Top 5 Secure 6%+ Dividend Stocks for Instant Retirement Income
With Treasury yields north of 5%, the bar for dividend stocks has never been higher, yet five companies are clearing it with cash-covered payouts and decades of consecutive raises behind them.
The 10-year Treasury yielded 5.22% on October 8, setting a high bar for any stock that demands a retiree’s capital. The five companies below yield roughly 6% or more at current prices. More importantly, each one covers its payout with earnings, free cash flow, or distributable cash with plenty left over. This screen places dividend safety first. The yield is what you get paid for having that safety.
Verizon: 20 Straight Raises Backed by $22 Billion in Free Cash Flow
Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) quarterly payout is $0.7075, or $2.83 annualized. With the stock at $43.28, that translates to an ultra-high forward yield of about 6.54%.
The coverage is strong. Full-year free cash flow guidance is $21.94 to $22.14 billion. The dividend costs about $11.76 billion a year at the current share count. Second-quarter free cash flow was $6.43 billion, up 27.1% year over year. The finance chief told investors, “This marks the 20th consecutive year of dividend increases, a track record we’re extremely proud of.” Leverage rose to 2.5x net unsecured debt to adjusted EBITDA, up from 2.2x following the Frontier acquisition. Management is targeting 2.0x to 2.25x in 2027.
The operating turnaround is real. Verizon added 184K postpaid phone subscribers, up from a 9K loss a year ago. Its adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 40.1% from 37.1%, and it raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $4.99 to $5.04. The stock trades at about 9x forward earnings.
Risk: Telecom shares fell after a satellite rival agreed to buy a nationwide block of low-band spectrum, a new competitive threat to wireless carriers. Verizon is down 13.03% over the past month.
Altria: A Fresh Raise Pushes the Yield Above 6%
The quarterly dividend from Altria (NYSE:MO) was raised to $1.11 from $1.06 on August 27. That brings the forward rate to $4.44, or roughly 6.14% at $72.26.
On the safety side, the new rate uses about 79% of the bottom of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, which is $5.61 to $5.72. Altria returned roughly $3.9 billion to shareholders through June and still had $665 million left on its buyback. The quarterly rate has risen from $0.80 in 2018 to $1.11 today. Shareholders’ equity is negative at −$2.62 billion, driven by years of buybacks rather than financial strain.
Bull case: Marlboro’s pricing power keeps cash coming in. Second-quarter revenue rose 1.3% year over year to $5.36 billion, and smokeable revenue grew 2.0%. A beta of 0.461 gives retirees a steadier ride.
The industry’s cigarette volumes are falling about 5% a year. Marlboro’s share of the retail market fell to 39.5%, and shares are up 31.4% year to date, reducing the yield for new buyers.
Omega Healthcare Investors: First Dividend Raise Since 2019
Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI) raised its quarterly payout to $0.68 after paying $0.67 every quarter from 2020 through May 2026. The forward yield is about 5.99% at $45.42, and the listed trailing yield is 6.06%. That makes it high-yield, sitting right at the 6% line.
2026 AFFO guidance was raised to $3.22 to $3.26 per share. The cash-earnings measure REITs use to fund dividends is AFFO (adjusted funds from operations). The $2.72 annual dividend uses about 84% of the midpoint. Tenant rent coverage, which measures operator earnings before rent against the rent they owe, improved to 1.65x from 1.55x. The sale of 18 CommuniCare facilities brought in $479.9 million in gross proceeds.
Bull case: Departing management calls this the “most favorable operating backdrop” in 33 years. Occupancy is 82.6%, which leaves room to raise rent coverage further. The shares have gained 20.95% over the past year.
Risk: Genesis Healthcare is still in Chapter 11 with $148.5 million in Omega loans outstanding. The company is also changing CEOs while facing Medicaid rate exposure.
British American Tobacco: Velo Growth Funds a Sterling Dividend
British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) pays ADR holders a forward annualized $3.339404, a yield of about 5.95% at $56.17. The listed trailing yield is 6.02%.
The FY2025 dividend rose 2.0% to 245.04p per share. Trailing dividends of $2.45 use about 63% of trailing EPS of $3.90. Management expects operating cash conversion above 95%, is aiming for leverage of 2.0 to 2.5x by year-end, and is running a £1.3 billion buyback.
Bull case: Modern Oral revenue jumped 47.4% to $1.17 billion, and Velo Plus U.S. revenue rose more than 310%. The forward P/E is about 11.
Risk: The dividend is paid in sterling, so the dollar amount moves with the exchange rate. Illegal disposable vapes cut vapor revenue by 10.4%, and a Dutch tax assessment could reach £1.08 billion.
Enbridge: 31 Consecutive Raises and a C$41 Billion Backlog
Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) pays C$0.97 per quarter. The company called its 2026 increase its 31st consecutive annual raise. For U.S. holders, the latest converted payment annualizes to 2.784 per share. The stock offers a high yield of about 5.92% at $47.01, and the dollar figure moves with the Canadian dollar.
Measured against distributable cash flow (DCF) guidance of C$5.70 to C$6.10 per share, the dividend uses about 64% to 68%. Operating cash flow rose 27% to $4.11 billion in the second quarter.
The secured backlog stands at about C$41 billion, and management expects roughly 5% annual DCF-per-share growth after 2026. The outgoing CEO calls it the “best macro environment for growth in the last 10 years”. Michele Harradence takes over on January 1, 2027.
Risk: Debt to EBITDA is 5.1x, above the target range of 4.5 to 5.0x. A C$3.0 billion equity offering in September diluted existing shareholders.
Five Income Streams Built on Cash Coverage
Every company on this list pays out less than it makes. The coverage ranges from Enbridge’s DCF buffer to Verizon’s free cash flow, which runs well ahead of its dividend bill. Altria and Verizon offer ultra-high yields today, while Omega, British American Tobacco, and Enbridge sit right around 6% with growth plans to support future increases. Together, they spread retirement income across tobacco, wireless, senior care, and pipelines, and every yield tops the 10-year Treasury.
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Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad, diverse career, including a stint as creative services director at an NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry.
Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans more than 30 years, including nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career spanned pivotal sell-side Wall Street events, from the dot-com rise and bubble to the Long-Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This reflects his resilience and adaptability amid market volatility.
Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, gained through a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing across various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies of Wall Street in a way only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.
Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.
