How to Get a Raise Every Year -- After You've Retired

In a very real sense, living on a fixed income means facing financial death by a thousand papercuts as inflation slices away at that income's ability to cover your costs. To break free of that trap, you need an investing strategy that gives you a legitimate chance of seeing your income grow over time -- even after you've retired. There are no real guarantees in investing, but there's one investing strategy that focuses on dividend growth that gives you a good chance of getting that raise, every year.

Key to a strategy focused on an increasing income stream is to own shares of companies that pay, have increased, and look capable of continuing to increase their dividends over time. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, a track record of increasing dividends is worth looking for. After all, dividends don't just happen. It takes action by a company's management to put the company in the position of having more cash available to pay a higher dividend, and it takes action by its board of directors to approve the higher payment. A decent track record of increasing dividends tells you that the company's management and its board are actively taking steps to make that happen.

Source: Motley Fool

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