$1 Million Retirement Portfolio Demo as of Dec. 1, 2023

It is December and my crack at designing a retirement portfolio for a retiree with a million dollars in savings has climbed above the million dollar mark. In other words, the portfolio, opened in late June, is now back to the value it had when opened. 

On the bright side, starting in August, I am withdrawing $3,333.33 at the first of each month. December's withdrawal brings the total withdrawn to $16,666.65. No matter the value of the portfolio, I am deducting the full $3,333.33 each month as this amount is covered by dividend income.

Today, the cash balance in the portfolio is $2,355.74. Clearly, I  am in good shape to start the new year. I only need to collect a little less than a thousand dollars in dividends in the coming month to make my January payment. I will check the official inflation rate for 2023 and I will increase the monthly payment by that percentage.

I will also be opening a TFSA to receive the in-kind stock withdrawal I must make come January. My imaginary retiree is 65 and so is his wife. I will be withdrawing in-kind the mandatory 4% of the opening value of the RIF and transferring that stock to the TFSA. To meet my monthly withdrawal demands, I may have to withdraw funds from both the RIF and the TFSA. We will see.