does the s p 500 pay dividends 
as the s p 500 is an index you cannot invest directly in it you can however invest in funds that track the index such as the spdr s p 500 etf when you invest in these funds they pay out the dividends to you the bottom linefor dividend investors investing in funds that track the s p 500 dividend aristocrat index could be a good strategy as the index is made up of companies that have consistently been raising dividends for at least 25 years dividends add a strong income component value to stocks 