As July gets underway, the S 500 index sits near all-time highs. The yield on the index is below 1.3%, which isn't nearly enough to get a retired income investor's attention. But yields above 4%, now that's a different story. And if those yields are backed by reliable businesses and growing dividend payments, well, you might just find Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP)(NYSE: BEPC) and WEC Energy (NYSE: WEC) in your portfolio before the month is over.

There are two ways to buy Brookfield Renewable. One is a partnership, with a yield of 5.6%, while the other is structured as a corporation, with a dividend yield of roughly 5%. They both represent the same entity, but the partnership requires investors to deal with a K-1 form come tax time. It's a bit more complicated and investors, including large entities like pension funds, prefer the corporate share class. That higher demand is the reason for the lower yield from the corporate share class. If you don't mind a little extra effort on April 15, you can pick a material increase in yield with the partnership units.

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Source Fool.com