You nailed it. I’m retired now, at age 46, and living off dividends. Set up my IRA account to disperse monthly for that “mail box money”. The only thing I hate is paying the extra 10% early withdrawal penalty.
I just try to maintain my capital with dividends for income. MLPs can be a great source of income. CEN helps me avoid the K-1s in my IRA while giving me exposure to some of the best MLPs out there.