Most companies pay out their dividends on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis. However, those payments might be too few and far between for investors who want to retire or live off their dividend income.

For those investors, monthly dividend payers might be more attractive. Realty Income (NYSE: O), LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC), and Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ: GAIN) all deliver monthly income with minimal drama.

1. Realty Income

Realty Income is one of the largest real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world. REITs buy up a lot of properties, rent them out, and split the rental income with their investors. U.S. REITs are also required to pay at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends to maintain a favorable tax rate.

Realty Income owns about 15,450 properties around the world, and its top tenants include resilient retailers like Walgreens Boots Alliance, 7-Eleven, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Walmart. Some of those tenants have been facing some tough macro headwinds, but Realty Income has consistently kept its occupancy rate at more than 96% during the past three decades.

The company has paid consecutive monthly dividends since its founding in 1969, and it's raised its payout 126 times since its initial public offering in 1994. It currently pays a monthly dividend of $0.2625 per share, which translates to a forward annual yield of 5.2%. It also still looks cheap at 15 times its per-share adjusted funds from operations, which is comparable to cash flow for a REIT.

Like many REITs, Realty Income's valuations were hurt by high interest rates during the past two years. But with interest rates poised to decline, it might be a great time to load up on this evergreen income stock to generate stable monthly dividends.

2. LTC Properties

LTC Properties is another REIT. But unlike Realty Income, LTC mainly invests in senior housing and healthcare properties across the U.S. Both of those markets have been expanding as the U.S. population ages. Its portfolio currently includes 115 assisted living facilities, 78 skilled nursing facilities, and five other types of facilities.

LTC's focus on senior citizens naturally insulates it from economic downturns and makes it a more conservative play than retail or commercial-oriented REITs. It maintained stable occupancy rates of more than 83% and 75% across its assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, respectively, in the first quarter of 2024.

LTC pays a monthly dividend of $0.19, which equals an annual forward yield of 6.4%, and it trades at just 12 times forward earnings. That high yield and low valuation should limit LTC's downside potential, but it probably won't attract too many buyers until interest rates finally decline and make it easier for the company to buy new properties. That said, it's still a safe place to park your cash, net a higher yield than most CDs and T-bills, and profit from the growing needs of an aging population.