S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend stocks offer a great means to build a reliable passive income for life.

Regular dividend payments can come in quite handy during your working years. But it's really during those retirement years that an additional passive income stream can offer a significant boost to your lifestyle.

And with many ASX 200 stocks providing fully franked dividends, you may be able to hold onto more of that income come tax time.

Now, before we look at the three top ASX stocks below that I believe will continue to provide investors with reliable dividend payouts for many years to come, here are two quick points.

Keep in mind

First, a properly diversified ASX income portfolio will contain more than just three stocks. There's no magic number. But 10 is a decent ballpark figure. Ideally, these companies will operate in various sectors across different locations. That will reduce the risk of your entire passive income portfolio taking a hit if one sector or company comes under pressure.

Second, remember that the dividend yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields. Future yields can be higher or lower depending on a range of company-specific and macroeconomic factors.

With that in mind…

3 ASX 200 stocks for regular passive income

The first ASX 200 stock I'd buy for a lifetime of passive income is Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

On the back of strong half-year results, the Aussie supermarket giant increased its interim dividend by 2.8% to 37 cents per share. That brings the full-year payout to 69 cents per share. There's still time to grab that interim payout, with Coles trading ex-dividend on 5 March.

At Friday's closing share price of $19.98, Coles trades on a fully franked dividend yield (partly trailing, partly pending) of 3.4%.

The second ASX 200 stock I'd buy for its long-term passive income is BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

With the mining giant reporting a 23% year on year decline in underlying attributable profit to US$5.1 billion, BHP cut its interim dividend by 29% to 78.5 cents per share. BHP stock trades ex-dividend on 6 March.

But with the BHP share price also down over the year and closing Friday at $39.04 – and adding in the $1.10 per share final dividend – the stock trades at an attractive 4.9% fully franked dividend yield (partly trailing, partly pending).

Which brings us to the third ASX 200 stock I'd buy for a lifetime of passive income, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

Over the past 12 months, the big four bank has paid out a total of $1.66 a share in fully franked dividends.

At Friday's closing price of $31.81, Westpac shares trade on a fully franked trailing yield of 4.75%.

Atop that passive income, Westpac shares have gained 21% over the full year.