10 Highest-Yielding Dividend Stocks Today: To Buy or Not to Buy

Interest rates have been hovering near historic lows for several years now. That's a big problem for retirees, many of whom depend on income from their investments to help finance their lifestyles, and who may prefer interest-paying assets like bonds due to their low risk.

But poor returns from those "safe" assets have incentivized some income investors to put money in the highest yielding stocks they can find in order to generate decent level of regular returns. This might sound like an attractive plan, but it can actually be a risky strategy. Too many stocks wind up with impressive looking yields because their shares have been punished, often justifiably, by the market. The business itself may not be able to sustain such a payout much longer. And falling stocks may have further to fall.

Image source: Getty Images.

Source: Fool.com