$275,000 Portfolio Needs 9% Yield to Match $24,852 Social Security Income

3 articles · Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · May 26

$24,852 in annual income—the 2026 average retired-worker Social Security benefit—can be replicated with a $275,000 portfolio only at roughly a 9.0% yield.
At lower payout rates, the capital requirement rises sharply: about $710,000 at 3.5%, $621,000 at 4%, $414,000 at 6%, and $355,000 at 7%.
A sample 9%-plus mix leans on covered-call ETFs—JEPI, SPYI and JEPQ—with SCHD as a lower-yield growth anchor, but that higher income comes with weaker upside and slower long-term compounding.
Taxes further pressure the strategy because many covered-call and REIT distributions are taxed as ordinary income; placing them in a Roth IRA can materially improve after-tax yield.
Over long retirements, the tradeoff is inflation and growth: a static 9% payout may lose purchasing power, while a 3.5% to 4% dividend-growth portfolio can narrow the gap over time.

Can chasing a 9% investment yield actually cause your retirement savings to shrink over the long term?

With Social Security's future in doubt, what is the real price tag for a secure retirement in America today?

Is a guaranteed annuity a smarter choice for income than a high-yield portfolio facing market uncertainty?