One of the great things about being a UK investor is that a lot of our listed companies return huge amounts of cash to their shareholders every year. With this in mind, here are two high-yield FTSE 100 stocks I’d consider buying for passive income today (if I had the cash).

For a bonus, I’ve also highlighted one I’d avoid like the plague.

Monster dividend yield

Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) shares boast a knockout forecast dividend yield of nearly 10%. This easily makes it one of the biggest payers around.

Such a high figure usually suggests a stock has been heavily sold off. And this is true to some extent. The shares are down about 12% in 2024 so far. Does this mean a dividen cut is on the way?

Well, business seems reassuringly brisk. Back in August, it posted a 1% rise in H1 core operating profit (£849m) due to record sales in individual annuities. That might not sound like much but it exceeded what City analysts were expecting.

Whether this momentum will last is another thing. Annuities tend to be attractive when interest rates are high but the Bank of England recently cut the latter to 4.75%. It’s also worth noting that the firm’s 2024 payout is not expected to be covered by profit. That can only go on for so long.

With an ageing population needing to get their finances in order for retirement, however, I reckon the long-term outlook is actually very positive.

Renewable energy play

To add a bit of diversification to the mix, I’d also consider mining giant Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO).

A forecast yield of 5.8% is clearly a lot less than Legal & General but it’s a lot more than I’d get from the standard FTSE 100 tracker fund (around 3.6%).

A potential downside is the cyclicality of earnings. Right now, there are concerns about whether stimulus measures can boost China’s flagging economy. As a major buyer of what the miner produces, this has clearly weighed on Rio’s share price and could eventually begin chipping away at dividends.

Looking further into the future, however, I can see reasons for overall metal demand continuing to rise. The green energy revolution will require an enormous amount of copper and lithium, for example. This should do no harm to the firm’s income credentials.

Not for me

A final dividend share that offers a big yield — but one I’m avoiding — is Vodafone (LSE: VOD).

Let’s be real: this company has been an absolute dog for years now thanks to increasing competition, saturated markets and regulatory hurdles. All this has now forced a big cut to the dividend stream.

To be fair, Vodafone shares still yield 6.3%. That’s enticing, even if it’s mostly down to the share price falling by so much. It’s also expected to be covered 1.5 times by earnings.

However, the balance sheet still creaks. All that infrastructure will require ongoing, essential, and costly maintenance as well. The gradual lowering of interest rates may help (assuming this continues). But all that debt is a massive burden.

Vodafone might be in a position to shower investors with more cash in the future by successfully tapping into new markets. But I won’t be one of them.