Visualising your future self in your retirement years can be a challenge for many people. Yet most of us realise that relying only on the State Pension for retirement income is not viable as the benefits just don’t cut it. The full amount Britons can expect from the government is currently less than £9,000 a year and not everyone actually qualifies for that amount.
In light of this, retirees and soon-to-be retirees may need to think long and hard about establishing their own investment portfolios to lessen their reliance on the state. By investing in income-producing investments like dividend stocks, you can establish a regular income stream that supplements your pension benefits.
How much dividend income you can earn
Research and anecdotal evidence show that many people don’t plan for the financial aspects of retirement adequately. Too many Britons don’t save enough even if they save, they may not necessarily put their money to use by investing in rewarding asset classes such as equities.
Retirement needs a plan that makes it possible to be better prepared for the future.
This is where dividends from FTSE 100 stocks may come in. It’s the index Britons mostly consider when they start investing. It’s composed of the 100 largest companies (by market capitalisation) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
As one of the highest-yielding markets in the world, it currently has a generous dividend yield of 4.5%. Dividend yields show investors what percentage a specific share returns relative to its price.
For example, if a stock trades at £50 and the company’s total annual dividend is £2.50, then the dividend yield is 5%.
Any capital gains delivered by a stock in your portfolio would be an added bonus on top of the dividend.
Gathering a portfolio of FTSE 100 dividend shares and holding about £100,000 worth would, on average, generate £4,500 of passive income a year. If your portfolio is worth £200,000, then your annual dividend income will likely be about as much as the full State Pension.
The shares I’d consider
If you’re new to investing, you could buy individual stocks that are suited to novices, or make it easy and buy into a FTSE 100 tracker. Another option could be to invest in low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs). For example, if you’re interested in dividend stocks, then the iShares UK Dividend UCITS ETF may be one to consider.
With that in mind, here are several large-cap shares I’m watching right now. I’d be willing to invest in them in 2020, especially if there’s any dip in their share prices. I’d like to buy these high-quality and dividend-paying businesses when they trade on low valuations and keep them in my portfolio for many years. Just check out their yields, price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-book (P/B) ratios.
- Aviva – dividend yield 7.5%, forward P/E 6.5, P/B 0.88
- Barratt Developments – dividend yield 3.6%, forward P/E 11.1, P/B 1.66
- Glencore – dividend yield 6.9%, forward P/E 10.7, P/B 0.9
- BT – dividend yield 8.9%, forward P/E 6.9, P/B 1.64
- Imperial Brands – dividend yield 10.7%, forward P/E 7.2, P/B 3.69
- Lloyds Banking Group – dividend yield 5.5%, forward P/E 8.1, P/B 0.83
- WPP – dividend yield 6.1%, forward P/E 10.5, P/B 1.27
As always, these aren’t formal recommendations. but they could be a starting point for more research.
Finally, if you’re unsure about which type of assets may suit your needs, you may want to talk to a financial adviser before moving forward with a specific type of investment.