The ASX dividend stock Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) could be the most appealing way for retirees to receive income. I’d rank it above receiving the Age Pension.

The business is one of the oldest on the ASX, it has already displayed excellent longevity characteristics to succeed through world wars, global pandemics, global recessions and so on.

It started life as a pharmacy business and has evolved into a diversified investment house, which is one of the reasons why I think it’s such an effective choice for dividend income. Let’s get into the reasons why it’s so compelling, in my view.

Regularly growing dividend income

I think one of the main reasons to prefer Soul Patts shares over the Age Pension is that its dividend income has been very reliable and grown faster than inflation.

The business has increased its regular annual dividend per share every year since 1998. This shows it has been incredibly reliable for shareholders over the last three decades.

Over the last five years, the ASX dividend stock has increased its payout at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9%. The company increased its FY27 interim dividend by 9.1% to 48 cents per share.

Dividend growth isn’t guaranteed, of course, but the business has a strong track record of rising payouts, and it’s one of its key goals.

The current forecast on Commsec suggests the business could increase its FY26 annual payout by more than 11% to approximately $1.15. If that happens, the grossed-up dividend yield would be 3.7%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

Impressively diversified portfolio

The investment house has spread its money across a variety of areas including listed companies, ’emerging companies’, credit, private companies and ‘real’ assets (such as real estate, agriculture and data centres).

By spreading investments across a range of areas, the company can lower its risk and give investors exposure to a portfolio of compelling assets, rather than just one or two sectors like many S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

This diversification strategy also allows the business to look across industries and geographic markets for the best opportunities. I think the flexible mandate helps generate the best returns over the long-term.

Capital growth

Another reason to prefer owning Soul Patts shares is that its portfolio has steadily increased in value over time as its existing investments have grown and it has made additional purchases.

This reflects growth in the net asset value (NAV), which is also strongly correlated with growth in the Soul Patts share price.

Over the last four years, Soul Patts’ share price has risen by roughly 70% (at the time of writing). I’m not expecting the same performance over the next four years, but it shows the kind of return Soul Patts can deliver.

Match the Age Pension

The Age Pension will soon increase, but at the time of writing, the maximum a single Australian can receive is approximately $31,200 per year on an annualised basis.

If the business does pay $1.15 per Soul Patts share in FY26, that would require 27,131 shares based on the FY26 payout. However, I expect the FY27 payout will be larger, so we won’t need as many shares in FY27 to achieve $31,200 in annual dividends.

The post 27,131 shares of this ASX dividend stock pays an income equal to the Age Pension appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. 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 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.

$1,000 a week could make retirement look very different.

That is $52,000 a year arriving without having to go to work for it.

But how much superannuation would I actually need?

It depends on the income your portfolio produces

The answer comes down to the income yield you expect from your investments.

If the goal is to generate $52,000 a year without regularly selling down the portfolio, I am going to need a substantial superannuation balance.

For example, with a 4% dividend yield across the portfolio, I would require a balance of approximately $1.30 million. 

However, with a 5% dividend yield, the balance would fall to around $1.04 million, while a 6% yield would reduce the figure to about $867,000. 

All examples are before considering any potential benefit from franking credits.

Why I wouldn’t simply chase a big yield

It would be tempting to decide that $867,000 is all I need and just aim for a 6% dividend yield in retirement.

But I would be careful with that.

A very high dividend yield can sometimes be a warning sign. A company may be struggling, its dividend may be unsustainable, or the share price may have fallen because investors expect earnings to deteriorate.

For retirement income, I would prefer a portfolio built around businesses and funds capable of supporting their payments over many years.

That could include infrastructure shares such as APA Group (ASX: APA) and Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), property investments such as Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW), and established companies such as Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

Dividend-focused ASX exchange traded funds (ETFs) could also help spread the income across a larger collection of businesses.

Growth still has a role

Even in retirement, I would not necessarily turn the entire superannuation balance into income investments.

Inflation does not stop when you retire. If the portfolio can continue growing over time, that can help the income stream grow as well.

A mix of ASX dividend shares, quality growth companies, ETFs, and defensive assets could therefore make more sense than simply trying to maximise the starting yield.

Foolish takeaway

I think targeting around $1.04 million would be a sensible starting target for someone hoping to generate $1,000 per week from a portfolio yielding approximately 5%.

The important part is building an income stream that has a good chance of still being there many years into retirement.

The post How much do I need in superannuation to receive $1,000 passive income per week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How much passive income could I earn from a $650,000 superannuation balance?
• Why this ASX share is a retiree’s dream for FY27
• How to make $26,000 of passive income from ASX shares
• 3 excellent ASX dividend shares with 5.5% to 7.7% yields
• Sell alert! Why this expert is calling time on Woolworths and CBA shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

I’m going to outline why the ASX share Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) is one of Australia’s top shares and has an appealing future for investors.

Collins Foods is a large KFC franchisee operator with sizeable outlet networks in both Australia and Europe.

In my view, there are not many ASX shares we can point to that are successfully growing in Europe, which is a large market with more growth potential than Australia due to its larger population.

I’ll outline three reasons this is such a compelling long-term idea.

Growing locally and internationally

The company regularly expands its KFC outlet count in Australia and Europe, enabling it to reach more customers and deliver greater scale benefits.

During FY26, it opened a net of seven stores in Australia (taking its count to 295 nationally), it grew by a net of one in the Netherlands and it opened one new restaurant in Germany.

The company is currently focusing on ensuring that new restaurants will be profitable during this economically challenging period for consumers. But it expects growth in the growth of new stores to accelerate.

In the four weeks before its AGM update, the company reported total KFC sales growth of 5% for Australia, 4.9% for the Netherlands and 58.8% for Germany. In my view, the company is making pleasing progress and this is helping revenue as well as its other financial figures.

Improving financials

I think one of the best signs of being one of Australia’s top shares is seeing profit margins increase as the company grows. Investors usually judge a business based on its net profit generation, and it’s the profit that pays for the dividend.

Everything that helps a company grow earnings sustainably is an excellent sign.

FY26 was a great example of the company’s ability to deliver rising profits.

During the 2026 financial year, revenue grew by 8.6% to $1.59 billion, underlying operating profit (EBIT) climbed by 10.1% to $130.7 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped 13% to $61.4 million.

As long as the company can continue delivering positive same-store sales growth, I’m optimistic about its ability to grow margins in the future.

The result helped the business fund a 7.7% increase of its annual dividend per share to 28 cents per share.

The valuation is appealing for one of Australia’s top shares

At the time of writing, the Collins Foods share price has fallen 23% in 2026 to date, making the business much cheaper for potential investors.

According to the projection on CMC Invest, the ASX share is now valued at 15x FY27’s estimated earnings and under 13x FY28’s estimated earnings. It could also pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.1%, including franking credits, for FY27.

Overall, I think this could be a great time to invest in Collins Foods shares for the long-term.

The post A rare buying opportunity in 1 of Australia’s top shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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