In Retirement Stop Working, Start Earning. Here's How

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Despite the recent market turbulence, there is one group of investors who have so far been insulated by good decisions they made long ago.

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Dividend investors have collected their payments regularly, as those who invested looking to sell to the “greater fool,” in the future have been tossed on a sea of volatility.

If you are serious about a retirement portfolio you can count on, making dividends and income a central focus in your investment plan would be a great start.

You shouldn’t have to work throughout your retirement, and you should have a portfolio of investments that earns year in and year out. Dividend paying stocks and income producing bonds can do that for you.

At The Wall Street Journal, Michael Wursthorn explains how dividends are keeping many investors alive this year.

Companies in the S&P 500 have spent nearly $421 billion on dividends through November, a record-setting sum that eclipsed last year’s mark of roughly $391 billion and the full-year tally of $420 billion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. More than two dozen companies announced additional dividend increases so far this month, which will push the year’s total even higher.

Those payouts are easing investors’ burden as they navigate a challenging investment environment. The S&P 500 is on pace to fall 2.8% this year for its first annual loss since 2015, as concerns including a trade spat with China, Federal Reserve interest-rate increases and a sharp drop in oil prices point to the potential for an economic slowdown.

But an index that measures the S&P 500’s total return, which includes dividends, is roughly flat in 2018 after more than 300 companies in the broad index increased or initiated payouts this year.

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.