3 High-Yielding Dividend Stocks That Can Be Ideal Options for Retirees Right Now

If you’re in retirement or simply want some dividend income to rely on, it’s important to focus on stocks that have strong financials and that may potentially boost their payouts in the future. The dividend growth can help to offset the effects of inflation down the road.

Three stocks that offer high yields and that have historically been good income investments are Coca-Cola (KO -0.91%), Realty Income (O -0.90%), and AT&T (T -1.12%). They pay far more than the S&P 500 average of 1.2% and can be excellent investments to hang on to for the foreseeable future.

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1. Coca-Cola

Soft drink giant Coca-Cola has a tremendous business that has enabled it to not only grow its dividend, but to also become one of the best dividend growth stocks in the world. This year, the company announced it would be increasing its dividend for a 63rd consecutive year. That’s an impressive streak, even among Dividend Kings, a group of stocks that have increased their dividends annually for at least 50 years.

The company’s vast global operations minimize its exposure to any one single geographical market. And while this year has been a volatile one for companies navigating tariff risks, Coca-Cola’s business has been doing just fine as organic revenue growth across each of its major segments has been positive through the first six months of the year. And when factoring out the effect of foreign exchange, its comparable earnings per share has risen by 7%.

Coca-Cola’s yield of 3% means it’s paying you more than twice the S&P 500 average. This low-beta stock is up over 6% this year and with a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 23, it’s a decently valued investment worth putting in your portfolio, especially if you love dividends.

2. Realty Income

Real estate investment trust (REIT) Realty Income is another top dividend growth stock to own. Its regular monthly dividend payments make it one of the more attractive options for income investors given its frequent distributions. And at 5.3%, it has a much higher yield than Coca-Cola.

Earlier this month, the REIT announced yet another bump to its monthly payout. While its increases are normally not significant (this most recent one was an increase from $0.269 to $0.2695 per share each month), they are frequent — it’s the 132nd time  Realty Income has boosted its payout. It has been paying dividends for decades and increases have been par for the course.

The REIT has been posting healthy numbers this year with its funds from operations (FFO) per share totaling $2.11 through the first six months of 2025, which is up from $2.01 a year ago. The company is paying around 77% of its adjusted FFO per share as dividends, highlighting just how much of a buffer it still has and why it can continue to be a solid dividend growth stock for the foreseeable future. Although it’s a bit expensive, trading at a P/E multiple of more than 58, for dividend investors, it can still make for an excellent long-term investment.

3. AT&T

Telecom company AT&T may look out of place on this list as it hasn’t increased its dividend in recent years. But the business has undergone a lot of changes, including merging with Time Warner several years ago only to end up abandoning the idea of being a streaming and media company.

As a result of all the turbulence in its operations, the last time it increased its dividend was 2020. But with AT&T’s numbers looking strong of late, I think it may be a matter of time before the company gets back to boosting its payout. It has been investing into growing its network and this year, it expects its free cash flow to be around $16 billion. And by 2026, it expects that to rise to $18 billion, and then to $19 billion the year after that. The company pays about $8.2 billion in dividends per year.

With strong continued growth and improving financials, the company looks to be on a much more promising trajectory. The stock yields 3.8% and in the past 12 months it has risen by 37%, and yet it still trades at a very reasonable P/E multiple of 17.