Even a generous pot of retirement savings produces meager income at today's interest rates. A handful of banks pay 3% on five-year certificates of deposits, but rates are less than half that on shorter-term CDs. A $1 million portfolio of laddered CDs, then, provides only around $20,000 in yearly income, hardly allowing its owner to live like a millionaire.

For extra income now and the likelihood of even more later, retirees should look to a small club of stocks that are members of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index. Out of a universe of 1,500 large, midsize and small companies, these are the 50 highest-yielders that have boosted their dividend payments in each of 25 straight years.

The portfolio only slightly beat the broad market over five years ended 2009, but that record probably understates the long-term potential of these stocks. Together, they have an average dividend yield (weighted for company size) of about 4% or double that of the broad U.S. stock market. They're also about 15% less expensive than the broad market relative to earnings and have higher returns on equity. Investors can buy into the entire portfolio with a purchase of the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (. Along with the stock commission, they'll pay a modest, ongoing portfolio fee, currently 0.35% a year. For investors who prefer to pick their own stocks, below are three index members that seem particularly promising.

Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark is mostly a consumer staples company with products like Huggies diapers, Scott toilet paper and Kotex women's products. It also sells health care and industrial products. Last year, the company generated $3.5 billion in cash from operations, equal to more than 13% of the company's stock market value. Management says it can increase sales by 3% to 5% and earnings per share by 4% to 9% over the next five years. Shares yield 4% and management says it plans to boost the payment by April. Analysts predict the company will use its excess cash flow to repurchase shares spending perhaps half what it spends on dividends this year and next.

National Fuel Gas

Based just outside of Buffalo, National Fuel Gas earns about 60% of its profit finding and producing natural gas and the rest distributing, transporting and storing the stuff. The business mix provides a blend of steady, reliable income and upside potential. Profits fell last year on a drop in gas prices but seem to have stabilized, and the company is forecast to increase production by 8% both this year and next. It's particularly active along the Marcellus shale, a vast deposit of gas-rich rock that stretches down the eastern U.S., profitably close to coastal markets. The company has raised its dividend for 39 straight years. Its yield stands now at 2.9% with the dividend taking up only about half of profits.

ABM Industries

Century-old ABM Industries provides janitorial, engineering and security services to businesses and operates parking facilities at airports. The company is a steady grower, and it s managed to increase earnings, cash flow and book value, if not sales, in its fiscal year ended October 2009. The janitorial business is recession-resistant and highly fragmented, and ABM is the largest U.S. player with more than five times the sales of its largest rival. That provides plenty of opportunity for small, cheap acquisitions. Management has spent about $500 million on 11 deals since 2005. The company has paid dividends each quarter for more than four decades. The stock's yield, after a dividend boost in December, is 2.8%.