Over the past year, the dividend yield for Legal & General (LSE:LGEN) shares hasn’t fallen below 8%. That’s impressive, and it currently ranks as the highest-yielding stock in the entire FTSE 100. Yet I don’t think this is just a flash in the pan. When I consider the forecasts for future income payments, things could get even better.

Dividend details

Legal & General typically pays out two dividends a year. The first gets declared in March, coinciding with the full-year results, with the other coming in August. The one in March is usually larger than the summer one. In 2025, the two payments totalled 21.48p. When factoring in the current share price, it gives a dividend yield of 8.09%.

Looking ahead, analysts expect the total for this year to be 21.9p, rising to 22.35p next year. As for 2028, the forecasts indicate a total dividend per share of 22.79p.

I don’t know where the share price will be in a couple of years’ time. But if I assumed it was the same as it is now, the yield could rise to 8.64%. The reality is that stock prices change every day. This could mean the dividend yield’s higher or lower than my projection.

Shifting gears

It’s true that Legal & General dividends aren’t guaranteed. But when I look back over the past decade, it’s paid out income every year. So this goes some way to thinking that things could continue in the same manner for the next decade.

This isn’t blind faith, it’s based on how the business is performing. The 15% rise in the share price over the past year is an indication of the good work going on. Aside from enjoying core operating profit growth, it’s done very well with the pension risk transfer (PRT) division. This is a profitable, high-cash-flow part of its institutional retirement business, with H1 2025 results showing new PRT business more than doubled to £3.4bn, with a pipeline of a further £1.7bn.

The company also passed regulatory stress tests in November, based on theoretical scenarios of falling interest rates or a stock market crash. Although I’d be surprised if they had failed, the stamp of approval’s good, as it shows that the company has plenty of capital buffers to withstand difficult times.

Risk and reward

In terms of risks, as a major UK insurer and pensions provider, it’s exposed to regulatory and political changes. These might not be positive, potentially capping or even reducing future growth or dividend prospects.

The bottom line for me is that Legal & General’s proved itself as a solid dividend stock over the past few years. Based on the outlook for the company and the dividend specifically, I think investors can consider it as part of a long-term income portfolio.