Retirement is a major life milestone, eclipsed only by marriage or the birth of your first child in terms of financial impact. For many, it's an exhilarating leap into the unknown. In your working years, you can take investing setbacks in stride, as portfolio losses can be offset by new savings or working an extra year or two.

But once retired, you no longer have that luxury. Your portfolio must last for the the rest of your life, and that of your spouse as well. So, the decision of what retirement stocks you should include your portfolio is an important one.

An ideal retirement stock will pay a healthy dividend. As Sonia Joao, president of Houston-based RIA Robertson Wealth Management, explains, "Four out of five of our clients are in or near retirement, and essentially all of them tell us the same thing. They want safe, secure streams of income to meet their living expenses and replace their paychecks."

While a good dividend is probably the most important characteristic to look for, it's certainly not the only one. Yields across most asset classes are lower today than in years past, and retirees need growth to stay ahead of inflation. So, while a retirement portfolio should have a large share of income stocks, it also will include some growth names for balance.

The following are 25 stocks every retiree should own. This group of retirement stocks includes both pure income plays and growth companies, with a focus on very-long-term performance and durability.

Public Storage

Courtesy Mike Mozart via Flickr

Self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) Public Storage (PSA, $236.45) may be the single least sexy stock in the entire Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. If you mention it at a cocktail party, don't expect to be the center of attention.

But the boringness is exactly what makes Public Storage such an ideal retirement stock. Self-storage is one of the most recession-proof investments you're ever likely to find. In fact, recessions are often good for the self-storage industry, as they force people to downsize and move into smaller homes or even move in with parents or other family - and their stuff has to go somewhere.

With the economy looking a little wobbly these days, that's something to consider. But there's another angle to this story as well. According to Ari Rastegar - founder of Rastegar Equity Partners, a real estate private equity firm with expertise in the self-storage sector - changes to the broader economy are at work.

"Despite unemployment being exceptionally low, wages haven't kept pace with rising prices," Rastegar explains. "This has led to the rise of micro apartments and the general trend of smaller units closer to city centers. All of this bodes very well for the future of the self-storage sector. Your apartment might be shrinking, but you still need to put your personal belongings somewhere."

Public Storage has a diversified portfolio of nearly 2,500 properties spread across 38 states and additionally has a significant presence in Europe. While the REIT has kept its dividend constant at $2 per quarter for the past two years, it historically has been a dividend-raising machine. Over the past 20 years, Public Storage has raised its dividend by nearly 10-fold.

At current prices, Public Storage yields 3.4%. That's not an exceptionally high yield by any stretch, but it's still better than what you're able to get in the bond market these days - at least not without taking significantly more risk.

Realty Income

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No list of retirement stocks would be complete without a mention of triple-net retail, $68.03). If Public Storage is the most boring stock on Wall Street, Realty Income is a close second.