Wes Moss Says $1.6 Million Portfolio Can Match $88,000 Pension at 5.5% Yield

1 articles · Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · May 19

$1.6 million invested to yield 5.5% can generate about $88,000 a year without touching principal, Moss said, putting an affluent retiree’s portfolio in the same income range as many government pensions.
That math starts with capitalizing income at roughly 5% to 5.5%: a $50,000 pension equates to about $1 million, while households targeting $70,000 to $90,000 need roughly $1.2 million to $1.5 million invested.
Moss argued the portfolio can beat a pension on flexibility because assets remain liquid, can pass to heirs, and may outpace inflation through dividend growth rather than CPI-W-linked cost-of-living adjustments.
Johnson & Johnson’s dividend rose 8% to $1.34 quarterly and Realty Income yields about 5.1%, while 5-year Treasuries at 4.1% can form a cash-flow floor in a five-year bond ladder.
Below about $600,000, the strategy breaks down to roughly $33,000 of annual income, leaving retirees to spend principal or take more risk; above the threshold, Moss says portfolio income can solve 'pension envy.'

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