The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD 0.57%), JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF ( JEPI 0.43%), and Vanguard Real Estate ETF ( VNQ -0.07%) are three great ETFs for generating passive income. They pay higher-yielding dividends that have grown over the years.

Covered call ETFs have become highly popular in the United States because of their high dividends and regular payments. The JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) has accumulated over $37 billion in assets,

Six top exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make sense for investors looking for dependable, often monthly instead of quarterly, distributions.

The JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF holds 103 stocks that closely mirror the Nasdaq-100 index. It writes covered calls on the Nasdaq-100 each month, it pays its distributions monthly, and it currently has a 30-day SEC yield of 9.76%. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.35%.

Its smart to seek income from your investments -- whether it's because you need that income to support yourself in retirement, or whether you want to use it to invest in more stocks. It's also a fine idea to seek that passive income from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are focused on dividend-paying shares.