| It's unclear whether you mean to say that this person needs monthly income now, or would like to invest now so that some time later he/she can get a monthly income stream?
It;s impossible to give any sound advice without knowing more detals - how much does this person want to invest, what are his/her other assets, what income stream is needed, etc. However, assuming you are looking for investments - for a person who is not working (and consequently ineligible for investing in an IRA), I would suggest a mix of low-cost tax-efficient mutual funds. Index funds can be a good place to start - they have low fees, and are usually very tax efficient because they have minimal capital gains distributions each year. Consequently your investment grows with minimal tax bite until you cash it in. Of course investing in the stock market is inherently risky, and should be balanced with investments in bonds or bond funds. Check out Fidelity, Vanguard, and funds from other no-load houses.
If you're looking for a steady income stream now, look into a fixed annuity. This is where you invest a lump sum and the company pays income monthly for life. This has the advantage of being a sure stream of income, but you run the risk that overtime the amount becomes dwindled by inflation. For someone who is 54 they should be planning on needing income for the next 30 years at least. At 3% average inflation, that means that 30 years from now your friend will need an income stream that is 150% more than what's needed today. The only way to stay even with inflation is to have a significant portion of investments in stocks. | 
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