Americans believe they need to save $1.3 million for retirement, according to a recent study by Northwestern Mutual. In most cases, people are well short of that goal and it may simply not be attainable.

But one way that you can bolster your financial situation is by investing in dividend stocks. Here's why they should be part of your retirement plan and why they can alleviate some of the financial burdens later on in life.

If you're pulling money out of savings, that money is gone and so is its ability to generate income for your portfolio. If you invest in dividend stocks, however, you can simply withdraw the money that those investments bring in for you every quarter. If your original investment remains unchanged, you'll still continue to generate the same level of income next quarter -- assuming, of course, that there is no change to the dividend payments.

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Source Fool.com