Many Australians love the idea of retiring at 55 with $120,000 of annual passive income. Investing in ASX shares could be the best option to achieve that.

For some people, retiring early sounds good because it could mean enjoying more of life, stopping before the body can’t do the physical work anymore, or simply getting away from the desk.

Whatever the reason for wanting $120,000 per year of passive income, unlocking that level of dividends is enticing.

Use compounding to build wealth

One of the best things that investors can utilise to get to retirement is the power of compounding.

Albert Einstein once supposedly said about compounding:

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.

Compounding allows our ASX share investments to grow in value over time without us needing any more money ourselves to increase that value.

By regularly putting additional money into the stock market, investors can see the value of their portfolio increase.

I’ll run through two examples of how it could work.

If someone is 25 and can invest $1,000 per month, they’d be able to invest $12,000 per year. Assuming the portfolio returns an average of 10% per year, that portfolio would grow to be worth $1.97 million after 30 years.

With the second example, let’s imagine someone is 30 and has more earning power, allowing them to invest $2,000 per month. If the portfolio were to return 10% per year, it would grow to $2.36 million after 25 years.

Which ASX shares I’d buy for passive income to retire

If we go with those two examples above, a $1.97 million portfolio would require a portfolio dividend yield of approximately 6.1% to make $120,000 of annual passive income. Meanwhile, a $2.36 million portfolio would require a dividend yield of 5.1%.

I’m going to highlight some ASX shares with a lower-to-medium dividend yield and some with a higher dividend yield.

Some of the stocks with a dividend yield of around 5% (or a little less) that I like include Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF), Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP), L1 Long Short Fund Ltd (ASX: LSF), Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL), APA Group (ASX: APA), Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) and WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ).

The ASX shares that have a higher dividend yield that I’m a big fan of with a higher dividend yield include WCM Global Growth Ltd (ASX: WQG), MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF), Future Generation Australia Ltd (ASX: FGX), Future Generation Global Ltd (ASX: FGG) and Hearts and Minds Investments Ltd (ASX: HM1).

The post How much do I need to retire on $120,000 a year at 55? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Would I buy Telstra shares with $5,000 as they near a 52-week low?
• I’d buy 164,557 shares of this ASX stock to aim for $500 a week of passive income
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• How much passive income can I earn off my $800,000 superannuation balance?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Future Generation Australia, Future Generation Global, Hearts And Minds Investments, L1 Long Short Fund, Mff Capital Investments, Rural Funds Group, Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited, Wcm Global Growth, and Wcm Quality Global Growth Fund. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group, Mff Capital Investments, Rural Funds Group, Telstra Group, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It was a disappointing mid-week session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Wednesday. After starting out strong this morning, investors got spooked around midday, turning what had been a healthy lead for the ASX 200 into a loss.

That may have been a result of today’s inflation figures. Either way, the index ended up closing 0.4% lower at 9,127.8 points.

This tantalising hump day for the ASX followed a more robust night of trading over on the American markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) continued to push higher, gaining another 0.3%.

Over on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), the mood was even more upbeat, with the index rising 0.66%.

But let us return to the local markets now and dive a little deeper into what was happening amongst the various ASX sectors this Wednesday.

Winners and losers

Despite the market’s choke today, we still had a few sectors that pushed higher.

But first, the standout losers this hump day were tech stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) was hit hard, crashing 3.47%

Energy shares had a day to forget as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) plunging 1.52%.

Communications stocks were also on the nose. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) took a 1.38% dive today.

As were healthcare shares, evident from the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)’s 1.21% tanking.

Industrial stocks fared a little better. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) still lost 0.6%, though.

Financial shares were right behind that, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) dipping 0.57%.

Our final losers today were mining stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) slid 0.01% lower.

Let’s get to the winners now. Leading the pack were consumer staples shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)’s 1.83% surge.

Gold stocks were also a safe haven. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) had lifted 0.83% by the closing bell.

Utilities shares didn’t miss out, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) jumping 0.53%.

We can say the same for real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) jumped up 0.35% this session.

Finally, consumer discretionary shares managed to stick a landing, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)’s 0.07% crawl higher.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s top stock was retailer Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV). Lovisa shares were hot property today, rocketing up 12.73% to close at $27.62.

This big leap came after the company reported its latest earnings, which seemed to have exceeded expectations.

Here’s how the other winners pulled up at the kerb:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)	$27.62	12.73%
Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR)	$2.76	9.96%
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)	$6.71	9.46%
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)	$1.05	7.18%
Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX: EOS)	$11.24	6.24%
Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)	$24.15	6.01%
Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX)	$6.83	5.75%
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)	$12.57	5.10%
Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX: ALK)	$1.98	5.04%
Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)	$23.42	4.75%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Higher for longer? Why the ASX 200 just turned negative
• Inflation falls again, but could the RBA still raise interest rates?
• This ASX gold producer could jump by 20%, according to UBS
• ASX 200 closes in on record territory as BHP and Woolworths surge

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Electro Optic Systems and Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Eagers Automotive Ltd, Lovisa, and Nine Entertainment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It’s always an interesting insight into the health of the ASX when earnings season arrives. Of course, everyone likes to look at revenues, profits and the countless other metrics that companies present. But my favourite thing to analyse in an ASX 200 share’s earnings report is the dividend section.

In my view, there is no litmus test of a company’s financial health quite like a dividend. Companies that are in financial strife simply cannot afford to increase their payouts consistently over time. And that can be fudged by accounting tricks. Today let’s go over three ASX dividend shares that aren’t in that boat, and have just revealed pay rises for their investors.

3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just boosted shareholder income

First up, we have Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW). Woolworths is a blue chip ASX 200 dividend share that has always been given a look from the typical ASX income investor. The view this year was a good one. Woolworths announced this morning that its shareholders can look forward to a final dividend of 52 cents per share, fully franked.

This new dividend is worth a 15.56% increase over the final dividend of 45 cents per share that investors banked in 2025. Woolworths is currently (at the time of writing) trading on a trailing dividend yield of 2.23%.

Next, let’s talk about gold miner Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU). Perseus’ earnings were exceptionally well-received this morning. The company posted big rises in revenues, profits and cash flow, thanks to the marked increase in gold prices over FY2026. That filtered down into this ASX 200 dividend share’s next payout.

Perseus revealed a final dividend of 9 cents per share for 2026, unfranked. That’s a whopping 80% increase over the final dividend of 5 cents per share from 2025. At current pricing, Perseus Mining stock has a dividend yield of 1.04%.

Finally, we can’t not mention WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). WiseTech shares are in freefall today after the ASX 200 tech share reported its own earnings. You can read more about that here. Despite this, there were plenty of green numbers in the company’s report. Those included a 79% rise in revenues and a 56% surge in underlying earnings.

That helped Wisetech declare a final, fully franked dividend worth 88 US cents per share. That’s up a healthy 14.29% from the 77 US cents per share investors bagged in 2025. Right now, the Wisetech share price has a dividend yield of 0.51%.

The post 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just hiked their payouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• South32, Woolworths, BHP shares reach 52-week high: Buy, sell or hold?
• Why I’d buy the dip on DroneShield and WiseTech shares
• Everything you need to know about the Woolworths dividend
• Why Woolworths, Domino’s and DroneShield shares are turning heads on Wednesday
• Why are WiseTech shares crashing 8.5% today?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.