If Your Business Is Your Whole Retirement Plan at 60, These 3 ETFs Build the Part That Does Not Depend on It

You spent decades building a company. At 60, it probably pays your salary, holds most of your net worth, and doubles as your retirement plan. That places a lot of weight on one asset. Three low-cost ETFs can build a second, liquid pool of money that keeps working whether or not the business sells on your schedule: the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPYM), the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VEA) and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BIV).

One Company Is Carrying Your Income, Savings and Retirement

Most owners plan to sell the business someday or keep drawing income from it. Both paths depend on one company in one industry, often in one town. A sale also depends on finding a buyer at the right price at the right moment. If a recession, a new competitor, or a health problem hits, your paycheck and your retirement value fall at the same time. A portfolio outside the business breaks that link.

SPYM Spreads Your Money Across America’s Largest Companies

SPYM tracks the S&P 500, which covers approximately 80% of the US stock market across every sector. That is the opposite of a single-business concentration. Its expense ratio is 0.02%, so you keep about $999.80 of every $1,000 working each year. The fund held roughly $154 billion in net assets through June 30, 2026, and launched in November 2005.

Its yield is modest at about 1.25%, so its job here is long-term growth. On an adjusted basis, shares are up 10.34% this year and 306.53% over 10 years.

The downside: the index is weighted by company size. Information technology made up 32.91% of the fund on its latest fact sheet, and the single largest holding was 7.57%. A few tech giants drive a big share of your results.

VEA Takes Your Savings Beyond the US Economy

Your business likely earns dollars from American customers. VEA tracks the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index, owning companies in Canada and the major markets of Europe and the Pacific region. The expense ratio is 0.03%, which leaves about $999.70 of every $1,000 invested. The fund manages roughly $133 billion and dates to July 2007.

Trailing 12-month payouts of $1.7037 per share work out to a yield near 2.5% at today’s price, paid quarterly. VEA has gained 17.01% over the past year, ahead of SPYM’s 12.47%.

One drawback is currency swings. When the dollar rises, foreign returns shrink once converted back home. VEA also leaves out emerging markets, and its payouts vary widely, from $1.04 in December 2025 to $0.1775 in September 2026.

BIV Gives You a Steadier Pool to Draw From

BIV tracks the Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index, a mix of Treasurys and investment-grade corporate bonds maturing in five to 10 years. Distributions come each month. Shareholders recently received $0.291311 per share on November 4, 2026, and trailing 12-month payouts equal a yield of roughly 4.5%. Investors often treat this type of holding as money to tap when stocks fall, or a buyer walks away, which can help avoid selling equities at a bad moment (a bad market in the first years of retirement does far more damage than one later on, which is exactly the problem we mapped out in a free guide here).

The catch: intermediate bonds drop more than short-term bond funds when rates rise. The 10-year Treasury yield touched 5.31% on October 5 before falling to 4.86% by November 6. BIV is down 1.27% over the past year and 0.14% over five years on an adjusted basis.

How to Feed the Outside Portfolio From Your Profits

Some owners treat contributions like a fixed bill, sending a set share of profits into an outside portfolio every month or quarter, before the business spends it. Retirement accounts built for the self-employed, such as a Solo 401(k) or a SEP IRA, let you hold these funds with tax advantages. A tax adviser can match the right account to how you pay yourself.

What an Outside Portfolio Costs You in Upside

Every dollar moved into these funds is a dollar you are no longer reinvesting in the company you know best. In a strong year, your business may outgrow all three funds combined. Bonds can lose value when rates rise, and foreign stocks can lag for years. You give up some upside in exchange for money that a single bad year at your company cannot touch.

Keep the Business in the Plan Alongside Outside Investments

What you built still matters, and a sale may still fund much of your post-career life. That said, SPYM brings broad US growth, VEA adds reach beyond the US economy, and BIV supplies monthly income you can draw on. Together, they add sources of growth and income that sit outside your business.

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