Retirement income

How much JNK for $1,000 a month?

SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF: its payout record since 2008, the income it would have paid someone living on it, and the amount a monthly income takes at today’s yield.

6.78%yield, last 12 months
monthlypayments
$177,000for $1,000 a month
Oct 27, 2026data as of

Over the last 12 months JNK paid $6.32 a share, a 6.78% yield at today’s price, in 12 monthly payments. At that yield, $1,000 a month before taxes takes about $177,000 invested.

From 2015 to 2025 its yearly payout per share fell 0.6% a year, against 3.2% inflation: down 3.7% a year in today’s dollars.

The payout fell by 5% or more from one year to the next in 8 years: 2014 (−5.7%), 2017 (−7.2%), 2020 (−6.9%), 2021 (−16.8%), and earlier.

Bond and T-bill payouts follow interest rates: they rose after rates jumped in 2022, and they fall when rates fall.

$100,000 invested at the start of 2016 with every payout spent paid $6,600 that year and $6,201 over the last 12 months (down 33.0% after inflation); the shares are worth $91,453 today.

How much JNK for a monthly income

The amount invested that would have paid each monthly income over the last 12 months, at JNK’s 6.78% trailing yield, before taxes. Yields move, so the second column uses its lowest calendar-year yield of the last five years (4.27% in 2021).

Monthly incomeAt today’s yieldAt the 2021 yield
$500 a month ($6,000 a year)$88,500$140,500
$1,000 a month ($12,000 a year)$177,000$281,000
$2,000 a month ($24,000 a year)$354,000$562,100
$5,000 a month ($60,000 a year)$885,000$1,405,200

Income on $100,000, year by year

What $100,000 invested at the start of each year would have paid during that year, and the same income in today’s dollars. Years with a payout at least 5% below the year before are marked.

$8,71020082009$9,50620102011$7,13020122013$5,71520142015$6,60020162017$5,43320182019$5,09420202021$5,03120222023$6,69220242025
$6,6002016$5,6432017$5,4332018$5,9152019$5,0942020$4,2682021$5,0312022$6,6852023$6,6922024$6,6532025
Income in each calendar year on $100,000 invested at the start of that year.
YearPer shareIncome on $100KIn today’s dollarsPrice that yearTotal return
2025$6.37$6,653$7,581+1.5%+8.5%
2024$6.32$6,692$7,174+1.1%+8.0%
2023$6.03$6,685$7,379+5.0%+12.2%
2022$5.46$5,031$5,781-17.1%-12.1%
2021 ↓$4.64$4,268$5,297-0.1%+4.3%
2020 ↓$5.58$5,094$6,618-0.5%+4.5%
2019$5.99$5,915$7,781+7.7%+13.9%
2018$6.03$5,433$7,277-8.6%-3.4%
2017 ↓$6.24$5,643$7,742+0.2%+6.0%
2016$6.73$6,600$9,249+8.0%+15.0%
2015$6.79$5,808$8,241-12.4%-6.9%
2014 ↓$7.00$5,715$8,120-4.8%+0.8%
2013 ↓$7.42$5,987$8,643-1.2%+5.0%
2012 ↓$8.33$7,130$10,444+5.3%+12.8%
2011 ↓$9.76$8,095$12,104-3.6%+4.7%
2010 ↓$11.30$9,506$14,660+1.0%+11.1%
2009$14.30$14,836$23,253+21.7%+39.7%
2008$12.64$8,710$13,608-32.5%-24.9%
Payouts per share, adjusted for share splits; full calendar years only. Today’s dollars use the consumer price index (CPI-U).

If you had lived on it since 2016

$100,000 invested in JNK on Jan 4, 2016, every payout spent and nothing reinvested.

Income in 2016$6,600$9,249 in today’s dollars
Income, last 12 months$6,201down 33% after inflation
Shares worth today$91,453price -8.5%
Income collected$62,951since 2016
$0$100K$200K20172019202120232025
The shares’ value (lower line) and the shares plus the income collected so far (upper line), month by month.

Payments and taxes

When it pays

Every month. Payment dates shift a little from year to year; the fund announces each one shortly before it is paid.

Bond interest

Bond interest is taxed as ordinary income, not at the lower qualified-dividend rate. Inside an IRA or 401(k), none of it is taxed until you withdraw.

Yield is not a promise

The yield here is what the fund paid over the last 12 months, divided by today’s price. Future payouts depend on what the fund earns, which for bond and T-bill funds follows interest rates.

The rest of the record

Fees, holdings, returns and downturns are on the JNK page.

Turn your savings into a monthly paycheck

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Questions investors ask

How much JNK do I need to make $1,000 a month?

About $177,000, at its 6.78% yield over the 12 months to October 2026, before taxes. Yields move: at its lowest calendar-year yield of the last five years (4.27% in 2021) it would take $281,000.

How often does JNK pay?

Every month.

Has JNK ever cut its payout?

Yes. Its yearly payout per share fell by 5% or more in 2010 (−21%), 2011 (−13.7%), 2012 (−14.6%), 2013 (−10.9%), 2014 (−5.7%), 2017 (−7.2%), 2020 (−6.9%), 2021 (−16.8%), among the full years 2008–2025.

Did JNK’s payout keep up with inflation?

No: from 2015 to 2025 the yearly payout per share fell 0.6% a year while prices rose 3.2% a year.

How is JNK’s income taxed?

Bond interest is taxed as ordinary income, not at the lower qualified-dividend rate. Inside an IRA or 401(k), none of it is taxed until you withdraw (and in a Roth, not then either, if the rules are met).

How these figures are built

For education only, not a recommendation to buy or sell any fund. Past payouts do not predict future payouts.