lifestyles.

Missed Nvidia successful 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" awesome flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the archetypal clip successful years, that aforesaid "Total Conviction" awesome is flashing for a institution 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

While galore retirees person built up astatine slightest immoderate savings passim their lives, it's inactive communal for them to proceed uncovering ways to boost their income adjacent aft claiming Social Security. Here are 3 ways to supplement your Social Security income earlier 2026 ends.

Person connected  laptop.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Buy dividend stocks

Investing successful dividend stocks tin beryllium a bully mode to make reliable yearly passive income. There whitethorn besides beryllium an accidental for appreciation. Dividend stocks tin assistance your wealth support gait with ostentation and besides enactment immoderate wealth successful your pouch each year.

However, it's important to recognize that not each dividend stocks are the same. Those with precocious yields look appealing but whitethorn really awesome hazard to the institution oregon look precocious aft a banal has been crushed by an underlying issue.

The cardinal to choosing bully dividend stocks is uncovering companies that make capable net and escaped currency travel to screen the yearly dividend and besides rise it successful aboriginal years. Investing successful companies with beardown way records is different bully idea.

A fewer stocks that travel to caput are Coca-Cola and Realty Income, which person beardown way records and concern models. Investors tin besides hunt done The Motley Fool's database of Dividend Kings for ideas. A Dividend King is simply a publically traded institution that has paid and raised its yearly dividend for astatine slightest 50 years.

If purchasing idiosyncratic stocks inactive feels excessively risky, see investing successful the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, which tracks an scale of stocks known for the prime and sustainability of their dividends. The exchange-traded money has a trailing output of 3.3% and is up astir 32% implicit the past 5 years.

Sure, the broader banal marketplace outperformed, but the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF is little volatile and pays that dependable yearly income.

2. Get a part-time occupation

A part-time occupation is besides different mode to supplement your Social Security income. While immoderate radical discontinue to halt working, the modulation for those who person worked for decades tin beryllium difficult.

Read Entire Article