$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.

More reading

• 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.

More reading

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• 3 ASX shares just got big upgrades and are tipped to rise almost 30%
• Buy, hold, sell: Liontown, Collins Foods, and Goodman shares

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.

On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 8,696.5 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to drop

It looks set to be a tough session for Australian investors on Thursday following a disappointing night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 63 points or 0.7% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.45%, and the Nasdaq was a fraction lower.

ASX 200 shares going ex-dividend

A number of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. This includes A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), and West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF). Flight Centre is rewarding its shareholders with a 30 cents per share fully franked dividend next month on 16 October.

Oil prices tumble

ASX 200 energy shares Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session after oil prices pulled back overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 3.5% to US$102.07 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 3% to US$105.62 a barrel. This follows reports that Saudi Arabia’s damaged pipeline will restart in the coming days.

Dyno Nobel on watch

Dyno Nobel Ltd (ASX: DNL) shares will be on watch today after the explosives company released an investor update. The company revealed that it is performing positively in FY 2026 and is on track to achieve its group guidance for a net profit after tax (before one-offs) of $325 million to $340 million. It also believes it is on track to deliver on its $600 million EBIT ambition in FY 2028. 

Gold price falls

It could be a subdued day for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.7% to US$4,302.2 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after the US Federal Reserve lifted interest rates.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How much superannuation is enough to retire with a $50,000 income?
• Want the age pension? Here’s the new asset limit you can’t exceed
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Santos, Ramsay Health Care, and AMP shares reach new 52-week highs: Can they keep climbing?
• The ASX 200 is finally rising. Is the sell-off running out of steam?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. 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 Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.