Guaranteed Retirement Income: $400,000 in Florida

How much guaranteed retirement income can you really get with $400,000 in Florida? I break down the numbers, compare them against the traditional withdrawal approach, and show what starting early does to the figure.

Withdrawal strategy versus guaranteed income

A withdrawal strategy gives you a percentage and a hope. Guaranteed lifetime income gives you a figure that continues for life whether or not the account behind it holds up.

I put both side by side on the same $400,000 so the trade is visible rather than argued.

What Florida changes

Florida has no state income tax. That does not change the gross income figure, but it changes what lands in your account every month, and it changes how much room you have before other retirement taxes start stacking.

It is the clearest example of why the same savings amount is worth a different retirement in different states.

Securing the essentials first

The approach in this video covers the essential expenses with income that does not depend on a good decade, then lets the remaining savings do the job savings are actually good at.

Go deeper

The full written breakdown for Florida

Does Florida tax Social Security?

Everything on this page is illustrative and hypothetical as of August 2026. It is education, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Any people shown are examples, not real clients, and your situation will differ. Withdrawal-rate rules of thumb are general guidance from published research and are not a prediction or a promise of any result. Protected Lifetime Income figures rely on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Kurt H. Jackson is Life and Health Insurance Licensed in MO, NE, KS, IA, and FL, and is not a securities broker, registered investment advisor, or CPA.

Browse all of Kurt’s retirement videos on the Retirement Planning Videos page.