Year to date, the S&P 500 is flat amid geopolitical uncertainty, tariffs, and a potential recession. If you’re an investor in the growth phase, I wouldn’t blame you if the current market conditions kept you up at night.

For many investors, dividends can become a realistic source of income after retirement. For example, if you owned $1 million worth of Realty Income ( O 0.48%) at its current yield of 5.7%, you would generate $4,750 per month or $57,000 in cash every year without having to work. That's significantly more than the U.S. median income of $42,220.

Wall Street saw an impressive rally in May after severe volatility in the previous two months. Expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal, the delay by the Trump administration to impose 50% tariffs on the European Union and the ongoing negotiations related to tariff and trade policies with several other major trading partners of the United States boosted market participants’ confidence in risky assets like equities.