How is it Unending?
The value of stocks tend to increase over time. The graph to the right shows the value of the 500 largest stocks in the United States (the S&P 500) from 1926 to 2009.
​The table below is from an article[1] which is based on S&P 500 data from 1926 to 2009. It shows that, after allowing for inflation, if you were to remove 7% in value from a $1,000 investment every year, after 30-years you could expect to still have $1,253 left (after having allowed for inflation). In other words, based on historic information, it is reasonable to assume that you can (on average) withdraw between 6% and 7% a year from a stock market investment, without reducing the initial investment.
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However, the future might be different to the past, and a prolonged period of econmic stagnation could cause an investment to be exhausted if a fixed withdrawal rate was adhered to. Therefore, money can be withdrawn from the investment by taking the dividend.
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[1] Portfolio Success Rates: Where to Draw the Line, by Philip L. Cooley, Ph.D.; Carl M. Hubbard, Ph.D.; and Daniel T. Walz, Ph.D.
[2] The value of the investment includes all dividends.
