After thinking and analyzing during one of my nice, long "clipboard" hikes yesterday, I've decided that aschmidt's advice below is the way for me to go.I honestly might keep it in cash. Since you're already retired, and seem to have way more than you need in the market, why re-invest? Keep it on hand, and if the market crashes and dividends are cut, you'll be on cruise control til the recession is over without touching your stash.
That [and/]or give [all or some] to charity.
Except I'm actually taking it a little bit further, based on Jeremy E's observation in Reply # 17 that: "Some would consider having to research dividends not so passive... maybe that's why you don't want to do it?"
I've come to realize that my resistance against continuing to invest generated dividends and realized gains into yet more dividend-generating stock positions comes from just about equal parts (1) feelings of resentment at the work involved and (2) feelings of pointlessness at the generation of additional cash that is most likely going to remain unspent.
So, if I'm not reasonably expecting to spend the money, I would rather have the time back. And that means I am (1) keeping my surplus disposable income as cash in a "high yield" savings account, AND (2) suspending further new investing, and recategorizing presently designated investing cash as additional surplus disposable cash.
And this is where all that leaves me.
(1) My portfolio will now be in "stasis" as will my now more passive income. (Monitoring of present positions will continue.)
(2) I'll still have 2/3 of that passive income available as disposable cash in a dedicated checking account (the Discretionary Fund).
(3) I'll either spend or not spend that disposable cash.
(4) On a monthly basis, any unspent disposable cash in the Discretionary Fund -- except for donations equal to 10% of my total income -- will be moved over to a high-yield dedicated savings account (the Discretionary Reserve) to make room for new surplus money coming into the checking account.
(5) That Discretionary Reserve savings account will serve as a liquid backstop to protect against any possible catastrophic drops in dividend income and will still be available for either "extra" discretionary spending or reinstated future new dividend stock investing if it should be warranted or desired for any reason, including a change of mind. (!)
(6) I will gain additional open time now freed from the demands of researching and analyzing potential new portfolio positions.
Now "all" I have to do is figure out what to do with that newly found additional open time:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/my-retirement-compass-reset-journal/msg710749/#msg710749