Retirement satisfaction is positively correlated with income, net worth, health, and stable income streams.

Reports state that investors, who record the lowest levels of worry, don’t have the highest income prior to retirement. However, their net worth is the highest multiple of their pre-retirement income.

The findings suggest investors whose expectations are modest based upon their income level relative to their asset base are the most satisfied. Pre-retirement worry and post-retirement satisfaction are improved if annuitized income streams exist. The levels and types of these incomes and assets are important.

I’m not going to recommend that retirees should load up on REITs. However, REIT income should be part of the retirement process. Investors should look closer at the asset class to ensure the dividend income quality is reliable and repeatable.

But, just because you invest in a REIT, it’s not guaranteed the dividend income will be sustainable. Most retirees count on the income to fund expenses or enjoy their quality of living, so a dividend cut could be devastating.

Through diversification, investors can reduce risk without sacrificing returns, allowing investors to model portfolios with tactical allocations. Investors should maintain tactical diversification across multiple property sectors because each property has its own macro-economic characteristics.

Listed are five, inexpensive REITs that provide a higher risk option. Following the principles of value investing, if stocks are cheap, you buy them. But, I’m not recommending the “cheap” REITs; these are what I call “the crème de la crème.” If you want to get rich, you have to take the emotion out of the decision-making process and buy attractive dividend-paying stocks on sale.

5 highly predictable REITs

In a recent article on Seeking Alpha about Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR), I explained, “This cloud-based REIT is raining dividends, and I consider the interest rate fears to be nothing more than an opportunity.” Digital recently announced plans to increase its quarterly dividend on common stock by 8.6% – its 13th consecutive increase since the IPO in 2004.