In my never-ending quest to supercharge my passive income potential, I’ve identified three of the most promising dividend stocks on the FTSE 100.
These aren’t just high-yielders with questionable sustainability. They’re tried-and-tested dividend heroes with solid fundamentals and the ability to deliver on promises. I think they’re worth considering.
Aviva
Aviva‘s (LSE:AV.) interim dividend for 2025 was increased by 10%, bringing it to 13.1p per share. The company’s provided explicit guidance that the final one will remain consistent with this 10% trajectory. Looking forward, city analysts expect a 7% increase in 2026, resulting in a 6.6% yield on current valuations.
Over the medium term, management’s set a new dividend policy targeting mid-single-digit growth from 2026 onwards. Payouts and share buybacks combined are expected to exceed £7bn between 2026 and 2028. This policy’s been deliberately maintained despite the acquisition of Direct Line, reflecting management confidence in earnings power.
Still, like an insurer, its profits are highly sensitive to interest rate movements. Further Bank of England rate cuts could compress margins and constrain dividend growth.
Crucially, Aviva appears to have what it takes to deliver on its policy. In H1 2025, pre-tax profit surged 30% year-on-year to £1.27bn, while operating profit climbed 22% to £1.07bn. General insurance premiums grew 7%, while wealth assets increased to £224bn with net flows up 16%. These numbers support the company’s dividend expansion thesis.
Legal & General
Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) maintains the highest yield in the FTSE 100 at around 8.1%, with forecasts showing this could reach 9.4% by 2027. The company’s demonstrated nearly 20 years of uninterrupted increases (barring the 2008 financial crisis), having grown dividends at a 15-year compound annual rate of 11.75%.
However, recent dividend growth has slowed from 6% to below 3% annually. The company announced dividend growth guidance of 2% from 2025 onwards, with the 2026 yield projected to hit 9.43%. While this represents a lower growth rate than Aviva, the exceptionally high starting yield provides sufficient income that could compound significantly over time.
Some analysts have raised concerns over dividend coverage, which has been attributed to a change in accounting standards. This makes it difficult to ascertain whether coverage is sufficient, leaving the possiblity of a dividend cut if profits slip.
Primary Health Properties
Primary Health Properties (LSE: PHP) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on healthcare. It announced its 30th consecutive year of dividend growth in January, with a Q1 2026 interim dividend of 1.82p — a 2.8% increase from 1.77p in Q1 2025. That equates to an annualised dividend of 7.3p for 2026 versus 7.1p in 2025.
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That’s not spectacular growth like Aviva (nor as high-yielding as L&G) but this modest, consistent rise reflects the defensive nature of the healthcare property sector.
It also benefits from NHS’s 10-year health plan and private hospital expansion. The company completed its transformational acquisition of Assura in October 2025, creating a £6bn healthcare REIT with annualised contracted rent roll of £342m. For now, it appears management is capitalising effectively on this purchase. However, integration complications or failure to realise profits could impair dividend growth trajectory.
