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Retirement looms large for the baby boomer generation and ETFs can help us reach our retirement goals.

Baby-boomers tend to focus their individual retirement accounts on mutual funds, rather than ETFs. Perhaps it is due to the fact that many employer-provided 401(k) plans allowed employees to choose from a menu of mutual funds, that people began to feel somehow attached to those investments, with a vested confidence in a fund manager whom they trusted. As a result, many of these individuals could be missing out on the opportunities available in the ETF universe, which are particularly well-suited to retirement accounts and retired investors.

Most investors have set aside a significant percentage of their IRA for bond investments. This is a time-proven and conservative strategy. However, in today’s unusual environment, it is important to remember that once the Federal Reserve begins raising the federal funds rate from its near zero level, or zero – 0.25%, bond interest rates will rise.

Bond prices fall when interest rates rise, and vice-versa. Investors in open-ended bond funds, particularly longer-term bond funds, will probably see the value of those bonds fall more significantly than they would if the funds were in an ETF or mutual fund based on shorter-duration Treasuries.

Here are some examples of short-duration Treasury ETFs:

• iShares 1 – 3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (SHY)

• Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (SCHO )

• Vanguard Short-Term Government Bond ETF (VGSH )

• Pimco 1 – 3 Year U.S. Treasury Index ETF (TUZ )

Another retirement income option favored by many is a portfolio of preferred stocks. ETFs also offer baskets of preferred stocks which combine the features of stocks and bonds. Preferred stocks are attractive to retired investors because those shares typically have lower volatility and so, generally, are not as susceptible to the wild swings oftentimes found in common stocks.

Preferred shares have maturity dates, as is the case with bonds. Some preferred shares are perpetual preferred shares because they have no maturity dates and the yields are at fixed rates. The attractive benefit for retirees is that preferred stocks pay nice dividends.

Here are a few of the more popular preferred stock ETFs:

• iShares S&P Preferred Stock Index Fund (PFF )

• PowerShares Preferred Stock Portfolio ETF(PGX )

• PowerShares Financial Preferred Portfolio ETF (PGF )

One of the most popular sources of retirement income is found in stocks and ETFs that pay dividends. A wide variety of ETFs are available, comprised only of dividends-paying stocks, and these ETFs make regular dividends payments to shareholders. Some ETFs are available with component stocks which have the best records for paying dividends. These stocks are called dividend aristocrats, because they have a 25-year track record of continually increasing dividends payments each year. They provide retired investors a dependable stream of income from those dividends payouts.

Here are a two of the more-popular dividend aristocrats ETFs:

• ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF ( NOBL )

• SPDR S&P Dividend Index ETF ( SDY )

Master Limited Partnership (MLP) ETFs have also become popular with retired investors because they help boost one’s income stream. An MLP is a limited partnership which is publicly traded on a stock exchange. MLPs provide the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity of stocks.

Ninety percent of the income generated by an MLP must be obtained by transacting business in certain specified areas – most of which concern natural gas, oil and coal production and transportation, in order for an entity to qualify as an MLP under the standards set by the IRS. MLP investors receive quarterly distributions which are required by the terms of the contract with the managing (general) partner. The manager’s fee is based on the quarterly payment amounts, providing an incentive to make the business more lucrative, generating increased income for the investors.

Here are some examples of popular MLP ETFs:

• Alerian MLP ETF ( AMLP )

• Yorkville High-Income MLP ETF ( YMLP )

• Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF ( MLPX )

Retirement is a challenge for all but the most wealthy of investors, as funds will have to last several decades, and we are all vulnerable to the effects of inflation and the potential for loss in the stock market should another major swoon come our way. Nevertheless, ETFs can offer diversified options for income and growth in retirement via dividends, MLPs and bonds.

John Nyaradi is Publisher of Wall Street Sector Selector . a financial media site and newsletter focused on ETFs and global financial analysis, which is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.