mulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less

In 1934, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd wrote in their classic book Security Analysis, "The prime purpose of a business corporation is to pay dividends to its owners." Many investors agreed, expecting stocks to pay higher dividends than bonds to make up for stocks' additional risk.

But by the 1990’s, investors’ interest in dividends had pretty much dried up. With the market rising 20% to 30% or more per year, and some individual stocks much faster than that, dividend yields of 2% or 3% were real yawners. They did not play a role in most investors’ stock selections.

Times change. The bull market of 1982 to 2000 is history. So is the tech-telecom bubble of 1997-2000 that capped off that longest bull run in market history. The bubble deflated, leaving investors who held on with losses of 90% or more. Those losses have still not been made up. They will not be made up within many of our lifetimes.

Meanwhile, the baby boomers—the first of whom (like myself) were born in 1946, are moving into retirement age. Whereas at the height of the bubble in 1999, the oldest boomers were 53 years old—accumulating money as fast as we could for retirement--now we are 60. For some of us, the accumulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less

90’s, investors’ interest in dividends had pretty much dried up. With the market rising 20% to 30% or more per year, and some individual stocks much faster than that, dividend yields of 2% or 3% were real yawners. They did not play a role in most investors’ stock selections.

Times change. The bull market of 1982 to 2000 is history. So is the tech-telecom bubble of 1997-2000 that capped off that longest bull run in market history. The bubble deflated, leaving investors who held on with losses of 90% or more. Those losses have still not been made up. They will not be made up within many of our lifetimes.

Meanwhile, the baby boomers—the first of whom (like myself) were born in 1946, are moving into retirement age. Whereas at the height of the bubble in 1999, the oldest boomers were 53 years old—accumulating money as fast as we could for retirement--now we are 60. For some of us, the accumulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less

l market of 1982 to 2000 is history. So is the tech-telecom bubble of 1997-2000 that capped off that longest bull run in market history. The bubble deflated, leaving investors who held on with losses of 90% or more. Those losses have still not been made up. They will not be made up within many of our lifetimes.

Meanwhile, the baby boomers—the first of whom (like myself) were born in 1946, are moving into retirement age. Whereas at the height of the bubble in 1999, the oldest boomers were 53 years old—accumulating money as fast as we could for retirement--now we are 60. For some of us, the accumulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less

ifetimes.

Meanwhile, the baby boomers—the first of whom (like myself) were born in 1946, are moving into retirement age. Whereas at the height of the bubble in 1999, the oldest boomers were 53 years old—accumulating money as fast as we could for retirement--now we are 60. For some of us, the accumulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less

mulation phase of our investing lives is over. For many others, it is coming to a rapid close. Thousands of boomers per month are retiring, taking packages, or otherwise ending their regular working lives.

And guess what? With retirement comes an interest in income! Retirees suddenly become less interested in two-baggers (a stock that doubles) than in satisfying their day-to-day money needs. For most boomer retirees, these needs are met through three sources:

• Pensions. Many (not all) boomer retirees have traditional pensions. Their number will dwindle each year, because so many companies that used to offer conventional retirement plans dropped them and are continuing to drop (or freeze) them as we speak. People at the leading edge of the boomer generation are more likely to have traditional pensions than people at the trailing edge. (The latter were born in 1957, and they are now 49 or 50 years old).

• Withdrawals from accumulated savings. Conventional advice is to limit these to 4% per year or so, or else you will outlive your money.

• Dividends! Suddenly, that 2% or 3% that looked like junk in 1999 has some attractive qualities. If a boomer has saved, say $500,000, a 3% yield kicks out $15,000 per year. Not a fortune, but a good chunk of many boomers’ income needs in retirement.

Notice that I did not list Social Security. No boomer is eligible yet for Social Security. As boomers reach 62 or 65, of course, Social Security will kick in and become the fourth