You're going to need to find ways to support yourself in retirement.
Social Security is one option available to you, and you should qualify for retirement benefits as long as you've worked and earned work credits for 10 or more years. Savings is another income source -- one you'll hopefully have available to you if you've put money into a retirement account throughout your career.
But what if Social Security and savings aren't enough? It may be time to branch out and consider other options for earning retirement income -- including the following three funding sources you may have overlooked.
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1. Income from a job
Retiring doesn't automatically mean you have to stop earning a paycheck. Plenty of people opt to work in some capacity in retirement. Whether this is consulting in your field, working part-time for a past employer, or starting a new career, working during retirement can be a great unexpected source of funds.
Bringing in money from a job as a retiree means you don't have to tap into savings as much, but you should be aware that your Social Security benefits could be impacted if you earn too much prior to your full retirement age.
The good news is, even if you do earn enough income that benefits checks are reduced, you'll eventually get bigger Social Security payments later if you forfeited some benefits in the short term. This can really pay off if you end up increasing the size of future retirement benefits you need to rely on more later in retirement when working becomes harder.
2. HSA distributions
Most people think of their 401(k) or IRAs when considering where their retirement money will come from. But a health savings account (HSA) can also be an unexpected source of funds as well.
HSAs are meant to help you afford healthcare. If you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan, you can make tax-deductible contributions to them. You do not have to use the money as you put it in, though. You can invest it and allow the account to grow.
As a retiree, you can take money out of your HSA without being taxed on your distributions if you use it for qualifying healthcare expenses. Since medical care is often a big expenditure for seniors, the ability to take tax-free distributions from this account can provide substantial savings. And you also have the option to withdraw money from your HSA for anything you'd like without penalty after age 65, although you would be taxed on the distributions at your ordinary income tax rate.
If you have the ability to contribute to an HSA, consider doing so in order to invest this money and have it as an income source as a retiree.
3. Getting money from your home
Finally, if you are a homeowner, your house could help supplement your income in a number of different ways as a senior.
You could rent out a room or your entire house if you are traveling, look into getting equity out of the home with a reverse mortgage, or sell the house and downsize to a smaller and cheaper place while investing the extra money you walk away with to provide you with more income to live on.
Consider whether any of these three unexpected sources of retirement income will help you have a more secure retirement.
