The State Pension isn’t enough to live on. Retirees need £13,400 a year just for a basic ‘minimum’ lifestyle, according to the Retirement Living Standards survey.
If they want to be comfortable, they’ll need a lot more than that, as this table shows.
| Lifestyle target | Single person | Couple |
| Minimum | £ 13,400 | £ 21,500 |
| Moderate | £ 31,700 | £ 43,900 |
| Comfortable | £ 43,900 | £ 60,600 |
The new State Pension, paid to those who retire from April 6, is worth at most £12,547. That’s below the bare minimum required. Which is why it’s essential to save under your own steam.
I think the Stocks and Shares ISA is one of the best ways of doing it.
How much income could I get from an ISA?
Right now, a popular choice for long-term ISA investors is to build a diversified spread of FTSE 100 shares offering both dividend income and growth. They can re-invest the dividends to turbo-charge their total return when working, then draw them as income in retirement.
Now let’s say their portfolio generates an average yield of 5% a year. To hit that income target, they’d need £752,820, which is a lot of money. Let’s say somebody has 30 years before retirement. They’d need to tuck away £505 a month, assuming an average total return of 8% a year.
That takes dedication and commitment, but the rewards are huge.
So how can I get a high yield?
Today, an impressive 14 FTSE 100 stocks yield 5% or more, including housebuilder Persimmon (LSE: PSN). It’s forecast to yield 5.7% this year, rising towards 6.2% in 2027. That’s a terrific rate of income, but it isn’t all good news.
Recent years have been tough for housebuilders, as higher inflation, low affordability, the fire safety cladding scandal and end of the Help to Buy scheme squeeze sales and prices.
2026 looked promising with interest rates expected to fall, then came war in Iran. The oil spike’s now driving inflation back up, and mortgage rates could follow. The Persimmon share price is down 18% in the last year, and 66% over five. So why would anybody buy this stock today?
Buying beaten-down companies can be a winning strategy, as it allows investors to get in at a lower valuation and higher yield. However, patience is required. The UK economy’s struggling, and while the property market’s holding up, the UK’s troubles could last a while longer.
However, with a modest forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10.2, Persimmon investors are taking a position at a big discount. I think it’s worth considering for long-term investors up for the challenge. At some point, this stock could take off. Just don’t expect it to happen overnight.
