Here's an eye-opening statistic: older Americans are more afraid of running out of money than of death itself.

Also, retirees who have constructed a nest egg have valid justifications to be concerned, since the traditional ways to plan for retirement may mean income can no longer cover expenses. Some retirees are now tapping their principal to make a decent living, pressed for time between decreasing investment balances and longer life expectancies.

Your parents' retirement investing plan won't cut it today.

Years ago, investors at or close to retirement could put money into fixed-income assets and depend on appealing yields to generate consistent, solid pay streams to fund a comfortable retirement. 10-year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s floated around 6.50%, but unfortunately, those days of being able to exclusively rely on Treasury yields to fund retirement income are over.

That means if you had $1 million in 10-year Treasuries, the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than $1 million.

In addition to the considerable drop in bond yields, today's retirees are nervous about their future Social Security benefits. Because of certain demographic factors, it's been estimated that the funds that pay the Social Security benefits will run out of money in 2035.

So what's a retiree to do? You could cut your expenses to the bone, and take the risk that your Social Security checks don't shrink. Or you could find an alternative investment that provides a steady, higher-rate income stream to replace dwindling bond yields.

Invest in Dividend Stocks

As a replacement for low yielding Treasury bonds (and other bond options), we believe dividend-paying stocks from high quality companies offer low risk and stable, predictable income investors in retirement seek.

Look for stocks that have paid steady, increasing dividends for years (or decades), and have not cut their dividends even during recessions.

A rule of thumb for finding solid income-producing stocks is to seek those that average 3% dividend yield, and positive yearly dividend growth. These stocks can help combat inflation by boosting dividends over time.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (AVAL Quick QuoteAVAL - Free Report) is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.01 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.06%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Management industry's yield of 1.72% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.39%. The company's annualized dividend growth in the past year was 12.92%. Check Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. dividend history here>>>

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) is paying out a dividend of $0.34 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.64% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.19% and the S&P 500's yield. The annualized dividend growth of the company was 6.67% over the past year. Check Bar Harbor Bankshares dividend history here>>>

Currently paying a dividend of $0.28 per share, Independent Bank (IBCP) has a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is compared to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 2.46% and the S&P 500's current yield. Annualized dividend growth for the company in the past year was 8.33%. Check Independent Bank dividend history here>>>

But aren't stocks generally more risky than bonds?

Yes, that's true. As a broad category, bonds carry less risk than stocks. However, the stocks we are talking about-dividend-paying stocks from high-quality companies-can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole.

An upside to adding dividend stocks to your retirement portfolio: they can help lessen the effects of inflation, since many dividend-paying companies (especially blue chip stocks) generally increase their dividends over time.

Thinking about dividend-focused mutual funds or ETFs? Watch out for fees.

If you're interested in investing in dividends, but are thinking about mutual funds or ETFs rather than stocks, beware of fees. Mutual funds and specialized ETFs may carry high fees, which could lower the overall gains you earn from dividends, undercutting your dividend income strategy. Be sure to look for funds with low fees if you decide on this approach.

Bottom Line

Whether you select high-quality, low-fee funds or stocks, seeking the steady income of dividend-paying equities can potentially offer you a path to a better and more stress-free retirement.