Is a £333,000 portfolio enough to retire and live off passive income?

Many investors dream of becoming stock market millionaires to retire early and live off the passive income generated by their portfolios. For instance, an average 4% dividend yield across a diversified mix of dividend shares would produce a healthy £40,000 in cash payouts each year from a £1m portfolio.

But, could this goal be achieved with a more modest sum? How about nearly a third of that glorious £1m mark? That’s a challenging conundrum. An investor with a very spartan lifestyle might make it work, but most have some expensive commitments or want a few more luxuries than beans on toast every night.

So, let’s look at what a £333,000 portfolio could realistically generate in passive income.

Extra cash, but don’t quit work yet

The passive income a stock market portfolio can produce hinges on its average dividend yield. This can frequently change. Companies often cut, cancel, or suspend dividend payments due to challenging circumstances or evolving priorities. A recent example was the Covid-19 pandemic, when many businesses halted shareholder payouts.

Relying on the income produced by a £333,000 portfolio alone leaves little leeway. This raises the risks for investors who think it’s a sufficiently large nest egg to leave their jobs and sail off into the sunset.

For instance, the average dividend yield for FTSE 100 shares is currently 3.52%. If our theoretical investor’s portfolio matched that, they’d earn £11,721.60 in annual shareholder distributions. That’s a tidy sum, but it’s well below the National Minimum Wage for a full-time worker.

That said, investing in some of the highest-yielding UK shares could boost an investor’s passive income earnings. At a punchier 8% average yield, a £333,000 portfolio could produce £26,640 in annual dividends. Now, that’s more like it!

However, investors lured by the appeal of high-yield shares risk falling into dividend traps. Some market-leading payouts are unsustainable, particularly when they’re funded by debt or a business has cash flow difficulties.

For extra comfort, I’d want to spend a bit longer on the treadmill and fatten my portfolio with a decent buffer. Fortunately, at a third of a million pounds, compound returns really start to kick in. By reinvesting dividends into more stocks, investors can accelerate the process further.

A high-yield stock to consider

For those unsatisfied with the FTSE 100 average, the index offers several attractive high-yield candidates. One worth considering is Land Securities Group (LSE:LAND). It sports a juicy 7.3% yield.

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This Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) offers investors exposure to commercial property spanning offices, retail, and leisure spaces. It’s made a remarkable recovery from the pandemic as office working makes a comeback. Impressively, occupancy for its central London portfolio hit 97.9% in its first-half results.

Despite this, the group’s keen to pivot to growth opportunities in residential property and shopping centre acquisitions. It’s aiming for a 20% uptick in earnings per share from 50p to 60p by 2030. Landsec’s purchase of a 92% stake in Britain’s largest open-air shopping complex, Liverpool ONE, is a testament to these efforts.

Forecast dividend cover of just 1.2 times earnings is below the two-times safety threshold for reliable passive income. If the company encountered financial difficulties, a dividend reduction could be on the horizon. Nevertheless, Landsec’s near-term future looks bright for now.

The post Is a £333,000 portfolio enough to retire and live off passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Charlie Carman has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Land Securities Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.