Quick Read
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Generating $9,200 a month without selling shares requires roughly $1.86 million split equally between DVY and ETY, yielding a combined 5.9%.
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ETY supplies $6,650 of the monthly income at an 8.6% distribution rate, but some payouts may be return of capital, not earnings.
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Watch ETY's monthly distribution closely, as a cut hits the budget hardest and income above $109,000 raises Medicare Part B premiums to $284 a month.
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Imagine yourself at 64 with Medicare more than a year away, and one question keeps coming back: what would it take to cover $9,200 a month without ever selling a share? Using payout figures pulled in late October 2026, a portfolio split equally between two income funds needs about $1.86 million. That portfolio yields a combined 5.9%, which makes $110,400 a year.
First, about "for life." Neither fund guarantees its payout. The income can rise, and it can fall. Here, "for life" means a portfolio designed to keep paying from its distributions alone, with no promise attached (the same never-sell-a-share idea behind our free dividend ladder guide). Each fund gets half the money, roughly $932,000.
iShares Select Dividend ETF
iShares Select Dividend ETF( NASDAQ:DVY ) is an index fund that holds high-dividend U.S. stocks. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, which picks about 100 of the highest-yielding U.S. stocks, leaving out REITs.
It makes up 50% of the portfolio. Over the past year, it paid $5.34 per share. With shares near $163, that's a trailing distribution yield of 3.3%. Its expense ratio is 0.38%, the percentage of assets the fund keeps each year for running costs.
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The fund's fact sheet also lists its 30-day SEC yield, a standardized income figure after fees, plus its sector weights. Check both before buying. High-dividend indexes often lean hard on a handful of sectors, and that concentration shows up when one of them hits a rough patch.
At this portfolio size, DVY sends about $30,600 a year, or around $2,550 a month. It pays quarterly, though, so you won't see that money monthly.
Here's the one thing to know: the payout grows, but it's lumpy. The first-quarter dividend rose from $0.63 in 2016 to $1.15 in 2026, an 82% gain. Yet a $1.62 December 2025 check was followed by that smaller March payment. Keep a cash buffer to smooth the swings.
Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund
Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund( NYSE:ETY ) is a closed-end fund. It has a fixed number of shares that trade like a stock. Since the fund doesn't create or redeem shares on demand, buyers and sellers set the price. That price can drift above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value, the per-share worth of everything it has.
The fund holds stocks and runs a call-writing program. In plain terms, it writes S&P 500 index call options on a portion of the portfolio's value, collecting premiums while giving up some upside. It also runs a managed distribution program, which sends out a set monthly amount regardless of what the fund made that month. "Tax-managed" means managers try to keep the taxable portion of those payouts low by timing gains and losses.
ETY holds the other 50%. It pays $0.0992 per share monthly, or $1.19 a year. At about $14 a share, that's an 8.6% distribution rate on market price. That contributes about $79,800 a year, or roughly $6,650 a month.
One thing to know: some of that money may be a return of capital, meaning the fund hands back part of your investment instead of paying you from earnings. ETY's monthly distribution notices estimate that share. Read them, and check the fund's site for its current premium or discount, its distribution rate on net asset value, and its expense ratio.
Two Funds Carry a Lot of Weight
Two funds make a concentrated portfolio. ETY supplies the bigger share of the $9,200, and its option income depends on market volatility. Calm markets mean smaller option premiums. The payout has also moved before: it was $0.0805 from 2023 into early 2024. ETY's share price has also slipped about 4% over the past year.
What a $1.86 Million Plan Needs From You Each Year
The target takes about $1.86 million. DVY's income is steadier and growing. ETY's is bigger but flat, and it rests on option income.
The one number to check each year is ETY's monthly distribution, now $0.0992. A cut there hits the budget faster than anything DVY does. Then look at taxes before Medicare starts. A single filer with income above $109,000 pays $284.10 a month for Part B instead of the standard $202.90, so the taxable portion of that income matters.
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