Should retirees have dividend stocks?
The short answer is yes – it's entirely possible to live off dividends in retirement. In fact, more and more people are doing it every day. The key is to start early, invest wisely, and reinvest your dividends so your portfolio can continue to grow.
Despite their storied histories, they cut their dividends. 9 In other words, dividends are not guaranteed and are subject to macroeconomic and company-specific risks. Another downside to dividend-paying stocks is that companies that pay dividends are not usually high-growth leaders.
There are times when it makes better sense to take the cash instead of reinvesting dividends. These include when you are at or close to retirement and you need the money; when the stock or fund isn't performing well; when you want to diversify your portfolio; and when reinvesting unbalances your portfolio.
At age 60–69, consider a moderate portfolio (60% stock, 35% bonds, 5% cash/cash investments); 70–79, moderately conservative (40% stock, 50% bonds, 10% cash/cash investments); 80 and above, conservative (20% stock, 50% bonds, 30% cash/cash investments).
Depending on how much money you have in those stocks or funds, their growth over time, and how much you reinvest your dividends, you could be generating enough money to live off of each year, without having any other retirement plan.
Over the long term, stocks outperform bonds. So, stock market investments should be one component of a plan you use to prevent your savings from running dry before the end of a retirement that can last 20 or 30 years or longer.
As part of a diversified portfolio, dividend stocks have their place. They offer relative stability, may pay increasing amounts over time and may provide steady income. But relying too heavily on dividend stocks as a primary investment approach could put you at risk and reduce your long-term investment gains.
If you are looking to create wealth and have a longer time horizon, staying invested in growth will enable you to enjoy longer returns. But if you are looking for a more immediate return and steady cash flow, dividend investing could be the best choice for you.
Dividends can be cut: Dividends are not guaranteed and sometimes companies are forced to cut them or eliminate them entirely due to financial difficulty.
Some financial advisors recommend a mix of 60% stocks, 35% fixed income, and 5% cash when an investor is in their 60s. So, at age 55, and if you're still working and investing, you might consider that allocation or something with even more growth potential.
How much cash should a retiree have in their portfolio?
During your working years, you should aim to have enough cash in an emergency fund to cover three months' worth of living costs at a minimum. For retirement, you'll really want more like one to two years' worth. The reason? Any market downturn that impacts your portfolio could be lengthy.
Average Monthly Retirement Income
According to data from the BLS, average 2022 incomes after taxes were as follows for older households: 65-74 years: $63,187 per year or $5,266 per month. 75 and older: $47,928 per year or $3,994 per month.
One example is the $1,000/month rule. Created by Wes Moss, a Certified Financial Planner, this strategy helps individuals visualize how much savings they should have in retirement. According to Moss, you should plan to have $240,000 saved for every $1,000 of disposable income in retirement.
If you're 70, you should keep 30% of your portfolio in stocks. However, with Americans living longer and longer, many financial planners are now recommending that the rule should be closer to 110 or 120 minus your age.
Pension payments, annuities, and the interest or dividends from your savings and investments are not earnings for Social Security purposes. You may need to pay income tax, but you do not pay Social Security taxes.
You would not owe tax on dividends from stocks held in a retirement account, such as a Roth IRA or 401(k), or a college savings plan, such as a 529 plan or Coverdell ESA. There are exceptions to this tax immunity, though.
Like Johnson & Johnson and Lowe's, Walmart appears to be one of the safest stocks around for retirees to buy and hold. Keith Speights has positions in Lowe's Companies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Lowe's Companies.
Conventional wisdom holds that when you hit your 70s, you should adjust your investment portfolio so it leans heavily toward low-risk bonds and cash accounts and away from higher-risk stocks and mutual funds. That strategy still has merit, according to many financial advisors.
The common rule of asset allocation by age is that you should hold a percentage of stocks that is equal to 100 minus your age. So if you're 40, you should hold 60% of your portfolio in stocks. Since life expectancy is growing, changing that rule to 110 minus your age or 120 minus your age may be more appropriate.
The odds are the value of your retirement savings may decline if the market crashes. While this doesn't mean you should never invest, you should be patient with the market and make long-term decisions that can withstand time and market fluctuation.
Why I don't invest in dividend stocks?
“One mistake to avoid,” Cabacungan says, “is to buy a company's stock simply because it issues a high dividend.” If the company has leveraged excessive debt to fund the dividend, it could come at the expense of future profitability and hurt growth prospects.
Whether you want to live off dividends today or are investing for the long haul, the best way to build a dividend portfolio for steady income is to follow a simple set of risk management principles: Hold between 20 and 60 stocks to reduce company-specific risk. Roughly equal-weight each position.
In fact, there can be significant positives to investing in stocks without dividends. Companies that don't pay dividends on stocks are typically reinvesting the money that might otherwise go to dividend payments into the expansion and overall growth of the company.
What Is a Good Dividend Yield? Yields from 2% to 6% are generally considered to be a good dividend yield, but there are plenty of factors to consider when deciding if a stock's yield makes it a good investment. Your own investment goals should also play a big role in deciding what a good dividend yield is for you.
The importance is relative and specific to each investor. If you only care about identifying which stocks have performed better over a period of time, the total return is more important than the dividend yield. If you are relying on your investments to provide consistent income, the dividend yield is more important.
