Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTDavid BerenFri, July 3, 2026 at 10:22 PM GMT+2 4 min readQuick ReadVerizon (VZ) and Realty Income (O) anchor a 4.7% blended portfolio requiring just $510,000 to match Social Security's $2,081 monthly payment.Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) yields 5.9% but issues a K-1 instead of a 1099-DIV, a meaningful tax distinction for taxable accounts.Unlike Social Security's statutory cost-of-living adjustments, corporate dividends are board-discretionary, making dividend-growth stocks essential for a 20-year retirement horizon.Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.The average Social Security retirement check reached $2,081 per month as of April 2026, according to the Social Security Administration's monthly statistical data. That figure carries the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment that took effect in January 2026. Replacing roughly that amount with dividend income is a math problem before it is an investing problem, and the math is more straightforward than most pre-retirees expect.Tinpixels / Getty ImagesGenerating $2,000 a month means producing $24,000 a year in cash distributions. At a 4% yield on the blended portfolio, the required principal is $600,000. At 5%, the target falls to $480,000. At 6%, it drops to $400,000. The yield assumption sets the savings goal, and the holdings determine whether that yield is durable. Stretching for yield without checking the payout history is how income portfolios break.Five widely held names show how a blended portfolio currently lines up. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) carries a 6.05% dividend yield after raising its quarterly payout to $0.7075 in 2026. Altria Group (NYSE:MO) yields 5.83% on a quarterly dividend that rose to $1.06 in 2026 from $1.02 a year earlier. Enterprise Products Partners pays 5.9% through an MLP structure that issues a K-1 tax form rather than a 1099-DIV, which matters when the holding is in a taxable account.Read: Are you ahead, or behind on retirement?