You spend years saving up for retirement, but your retirement planning doesn't stop when you leave work. You'll still need to make sure your money lasts through your retirement by generating passive income so that you don't spend down your principal too quickly. Here are some of the investment vehicles you can use.

Dividend Stocks

Dividend stocks are stocks that pay out a portion of the company's profits. Usually, this is done either quarterly or annually.

When a dividend is paid, you receive the income but still keep your stock. Although typical dividends are measured in cents per share, they can add up if you've built up significant stock over time.

The advantage to dividend stocks is that the share value can continue to grow with the stock market. Of course, the price could also fall, so you shouldn't rely on being able to sell your shares at full value for any time. The other risk is that the company could choose to end or lower the dividend at any time.

Bonds

Bonds are the debt of a corporation or government entity. In short, you are making them a loan in exchange for a fixed rate of interest return.

Federal government bonds can be purchased directly from the United States Treasury Department, and corporate and state and local government bonds can be purchased similarly to stocks. You can also purchase mutual funds and exchange traded funds that invest in large groups of bonds.

Bonds are considered relatively safe because you receive your principal back on maturity. However, there is always a risk that the debtor might go bankrupt.

Annuities

Annuities are a special investment vehicle that aren't tied to a specific company. Instead, the financial institution selling the annuities looks to earn income by reinvesting the money you put in at higher rates.

With an annuity, you pay a lump sum up front in exchange for receiving a fixed income. Some annuities are for a fixed period of years, while others are based on your own lifetime.

The risk to annuities is that fast inflation could reduce the earning power of your income. You may also lose out on market gains that you could have earned by staying in more risky stocks and bonds.

Unlike with a bond, you do not receive the lump sum principal payment when the annuity ends.

To learn more about annuities and retirement planning, contact a financial planning specialist at a company such as Fogel Capital Management, Inc.