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Retirees are hunting for durable monthly and quarterly checks that keep landing regardless of who wins the news cycle. Five names anchor that shortlist right now, and the group averages a payout that trounces the S&P 500’s sub-2% yield: Ares Capital pays a 10.3% dividend yield and AGNC Investment pays 12.7%, both well above what Treasuries or index funds are offering in mid-2026. Here is how the five stack up on safety, coverage, and staying power.

Altria Group Altria (NYSE:MO | MO Price Prediction) is the classic boomer income name, and it still earns the label. The tobacco giant currently yields 5.96% on a quarterly dividend that was raised from $1.02 to $1.06 per share effective with the March 2026 payment, an annualized run rate of $4.24.

Dividend safety is the whole story here. Trailing EPS of $4.96 comfortably covers the $4.24 payout, and management’s FY26 adjusted EPS guidance of $5.56 to $5.72 pushes coverage further into the safe zone. Altria paid $7.0 billion in dividends for full-year 2025 while still returning capital via buybacks. The dividend track record is one of the longest in the market, with regular annual increases visible in the data every year going back more than two decades.

The bull case for income investors: a low-beta (0.494), cash-gushing operator trading at a forward P/E of 13 with a nearly 6% yield and a raise almost every year. Shares are up 32.54% over the past year, so this is not a beaten-down setup anymore.

Risk: cigarette volumes remain in secular decline, and Marlboro retail share slipped 1.4 points to 39.7%. If smokeable volumes decelerate faster than pricing can offset, the dividend growth rate compresses.

Verizon Communications Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is the ultra-high-yield telecom that retirees actually own. The stock yields 6.46%, and the board pushed the quarterly payout from $0.69 to $0.7075 per share earlier this year, an annualized rate of $2.83.

Coverage looks solid on a cash basis. Verizon guided FY26 free cash flow to at least $21.5 billion against a dividend obligation that runs a fraction of that. Adjusted EPS guidance of $4.95 to $4.99 against a $2.83 annualized payout implies a payout ratio well under 60%. The dividend growth record here spans 25+ years of uninterrupted quarterly payments with steady annual bumps.

The bull case is boring in the best way: first positive Q1 postpaid phone net adds since 2013, fiber connections jumping 41.9% year over year to about 10.8 million post-Frontier close, and a beta of just 0.238. This is a portfolio stabilizer that pays you to hold it.

Risk: total debt jumped to $172.5 billion after the Frontier close, with net unsecured leverage at 2.6x. If deleveraging stalls, dividend growth stays capped in the low single digits.

Enterprise Products Partners Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) is the midstream MLP that income investors treat like a bond substitute. The distribution yield sits at 5.84%, with the latest quarterly payout raised to $0.56 from $0.55 and an annualized forward distribution of $2.24.

Safety is best-in-class for the group. Enterprise generated Q1 2026 distributable cash flow of $2.7 billion and retained $1.5 billion of DCF after distributions, a coverage ratio most retirees only dream about. The distribution has now grown for 27 consecutive years, which is why it gets called a shadow Dividend King. Debt of $34.2 billion is manageable against EBITDA of $9.79 billion, and the model is fee-based, not commodity-price driven.

The bull case: record volumes across the system (NGL fractionation +16%, pipeline +7%, marine +15%), $5.3 billion of growth projects under construction, and a distribution that has literally never gone backward in nearly three decades. The stock is up 28.8% over the past year and 127.84% over five years.

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Risk: MLPs issue K-1 tax forms, which complicates filings and generally makes them a poor fit inside IRAs due to UBTI concerns.

Ares Capital Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) is the largest publicly traded business development company, and it earns the ultra-high-yield tag. The stock pays $1.92 annually for a 10.3% yield, with $0.48 per quarter maintained consistently since Q1 2023.

Coverage runs through net investment income, and it holds up. Q1 2026 net investment income was $0.55 per share against the $0.48 dividend, giving roughly 15% of cushion. The portfolio is $29.5 billion across 603 companies, weighted heavily to first-lien senior secured loans at 73% of new commitments, and non-accruals sit at a manageable 2.1%. Leverage at 1.12x leaves headroom versus the regulatory cap.

The bull case for income buyers: a double-digit yield, a P/E of 11, a price-to-book of 0.952 (essentially at NAV), and a dividend that has been stable or rising through the last three years. Analyst consensus skews positive with 4 Strong Buys and 7 Buys against 3 Holds and zero Sells.

Risk: BDCs live and die by the credit cycle. Non-accruals ticked up from 1.8% and $412 million in net unrealized losses dragged GAAP EPS to $0.13 in Q1. If spreads widen further, NAV takes another leg down.

AGNC Investment AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) is the monthly-payer wildcard that retirees either love or avoid entirely. The mortgage REIT pays $0.12 per share monthly, or $1.44 annualized for a 12.7% yield.

Safety is the key question. The monthly $0.12 rate has been held steady for 6+ consecutive years, and Q1 2026 net spread and dollar roll income rose to $0.42 per share from $0.35, comfortably covering the quarterly equivalent of the payout. However, tangible net book value per share fell 5.6% to $8.38 in the quarter, and the company posted a GAAP net loss of $0.17 per share. The dividend was cut from $0.16 to $0.12 back in 2020, so this is not a Dividend Aristocrat story.

