Bonds would be helpful to a retiree during a deflationary period like the great depression. I would not consider adding any bonds to my mix untill I have 5-10 years to retirement.
Stocks might cut dividends over time. But at least you could always find new stocks with uninterrupted dividend increases ( XOM hasn’t cut its dividend since 1930′s, although it did cut it at the end of the depression)
Sometimes I am wondering though, whether dividend achievers/aristocrats are not a byproduct of the booming 1980′s and 1990′s.
But then research shows clearly that dividend payers almost always outperform non-payers..