![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Counting-money-1200x802.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Image source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Dividend stocks can be terrific for passive income investors. And that might be more important than ever. The latest data about retirement looks alarming, so it probably pays to start thinking about this sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
The pension problem<\/p>\n
According to Pensions UK, a single person needs \u00a332,700 a year to live a moderate retirement. For a couple, the figure is \u00a345,400.<\/p>\n
Should you buy Croda International Plc shares today?\t<\/p>\n
Before you decide, please take a moment to review this report first. Despite ongoing uncertainties from US tariffs to global conflicts, Mark Rogers and his team believe many UK shares still trade at substantial discounts, offering savvy investors plenty of potential opportunities to learn about.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why this could be an ideal time to secure this valuable research \u2013 Mark\u2019s analysts have scoured the markets to reveal 5 of his favourite long-term \u2018Buys\u2019. Please, don\u2019t make any big decisions before seeing them.<\/p>\n
This goes up with inflation. But the organisation estimates that 77% of people are set to fall short of this. That\u2019s huge. And the numbers are, obviously, worse in terms of being able to manage a \u2018comfortable\u2019 retirement.<\/p>\n
This requires \u00a345,400 for a single person and \u00a362,700 for a couple. According to Pensions UK, only 9% of people are set to hit this.<\/p>\n
Dividend stocks<\/a> are one way to try and earn extra income. But how much do you need to invest to bridge the gap?<\/p>\n How much do you need to invest?<\/p>\n How much you need to invest to get to \u00a332,700 a year depends on what you already have. But there are some ways to try and work it out<\/p>\n The average dividend yield from the FTSE 100 is around 3.04%. So a \u00a320,000 investment returns \u00a3608 a year. That might sound like a lot. But when things go well dividends can increase over time.<\/p>\n This means income generated today has the potential to stay ahead of inflation. And that\u2019s a huge advantage.<\/p>\n The downside is that dividends are never guaranteed. But there are some stocks with spectacular track records.<\/p>\n What to buy?<\/p>\n Long-term investors have to think about inflation. And one I stock I like<\/a> in this context is Croda International (LSE:CRDA<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n The conflict in Iran is having inflationary effects on a number of industries. But Croda said the following in its Q1 update:<\/p>\n \u201cSales in the Middle East accounted for ~5% of Group sales in 2025, most of which were in F&F. We are actively and responsibly managing the impact of the conflict, increasing prices to fully recover input cost inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n This ability to offset input costs through price increases is hugely important. It\u2019s why Croda has 34 years of consecutive dividend increases.<\/p>\n