Portfolio Income Calculator

500,000 portfolio at 3.5% blended income yield = 17,500/year income. Divided monthly: 1,458. Compare to retirement budget — one way to reduce sequence risk is to live mostly off income rather than selling capital.

A worked example

Assume a portfolio value of 500,000 and a blended yield of 3.5%. The calculator estimates annual income of 17,500, or approximately 1,458 per month. If the portfolio value rises to 750,000 at the same yield, annual income grows to 26,250. Conversely, if yield falls to 2.5% on the original 500,000 portfolio, income drops to 12,500 annually. This illustrates how both portfolio size and yield rate drive the output.

Try the defaults: portfolio value of 500,000, blended yield of 3.5%. The tool returns 17,500.00. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.

What moves the number most

The result responds to Portfolio Value and Blended Yield. The rate and the time horizon usually dominate — compounding means a small change in either reshapes the final figure more than a similar shift in contribution size. Test this by doubling one input at a time.

The formula behind this

Portfolio × yield percentage = annual income. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.

Using this well

Common scenarios where this metric matters

• Comparing income from different portfolio compositions (equities vs. bonds vs. mixed)
• Estimating monthly cash flow available without selling holdings
• Testing how much income a target portfolio value might generate
• Evaluating whether current portfolio income meets a stated annual spending goal

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. The number represents one scenario rather than a forecast.

The calculator also does not account for:

• Changes in yield over time (e.g., interest rate shifts, dividend cuts)
• Reinvestment of income or capital appreciation
• Inflation's effect on purchasing power
• Tax treatment of different income sources

Educational illustration only

This calculator models income on static inputs and serves as an educational tool. Results are estimates for comparison purposes and do not predict future outcomes. Actual portfolio income will vary based on market conditions, individual holdings, and personal circumstances.

What to calculate alongside this

One figure by itself is fragile. The fi progress calculator, the dividend income calculator, and the dividend income goal calculator cover adjacent ground — the answer to any one of them changes how you read the output from this tool.