Have you ever watched a football team with a lead in the fourth quarter begin playing it too safe too early? That's a good way to lose the game. I think retired investors can face a similar dilemma. If their portfolio generates too little income, they could be forced to make withdrawals that deplete their retirement savings too quickly.
One alternative to avoid this undesired outcome is to buy stocks that offer higher dividend yields. Yes, higher yields sometimes come with higher risks, but that's not always the case. Here are three ultra-high-yield dividend stocks I think retirees should consider for 2026.
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1. Enterprise Products Partners
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD +0.16%) pays a forward distribution yield that's just a hair below 7%. The great news is that retirees should be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that the midstream energy company's juicy distributions should flow uninterrupted.
Actually, the chances are quite good that the distributions will grow, too. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distribution for 28 consecutive years, with its most recent distribution hike of 3.8% year over year coming earlier this month.
NYSE: EPD
Key Data Points
A strong underlying business makes such an impressive track record possible. Enterprise operates over 50,000 miles of pipeline, plus numerous other energy infrastructure assets. The limited partnership (LP) is the only midstream energy company with an A- credit rating.
I think Enterprise Products Partners' overall growth prospects are solid, too. The demand for natural gas should continue to rise, driven in part by the construction of new data centers that host artificial intelligence (AI) applications. U.S. exports of natural gas liquids will also likely increase over the rest of the decade. Enterprise is poised to benefit from both trends.
2. Realty Income
Realty Income (O 1.97%) offers retirees (and any other investor, for that matter) an attractive forward dividend yield of around 5.4%. Even better, this real estate investment trust (REIT) pays its dividends monthly rather than quarterly.
You don't have to worry about this ultra-high dividend, either. Realty Income has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years and 112 consecutive quarters. Since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1994, the company has increased its dividend by a compound annual growth rate of 4.2%.
NYSE: O
Key Data Points
Realty Income owns over 15,600 properties. It has a large, diverse tenant base that represents 91 industries. Nearly all (98.6%) of its properties are leased, with a weighted average remaining lease term of roughly nine years. The bottom line: This REIT should be able to count on steady cash flows for years to come.
The story gets even better, though. Realty Income is laser-focused on expanding in Europe, which has a total addressable market of $8.5 trillion and limited competition from other REITs. I don't think retirees should settle for a boring stock with a dividend yield of 2% when an alternative like Realty Income is available.
3. Verizon Communications
Now for the juiciest dividend of all. Verizon Communications' (VZ +0.23%) forward dividend tops 7%. Although the telecommunications giant doesn't have quite an impressive dividend track record as Enterprise Products Partners and Realty Income, the company has still increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years.
I'm confident that streak will continue. Verizon's free cash flow is growing and more than enough to cover the dividend at higher levels.
NYSE: VZ
Key Data Points
Sure, competition in the wireless industry is fierce. However, Verizon's customer base is expanding. The company delivered the highest revenue in the industry in the second quarter of 2025 and will likely repeat the feat in the third quarter.
Verizon should be a bigger company in 2026, too. It expects to close on the pending acquisition of Frontier Communications (FYBR +0.19%) early next year. I like this deal because it gives Verizon a bigger fiber network footprint and should strengthen the company's competitive position.
