These 3 Index ETFs Are a Retiree's Best Friend

These 3 Index ETFs Are a Retiree's Best Friend

Most investors' portfolios look different in retirement than they do during their working years. And rightfully so. Investors mostly need growth while they are working, when they have time to ride out any rough patches. Once retired, though, they typically need income and stability from their investments.

There's one thing that doesn't change as investors transition from their careers to their golden years, however. Simplicity still makes good sense. Exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) still offer that simplicity regardless of needs or goals.

With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at three smart ETFs that make sense for nearly any retiree's portfolio. It's no coincidence that each one is income-oriented in one way or another.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Most people understand that stocks and bonds are two completely different types of investments. But did you know that there's a category that combines elements of both?

They're called preferred stocks. They're like bonds in the sense that their fixed dividend payments not only take priority over any dividends payable to other shareholders of that company (hence the name "preferred") but also tend to boast bigger yields than that company's common stock. Conversely, they're like stocks in the sense that only bondholders are true lenders and as such have a higher legal claim to a company's cash flow and -- in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation -- its assets. Preferred stocks also typically don't produce any capital appreciation. Their above-average dividend is usually the entirety of their reward and is usually paid quarterly, just as with most other dividend-paying stocks.

But how big a dividend are we talking about? The iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ: PFF) currently sports a dividend yield of right around 6.3%. You won't find much else with a comparable risk profile with that sort of payout.

And there are risks, to be sure. Although preferred stocks are less risky than the common stocks investors typically buy and sell, it's not unheard of for a company to find itself unable to continue funding any payments to any investor. It's also not always clear when such an event might occur. And like bonds, preferred stocks also rise and fall in response to changing interest rates, since both are issued at fixed coupon rates. These price changes update their effective yields to reflect the prevailing interest rates at any given time.

The iShares preferred stock fund based on the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index handles the chief challenge of investing in preferred stocks, though. That's finding them in the first place, including finding new ones as older ones mature or are retired.

The iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF also makes its dividend payments quarterly, by the way.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

Although big dividend yields are nice, most investors understand there's also a need for dividend growth in retirement. After all, the Social Security Administration says the average retirement lasts between 15 and 20 years, and many last longer. That's a lot of time for inflation to take a toll on your budget. And you'll probably need more income in the latter years of your retirement than you will in its earlier years.

Enter the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG).

Just as the name suggests, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF's primary purpose is holding stocks with a proven track record of dividend growth. Meant to mirror the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, this fund holds only S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) constituents that have upped their annualized dividend payments for at least 10 consecutive years. Right now these names include Microsoft, Visa, and JPMorgan Chase, just to name a few.

And it's done its job. The $3.23 worth of per-share distributions (an ETF's version of dividends) the Vanguard fund has dished out over the course of the past four quarters is nearly twice what it was paying out a decade ago.

The trade-off is the relatively low yield that newcomers will be plugging into. Even though interest rates and dividend yields are above long-term norms, the trailing-12-month yield for Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF is a mere 1.6%.

Owners can take solace in the strong gains seen from this fund's share price: It's up over 130% for the past 10 years. But if you need more than a little income right away, and you need it from not a lot of capital, this Vanguard ETF isn't ideally suited for the job on its own.

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

One way of meeting this need for more immediate income is by taking a stake in the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: SPYD).

As with Vanguard's dividend-appreciation fund, this ETF's name says it all. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF's current dividend yield is a beefy 4.7%. You can find higher-yielding options, but you probably won't find better yields without taking on considerably more risk and accepting considerably more volatility. Broadly speaking, the SPDR fund is nearly 20% less volatile than the S&P 500 itself.

How does the ETF achieve this balance of low volatility and high dividend yields? Mostly by holding stocks that aren't on most investors' radars. The underlying S&P 500 High Dividend Index consists of about 80 of the S&P 500's highest-yielding companies at any given time. Currently, those companies include Iron Mountain, waste-management outfit Public Service Enterprise, International Paper, and toy company Hasbro. Boring? You bet. But being boring means many of these less-traded stocks are also undervalued, which is why their dividend yields are stronger than average.

There is one arguable downside. That is, this SPDR fund's capital appreciation lags that of the broad market. Chalk it up to the fact that the ETF and the S&P 500 High Dividend Index it mirrors are over-exposed to lower-growth sectors like real estate, financials, and utilities. The historical growth of its dividend payments isn't exactly stellar, either, more or less just keeping pace with inflation. That's not apt to change.

Still, the above-average dividend yield here is attractive to retirees who need good income from their investments right out of the gate.

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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Iron Mountain, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Vanguard Specialized Funds-Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Hasbro and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.