Where to invest retirement money for monthly income
Retirement planning comes down to one question: how much reliable income will your savings produce? Social Security is the base for most people (SSA); the rest has to come from what your savings earn.
Building blocks of retirement income
- Treasuries and Treasury ladders – predictable, government-backed.
- Municipal bonds – interest often free of federal tax, and of state tax for in-state bonds.
- Company bonds and bond funds – higher yields, more credit risk.
- Income funds, REITs and dividend payers – income that can grow, with price swings.
- SEC-filed offerings (Reg A Tier 2, interval funds) – higher stated yields, less liquidity and more risk.
Tax decides what you keep
A retiree in a high-tax state and one in a no-income-tax state get different results from the same bond. IncomeGrid ranks every item by yield after tax for where you live: federal, state and each investment type (Treasuries, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, funds, REITs and filed offerings are each taxed differently).
Start with the full list
IncomeGrid has 40,000+ investment options screened, with risk levels 1–5 and example portfolios that spread risk across many issuers.
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Sources
- Social Security Administration – Retirement benefits
- IRS – Retirement topics: required minimum distributions
- U.S. Treasury – Daily Treasury par yield curve rates
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