18 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy in 2018

Building a dependable portfolio of retirement stocks isn’t easy in today’s world of historically low interest rates and record-high stock prices.

Ladder leading to top of large piggy bank
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Building a dependable portfolio of retirement stocks isn’t easy in today’s world of historically low interest rates and record-high stock prices. The 2.4% yield offered on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note doesn't provide enough safe income to fund a full retirement, nor does the 1.8% average yield among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.

Some investors have channeled more of their retirement money into high-yielding stocks, which provide greater current income and potentially stronger long-term total returns. But beware: Sometimes, eye-popping yields are a symptom of a struggling company that may deliver nothing more than steep capital losses and an eventual dividend cut or suspension.

The 18 high-dividend holdings featured today are different. They are arguably some of the best retirement stocks in the market as we head into 2018. These companies have elevated their payouts for many years, boast dividend yields up to nearly 7% and maintain healthy Dividend Safety Scores – a metric calculated by Simply Safe Dividends to assess a company’s risk of future dividend cuts. In other words, these companies have sturdy fundamentals that support secure, growing dividend income in the years ahead.

Let’s look at the 18 best retirement stocks for 2018.

Disclaimer

Data is as of Dec. 5, 2017. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent quarterly payout and dividing by the share price. Stocks are listed in alphabetical order. Click on ticker-symbol links in each slide for current share prices and more.

Brian Bollinger
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com

Brian Bollinger is President of Simply Safe Dividends, a company that provides online tools and research designed to help investors generate safe retirement income from dividend stocks without the high fees associated with many other financial products.