Quick Read – An equal-weighted $393,000 portfolio including Enbridge and Main Street Capital blends to roughly 6%, replicating Social Security’s average monthly benefit. – Dividend-paying stocks have historically grown payouts faster than Social Security’s 2.8% COLA, but none…
rries the contractual certainty of a government benefit. – The Social Security Administration’s headline benefit figure for the average retired worker, $2,071 a month, is the starting line of nearly every retirement income conversation. It is still well below what the average household actually spends
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey put average annual household outlays at $78,535 in 2024, or roughly $6,545 a month. The gap between what Social Security delivers and what households spend is why dividend portfolios continue to show up in retirement planning. This article walks through the math of replacing that $1,976 monthly check with stock dividends, using five companies as illustrations: Verizon, Realty Income, Altria, Enbridge, and Main Street Capital.
The mix is intended as a worked example of what it takes to generate the same dollar amount as the average Social Security benefit. The Number Behind the Number Replacing $2,071 a month means generating $24,852 a year in cash dividends. At a blended yield of around 6%, that requires a portfolio of roughly $414,000.