It was easy to live off investment income if you retired in the 1970s and early 1980s. After all, interest rates were in the high double digits back then, and pensions were the norm. Even CDs and Treasury bonds gave you a nice return.
That’s not the case today. Interest rates are nowhere near that — CDs are yielding around 4% — but it's still possible to live off investment interest with the “Common Man” rule of retirement spending.
