How much stock do I need to live off dividends?
For example, say I need to earn $50,000 a year to live comfortably and my average dividend yield is 5%. So, I would need to own $50,000 / 0.05 = $1 million worth of shares to meet my income needs.
How Much Money You Need to Retire on Dividends. As a rough rule of thumb, you can multiply the annual dividend income you wish to generate by 22 and by 28 to establish a reasonable range for how much you need to invest to live off dividends.
Historically, the stock market has an average annual rate of return between 10–12%. So if your $1 million is invested in good growth stock mutual funds, that means you could potentially live off of $100,000 to $120,000 each year without ever touching your one-million-dollar goose.
In a market that generates a 2% annual yield, you would need to invest $600,000 up front in order to reliably generate $12,000 per year (or $1,000 per month) in dividend payments.
It is possible to achieve financial freedom by living off dividends forever. That isn't to say it's easy, but it's possible. Those starting from nothing admittedly have a hard road to retirement-enabling passive income.
In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings. The majority of retirees, however, have far less saved.
According to EBRI estimates based on the latest Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts, while just 0.1% have $5 million or more.
And the higher that balance gets, the less of a dividend yield you'll need to generate some significant income. If, for example, your portfolio gets to a value of $1.5 million, you could invest in a fund or multiple investments that yield an average of 3.3%. At that rate, you could generate $50,000 in annual dividends.
Dividends can be classified either as ordinary or qualified. Whereas ordinary dividends are taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividends that meet certain requirements are taxed at lower capital gain rates.
Dividend-paying Stocks
Shares of public companies that split profits with shareholders by paying cash dividends yield between 2% and 6% a year. With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month.
Can dividends make you a millionaire?
Can an investor really get rich from dividends? The short answer is “yes”. With a high savings rate, robust investment returns, and a long enough time horizon, this will lead to surprising wealth in the long run.
To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.
Ordinary dividends are taxed using the ordinary income tax brackets for tax year 2023. Qualified dividend taxes are usually calculated using the capital gains tax rates. For 2023, qualified dividends may be taxed at 0% if your taxable income falls below: $44,625 for those filing single or married filing separately.
Visa Inc (NYSE:V)
In addition to Visa, Warren Buffett also enjoys dividends from Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). In its October 2023 investor letter, Lakehouse Capital stated the following regarding Visa Inc.
“With a nest egg of $100,000, that would only cover two years of expenses without considering any additional income sources like Social Security,” Ross explained. “So, while it's not impossible, it would likely require a very frugal lifestyle and additional income streams to be comfortable.”
Average Monthly Retirement Income
According to data from the BLS, average 2022 incomes after taxes were as follows for older households: 65-74 years: $63,187 per year or $5,266 per month. 75 and older: $47,928 per year or $3,994 per month.
Let's say you consider yourself the typical retiree. Between you and your spouse, you currently have an annual income of $120,000. Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.
While having a net worth of about $2.2 million is seen as the benchmark for being rich in America, it's essential to remember that wealth is a subjective concept. Healthy financial habits and personal perspectives on money are crucial in defining and achieving wealth.
In 2022, the average (median) retirement savings for American households was $87,000. Median retirement savings for Americans younger than 35 was $18,800 as of 2022.
1,821,745 Households in the United States Have Investment Portfolios Worth $3,000,000 or More.
What net worth is upper middle class?
Some sources define the upper middle class as anyone making a lot of money but haven't crossed the threshold to become truly wealthy. These individuals often have a net worth of at least $500,000 to $2 million.
Approximately 28% of women have nothing saved for retirement, compared to 20% of men. To retire comfortably, experts estimate that retirees need a little over $1 million saved, but the exact number depends on how the retiree wants to live and where.
Let's consider an investment in dividend stocks for $3,000 a month. If the average dividend yield of your portfolio is 4%, you'd need a substantial investment to generate $3,000 per month. To be precise, you'd need an investment of $900,000.
If you were to invest in a company offering a 4% annual dividend yield, you would need to invest about $900,000 to generate a monthly income of $3000. While this might seem like a hefty sum, remember that this investment isn't just generating income—it's also likely to appreciate over time.
But even at 9.5%, we're talking about a middle-class income of $4,000 per month on an investment of just a touch over $500K. Below, I'll reveal how to start building a portfolio that could get you an even bigger income stream than this today.
