S&P 500 dividend yield hits historic low as just 5 members still offer 6% or more

The index's yield has dropped to roughly 1.045%, undercutting even the dot-com era's previous record low and forcing income investors to rethink their playbook. The S&P 500’s dividend yield has fallen to approximately 1.045%, the lowest level ever recorded for the index. Where the yield actually livesOut of 500 names in the index, only about five still carry forward dividend yields at or above 6%. How we got hereThe S&P 500 has spent decades drifting away from its identity as an income vehicle. In the 1950s and 1960s, dividend yields routinely exceeded 3%, sometimes touching 5% or 6%.