DividoraIncome. Growth. Freedom.
Retirement calculator
Dividends, index funds, retirement

How much do you need to retire on dividends?

Plain-English guides on dividend income, index funds and retirement planning, plus a calculator that turns your yearly spending into a portfolio target. Every figure is illustrative and every guide shows its arithmetic.

A lighthouse on a rocky coast at first light
Retirement number calculatorYour yearly spending, a dividend yield, and a growth cushion. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Your target portfolio$1,722,857

At a 3.5% yield with 2.5% growth, this can support $60,000/year.

Start here

The guides to read first

See all guides →
  1. 01Retirement deep diveHow Much Do You Need to Retire? The Math Behind Your NumberYour retirement number is roughly 25 times the annual spending your savings must cover: where the 4 percent guideline comes from, and where it stops working.
  2. 02Deep diveThe 4% Rule, Explained Properly: What It Says, Where It BreaksEveryone quotes the 4% rule; almost nobody states it correctly. This deep dive covers what it actually says, the risk it survived, and where the rule breaks.
  3. 03Income deep diveDividend Calculator: How Much to Live Off Dividends by YieldThis dividend calculator answers how much money invested to live off dividends: the portfolio each yield demands, plus the after-tax target and the timeline.
  4. 04Investing basicsHow to Start Investing (7 Steps for Beginners)This ledger note shows how to start investing in 7 steps for beginners, from emergency fund to automating your first contribution, so you begin confidently.
  5. 05Dividend deep diveHow to Build a Dividend Portfolio (7 Steps)This deep dive shows how to build a dividend portfolio in 7 steps: set a goal, pick the account, choose funds, diversify, reinvest, and avoid the yield trap.
  6. 06Dividend deep diveDividend Yield: How It Works and What It's WorthDividend yield, worked from scratch: this deep dive runs the annual dividend over price formula, what a dividend is worth, the yield trap, and total return.
Find your way around

Browse by topic

All guides →
Investing basics21 guidesDividend deep dive10 guidesIncome deep dive4 guidesGetting started3 guidesPortfolio strategy3 guidesRetirement deep dive3 guidesDeep dive2 guidesInvesting deep dive2 guidesTax strategy2 guidesTax deep dive1 guide
Newest first

Latest deep dives

All deep dives →
A brass balance scale on a wooden table against a muted green wall, one pan holding a heap of pale dried beans and the other holding a single large green leaf, the pans hanging at slightly different heightsInvesting basics
Newest deep dive

Bond Funds vs Individual Bonds: Which Income Path Fits

This explainer sets bond funds against individual bonds: the maturity date, net asset value risk, liquidity, diversification at small balances, and cost.

34 min read
Two hands meeting over a wooden table, one passing a small pale pot holding a green seedling to the other, in soft green-tinted lightGetting started

How to Transfer a Brokerage Account (ACATS, 6 Steps)

This ledger note walks a brokerage account transfer in six steps: in-kind versus liquidating, cost basis, fractional shares, transfer fees and the timeline.

40 min read
Four stacks of coins of descending height standing in a row on a polished wooden table, with a small green seedling growing beside the shortest stack and a window blurred behindDividend deep dive

What Is Preferred Stock? How Preferred Dividends Get Paid

This deep dive explains preferred stock: par value, cumulative and non-cumulative dividends, call risk, and where preferreds rank against bonds and common.

33 min read
A blank spiral-bound grid calendar page lying on a wooden desk with six small stacks of coins resting on separate squares, a potted green plant behind itPortfolio strategy

Year-End Investing Checklist: 8 Moves Before Dec 31

This ledger note walks a year-end investing checklist in 8 moves, from rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting to fund distributions and beneficiary review.

35 min read
A hand holding a phone that shows a jagged rising green line chart above a large green Buy button, on a wooden table beside two short stacks of coins in green-tinted lightInvesting basics

Market Order vs Limit Order: Which to Use When

This comparison sets the two order types side by side: what each one guarantees, the bid-ask spread, slippage, stops, time in force, and opening-bell risk.

33 min read
Small painted wooden cubes grouped into separate clusters by colour, pale green, dark green, light blue, natural wood and terracotta, arranged on a pale surfacePortfolio strategy

Asset Allocation Explained: Splitting a Portfolio

This explainer covers how asset allocation splits a portfolio, what each asset class is for, how horizon and risk set the mix, and where drift creeps in.

38 min read
A small stack of printed pages covered in columns of figures on a pale wooden desk, with a dark fountain pen resting on top, a calculator to the left and a green mug behindInvesting basics

How to Read an Earnings Report

This walkthrough reads a quarterly earnings report step by step: release versus filing, GAAP against adjusted, cash flow as the check, segments and guidance.

39 min read
A brass balance scale on a wooden table with a short stack of coins on one pan and a blank tag on the other, the beam sitting levelInvesting deep dive

What Is a Closed-End Fund?

This explainer covers what a closed-end fund is, why a fixed share count creates discounts and premiums, how leverage works, and what return of capital hides.

38 min read
Two matching glass hourglasses side by side on a pale wooden desk beside a window, sand running through both, with a small stack of coins at the right against a dark green wallDeep dive

Sequence of Returns Risk: Why Order Matters

This analysis runs one invented decade of returns in two orders and shows why a saver finishes in the same place while a retiree drawing income does not.

40 min read
By email

Get a compounding breakdown by email

Tell us about your portfolio and what you want it to do, and we will email you a breakdown of how it compounds at different contribution rates and returns. We are not an advisor, a broker or an RIA, we do not manage money, and we will not pass your details to anyone.

Nothing we send is a recommendation to buy any security. We store your details to reply to you. See our privacy policy.
How to read Dividora

Who writes this, and what it is not

Dividora covers dividends, index funds and retirement planning in plain English. 51 guides are live, the most recent revised on Sep 5, 2026. Every guide is edited by Hamza Hai, MBA against the standards set out in our editorial process.

Every figure on this site is illustrative and general education, not personalized financial advice. Investing carries risk, including the possible loss of principal, and past results never guarantee future ones. Before acting on anything here, confirm the current rules and run your own situation past a qualified, fee-only professional.

Our editorial process →About Dividora →How we make money →
  • Original analysis, not tips
  • Illustrative figures, labelled
  • Edited by a named editor
Put this free retirement number calculator on your site

Free to use with attribution. Paste this where you want the tool to appear:

Publishers: embed this calculator free