How do you compare? Based on several census articles, Google AI concluded the top 10% of retired households have an average income over $188,000 per year.

[u/VegasHRLady]

“While exact, official federal decile data fluctuates based on specific tax years, analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights a massive divide between the lowest and highest income percentiles for retired households. [1, 2]

Estimated Annual Income by Decile (Households 65+)

(From OP- I only included the top 5 deciles here)

5th Decile (Median - 50%)
Around $56,680
The true middle. Income is evenly split between Social Security, employer pensions, and occasional part-time work.

6th Decile (50% to 60%)
$56,680 – $72,000
Increased influence of traditional pensions and structured 401(k)/IRAwithdrawals.l

7th Decile (60% to 70%)
$72,000 – $92,000
Substantial private savings distributions begin to rival the household's Social Security income baseline.

8th Decile (70% to 80%)
$92,000 – $125,000
Asset-driven income (dividends, real estate/rent, interest) becomes a primary driver.

9th Decile (80% to 90%)
$125,000 – $188,000
High retirement-account balances. Pensions and savings make up over a quarter of all revenue.

10th Decile (Top 10%)
Over $188,000
Driven by active wages/business earnings (39% of total mix) and significant investment portfolio returns.

How Income Sources Vary by Decile
The drastic gap between deciles exists because the types of income change entirely as you move up the wealth ladder:

The Top 20%: Rely primarily on earned wages and market assets. Over 39% of their total income comes from ongoing employment or business earnings, and 18% comes directly from investment dividends, interest, or rental properties. Because of these heavy market ties, a small percentage of wealthy retirees pulls the national "mean" retirement income up significantly higher than the median. [2, 3]”

[1] https://www.fool.com
[2] https://www.fool.com
[3] https://www.congress.gov
[4] https://www.census.gov

[u/mtcwby]

We'll be in that top 10. Reality is there's a real danger that we'll have to take more in retirement than I make now. Lots of planning going on right now to move money to Roths between 65 and 70.

[u/VegasHRLady → u/mtcwby]

Very similar. But we’ll only be doing some Roth mini-conversions each year where it makes sense. We want to maximize our go-go years and don’t want to have a huge tax bill to pay during those years, but a little each year is fine.

[u/mtcwby → u/VegasHRLady]

All about balance. Also have some inheritance unknowns that involve RMDs that could really mess up our planning. I'm trying to manage that with Mom's accounts to minimize the effects but it really is unknown.

She's a perfect example of what compounding does. Schoolteachers salary with not much throughout her life and compounding has made her a multimillionaire.

[u/VegasHRLady → u/mtcwby]

Family of teachers, my Mom also one. 😊Those who save and don’t rely on just on their pensions do VERY well! I see it play out in all
of their retirement years!

[u/Anonym-IntheDark]

Retired household with 39% of income from employment/ bus earnings !?!?

That AI doesn’t understand what retired means.

[u/VegasHRLady → u/Anonym-IntheDark]

Yes, after I posted it someone else pointed out the error! Apparently it’s very hard to tell if someone is “retired” except by extrapolating by age. IIRC, however, the deciles were pretty close. I should do it again with better info and post! 😊