Author: Marc Lichtenfeld, Wealthy Retirement

After being stagnant for a few years, its net investment income (NII) has exploded higher and is forecast to rise again this year.

While I continue to hold dividend stocks for the long term, lately I’ve been putting most of my cash to work in fixed income. In short, I’m excited about the safe income-producing opportunities we have now that weren’t available just a year ago.

Today, in the spirit of “teaching a man to fish,” I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you exactly how I determine the safety of a company’s dividend. As far as I can remember, I’ve never outlined my full Safety Net criteria before, so I’m eager to share the details with you.

“I had to learn these lessons the hard way.”

There’s absolutely no reason to think a dividend cut is on the horizon.