Understanding this chart is the key to an earlier retirement

You don’t retire on pre‑tax yield. You retire on what you keep after tax.

This Nuveen table shows the taxable equivalent yield for California:

• Find your income/bracket on the left
• Read across to see what taxable yield you’d need to equal a given tax‑free yield

Example:

If you’re in the top CA bracket and can get a 3% tax‑free yield, you’d need a taxable investment yielding 6%+ just to end up in the same place after tax.

The higher your bracket, the harder it is to generate enough after‑tax return to hit your goals.

That’s why I obsess over tax‑efficient portfolios.

If you can:

• Shift more of your income to tax‑free or tax‑deferred, and
• Reduce the tax drag from interest, dividends, and realized gains

…you can often:

• Reach your retirement number earlier, and
• Spend more safely once you’re there

If you’re in a high bracket and your current plan is still built on fully taxable yield, you’re working a lot harder than you need to.