750,000 lump sum

[gem007]

Can a safe investment be made that will give a monthly return I can live on. What would it be?

[97guns]

real estate

[disneysteve]

How much do you need to live on? What other income sources do you have? How long do you need this money to last? How do you define "safe"?

[gem007]

I'm 50 so appx 35-40yrs. I will have SS only income at 60 something

[gem007]

oh I own my home free and clear about 240k value

[marvholly]

I am retired, own my home without a mtg & live a pretty frugal life in metro Chicago. I KNOW where to shop most inexpensively for clothes, groceries and household needs. I am reasonably healthy and my medical & dental costs run about $1700/year including Medicare part B & D. I need $30,000/year to enjoy a monthly grocery treat and a meal out w/friends.

You would need a 4% return on 750,000 to generate 30,000. That is currently NOT possible in today’s low rate environment for savings and/or CDs. Anything else is NOT 100% safe.

There are some high dividend paying stocks (usually utilities) but they do NOT pay that much.

[feh]

I'm 50 so appx 35-40yrs. I will have SS only income at 60 something

You haven't give us enough information to answer your question.

I suggest you experiment for yourself; first thing you'll need to do is know your annual expenses.

http://firecalc.com/

[cardtrick]

No such thing as a safe investment returning more than savings accounts and CDs. $750,000 will yield less than 1% per year if you want a truly safe investment. CDs might be OK if you understand prepayment penalties. If you can't get out early, then you have interest rate risk. Even treasuries have interest rate risk.

You could funnel $10K per year into I bonds but those only yield around 1.4% currently.

Real estate is not a "safe" investment. Just because some people have been able to buy and rent and make money for the past few years, doesn't mean it's a safe investment. It might be too late to get in now, depending on the market you're looking at. This is the kind of thinking that gets people into trouble usually. In the investment world, they are referred to as "suckers".

[snafu]

If I understand correctly, you plan to use this $ 750. lump sum as retirement income + SS. How do you see using your time as a retiree? Do you anticipate staying in your current home? Will your health support continuing to work after 65? Do you have hobbies that have potential to generate income?

I've not had such a major lump sum but I'd likely see an independent Certified Financial Planner and pay the fee to prepare a portfolio of investments with 'sleep at night' focus. It's not smart to put 'all the eggs in one basket.' There is risk and both bonds and equities [stock] roller coaster and changes in value up and down. Cash is not super safe either as prices increase like food just now and gas for our cars which decreases buying power. Will inflation come roaring back between now and then? How much will car insurance cost? Can the government overcome it's $ 17.5 Trillion dollar deficit ?

You could Dollar Cost Average [DCA] in 3-4 low cost, low fee Mutual Funds or buy similar ETFs [Exchange Traded Funds] assigning an automatic sum each month. That's how most of us are building our retirement plans and even non retirement portfolios. Do you participate in an employer's retirement program?

[Tabs]

Some here have asked the important questions, because every type of investment has their own version of risks involved, so part of this is figuring out what the OP would consider is an acceptable type of risk to take in light of the given situation.

Speaking for myself, if I hypothetically won the lottery and decided on a lump sum of $750k, I would worry about things such as taxation and principle risks. As such, I would take a good, long look at muni bonds and treasuries for example.

But once again, all this is hypothetical as we really need some more details from the OP.

Regardless, with that amount of windfall, I would be seeking out a fee-only financial advisor in my state for further guidance, and then I would make a personal appointment with my investment company after that.