I think it's always worth considering what ASX shares are appropriate for investors in their 60s or older.
Retirees need a good level of cashflow to fund the desired lifestyle, although that cashflow has to be sustainable.
That's why these three ASX shares could be good picks:
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts might be my favourite business on the ASX. It's an investment conglomerate that is invested across a variety of industries with its stakes in TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) and Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI). The diversification strategy is very useful and the long-term investment strategy leads to long-term returns.
It has paid a dividend every year in its existence going back over a century. Recently, it has increased its dividend in consecutive years going back to 2000. For this reason, I think it's a very reliable dividend share, even if the grossed-up dividend yield is only 2.7%.
Vanguard Australian Share ETF (ASX: VAS)
If you want to invest simply for your retirement, then just using a low-cost ETF from Vanguard could be the way to go for an annual costs of only 0.15% per year.
With this ETF you get exposure to (around) 300 ASX shares, with bigger weightings to the ASX large caps like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).
Lots of managers end up underperforming the market over the long-term and short-term, particularly after fees, so why not go for the low-cost option instead and achieve the market average?
Before franking credits, this Australian ETF has a dividend yield of 4.4% according to Vanguard, which is fairly attractive for a passive ETF option.
National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been one of the best performing asset classes over the past year.
National Storage's shares have risen 14% over the past year and it has delivered a pleasing level of income distributions too.
This REIT is the largest self-storage provider in Australia and New Zealand, with the sector going through a boom phase. As the largest provider, National Storage has a scale advantage.
National Storage is predicting underlying earnings per security and the distribution per security to be between 9.6 to 9.9 cents for this financial year. This translates to an income yield of 5.5% to 5.7%.
Foolish takeaway
All three shares could be fairly reliable picks for retirement income over the coming years. If I could only pick one it would definitely be Soul Patts, but I'd prefer to buy it with a grossed-up dividend yield of 3% or more.
