The Only 3 ETFs You Need for a Worry-Free Retirement

If you are looking for a safe way to invest and try to build a sizable retirement nest egg, ETFs are arguably the way to go. While there is no shortage of different investment strategies you can choose from, going with ETFs gives you a diversified stock portfolio to help protect your upside and downside. 

In fact, millions of people have adopted the idea that ETFs are the way to go, as many of the largest funds have hundreds of billions under management. The three ETFs listed below offer reliable performance and, in some cases, dividend payments, providing you with the benefit of passive income as well. 

VOO

At the very top of the list for investing in an ETF right now, VOO comes to mind thanks to its strong balance between tech, finance, and healthcare. With a 31% tech lean right now, you rightfully expect stocks like Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, and META to be at the top of the list. 

However, the finance stocks make up around 13.97%, so you also have holdings that can prop you up in this area as well. The same can be said for healthcare, communication, energy, utilities, real estate, and many other sectors. The bottom line is that this is a truly diverse set of holdings, which should give you peace of mind that if one sector is having a down month, it won’t crush your entire portfolio. 

When you dive deeper into VOO, you can see that year-to-date, the ETF has returned approximately 2.66%. However, things get a little clearer as to why you should invest when you consider the 1-year return is 13.82%. The idea of investing gets even more convincing when you factor in the three-year return of 16.06%. There is no such thing as a guarantee in the stock market, but there is a reason why VOO is so popular with soon-to-be retirees. 

VYM

Making the transition into VYM, or the Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund, may not work for everyone, but there is no question that it can be significant for a worry-free retirement. The purpose of the stocks chosen for this fund is to create an entire ETF based on companies that pay dividends generally higher than average. 

Retirees, in particular, love the idea of dividend payouts, but it’s passive income even during market downturns. This means you get a low-risk cash flow that comes every quarter without exception. Although the amount won’t be the same every quarter, the fund currently holds 553 stocks. 

As it stands today, financial services is the highest weighting in the fund, at 20.83%, while healthcare and technology compromise right around 14% each. As of early July 2025, the fund is currently yielding a return of approximately 2.93% year-to-date, with an expected one-year return of around 12.98%. In 2024, the fund returned 17.59% to shareholders, so that’s something to consider if you want a retirement that not only shows growth but also has strong dividend returns. 

AGG

Known as the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, this fund measures the performance of the investment-grade bond market. As it stands, the fund owns approximately 11,712 different bonds and no stocks, so around 43% of the portfolio is currently invested in U.S. Treasury securities. 

Rest assured that this fund is ideal for a worry-free retirement, as it is recognized for being both stable and income-generating. If you are a retiree looking to prioritize strong dividend returns with low risk, this very well may be the ETF for you. 

In 2025, the fund returned approximately 2.16% to shareholders, following returns of 1.31% in 2024 and 5.65% in 2023. While these numbers may not seem high, the key here is stability and growth, not quick profits. This is why the one-year return in 2025 is already looking promising, at around 4.72%, which is exactly what most retirees want, allowing them to withdraw earnings every year without touching the principal amount of their investment holdings.

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