The bull case: monthly income, an Agency MBS portfolio of $94.7 billion that carries government backing on the underlying credit risk, and a FY25 economic return on tangible common equity of 22.7%. Shares are up 41.51% over the past year on total return.

Risk: book value volatility is real. AGNC runs 7.4x leverage, so a bad quarter for MBS spreads can erase months of dividend income on the mark-to-market.

The Bottom Line Enterprise Products Partners and Altria are the ballast of this group, offering the strongest coverage and longest raise streaks. Verizon adds low-beta telecom cash flow with a 6%-plus yield that just got another bump. Ares Capital and AGNC layer on the double-digit yields boomers want, with the caveat that BDC credit and mortgage REIT book value swings mean position-sizing matters. Blended together, these five build the kind of income ladder retirees are buying in size and holding indefinitely.

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Fowler to Succeed Teague as CEO

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) today reported that A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner, has announced his intention to retire as of January 4, 2027. W. Randall “Randy” Fowler, Enterprise’s co-chief executive officer, will serve as chief executive officer effective upon Mr. Teague’s retirement.

“Jim has been integral to our success since he joined Enterprise in 1999,” said Randa Duncan, non-executive chairman of Enterprise’s general partner. “Under Jim’s leadership, Enterprise has played a leading role in developing and serving both domestic and international markets for prolific supplies of NGL production from the U.S. shale plays. Enterprise became the first midstream company to provide wellhead to water NGL services in 2009. These efforts have facilitated production and generated incremental revenue for U.S. shale producers, contributed to the renaissance of the U.S. petrochemical industry and provided reliable and affordable U.S. ethane and propane supplies to international markets, which has literally improved the lives of millions of people globally by lifting them out of energy poverty.”

“Jim also led Enterprise’s innovation to deliver additional value and flexibility for our petrochemical customers by transitioning a historically opaque contract market for ethylene and polymer-grade propylene on the U.S. Gulf Coast to transparent and liquid pricing and storage hubs for these products in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The industry adoption and success of these pricing points ultimately led to the development of financial futures markets for these products,” continued Ms. Duncan.

“Over this period, we have grown the enterprise value of the partnership from $1.8 billion to almost $120 billion. All of us at Enterprise are grateful for Jim’s twenty-eight years of leadership and contributions. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors and a well-deserved retirement. Over the next six months, in addition to his normal duties, Jim will be actively involved in transition activities as we prepare for his retirement,” said Ms. Duncan.

“I look forward to continue working with Randy as our chief executive officer to continue to execute on Enterprise’s growth capital investments and pursue new opportunities,” said Ms. Duncan.

“Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to experience two exceptionally rewarding chapters,” said Teague. “I spent 22 years with Dow Chemical, where I had the opportunity to travel extensively around the world, serving as Vice President of Hydrocarbon Feedstocks. That experience provided me with a deep appreciation for the global energy and petrochemical landscape, as well as exposure to diverse cultures.”

“My 28 years with Enterprise Products have been even more meaningful. I have had the privilege of being part of an organization that has grown far beyond what I could have ever imagined. It has been truly rewarding to witness not only our significant growth in earnings, but also the increasing sophistication of our business as we have learned to fully capture the opportunities within our asset footprint,” stated Teague.

“Most importantly, at Enterprise Products I have had the honor of working alongside some of the most talented, dedicated, and principled individuals in our industry. This has been a remarkable journey, and I am deeply proud of the relationships we have built, the experiences we have shared, and the accomplishments we have achieved," said Teague.

Mr. Fowler has served as a director of Enterprise’s general partner since 2011 and as Enterprise’s co-chief executive officer since 2020. He also served as our chief financial officer from 2007 to 2015 and then again from 2018 to 2024. He joined Enterprise in 1999, shortly after Enterprise’s initial public offering. Mr. Fowler has 48 years of finance and accounting experience in various sectors of the energy industry.

Upon Mr. Teague’s retirement, Enterprise’s general partner will expand the Office of the Chairman, which is a management oversight group that serves as a liaison between the board of Enterprise’s general partner and senior management. Currently, the Office of the Chairman is comprised of Ms. Duncan serving as non-executive chairman, Richard H. “Hank” Bachmann serving as vice chairman of Enterprise’s general partner, and Teague and Fowler each serving as co-chief executive officers. Upon Mr. Teague’s retirement, the Office of the Chairman will be comprised of Ms. Duncan, Mr. Bachmann, Mr. Fowler, Michael C. “Tug” Hanley serving as chief commercial officer and R. Daniel Boss serving as chief financial officer.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Our services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and import and export terminals; crude oil and refined products transportation, storage and terminals; petrochemical transportation and services; and a marine transportation business that operates on key U.S. inland and intracoastal waterway systems. The partnership’s assets currently include over 50,000 miles of pipelines; over 300 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity.

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein that address activities, events, developments or transactions that Enterprise and its general partner expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition, and other risk factors included in Enterprise’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as required by law, Enterprise does not intend to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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